Tutukaka Pelagic Seabird Trip - 7 July 2018

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The next Tutukaka Pelagic Seabird Trip is scheduled for Saturday 7th July

Based out of Tutukaka in Northland this trip is a great opportunity to spend the day on the water and enjoy a variety of pelagic seabirds including albatrosses, mollymawks and some storm-petrels, shearwaters and petrels. Naturally there’s no guarantee on what birds will be present (as it depends on the season) but that’s part of the excitement of it. The trip leaves Tutukaka, goes via the spectacular Poor Knight Islands, and then heads out to about 40km offshore to a deep trench which is a good seabird location, as well as being a known whale route and we’ve seen them on a few occasions.

We depart at approximately 7.00am and return to the Tutukaka marina late afternoon (or whenever everyone’s had enough). You’ll need to provide your own food/drink/supplies for the trip. I should point out I’m not a tour guide, just a very keen birder. I organise these trips so other like-minded people can get out there and see what’s around.

The 30ft boat is fairly basic and has fantastic all round viewing for bird spotting. There are pull down plastic sides and front if the weather gets a bit wet, a small separate toilet, seating in the form of a couple of benches and a few big chilly bins, so there can be a bit of standing involved. It has a cruising speed of 18 knots and is fully compliant under Maritime New Zealand’s MOSS survey system.

Myself and the skipper will be checking the weather/swell conditions and will make a call 2 to 3 days out from the trip as to whether to go ahead or not.

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COSTS:
The way the trip works is that the cost to charter the boat is shared amongst the people on board, so the final cost per person isn’t finalised until closer to the trip date when numbers on board are confirmed.

The maximum number is 10 people. The trip needs a minimum of 6 people to make costs feasible or it won’t go ahead.

A non-refundable deposit of $140 is required upon booking to confirm your place on the trip and then any balance will be sorted closer to the trip date when numbers are confirmed. If the trip is cancelled due to adverse conditions then all money paid will be refunded.

Final trip costs (based on how many are on board) are:
• 10 people $140 each
• 9 people $155 each
• 8 people $175 each
• 7 people $200 each
• 6 people $230 each

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Let me know if you’re keen or if have any questions about the trip.

Cheers
Scott Brooks
021 322 324 | scott@ourspot.nz


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[ourspot]

The trip is confirmed to go ahead tomorrow and there's some spare places so if anyone fancies a day out watching seabirds then give me a call. This will be the first winter trip so will be interesting to see what's out there.

Cheers
Scott Brooks
021 322 324 | scott@ourspot.nz