waterways boating safaris

It was only us and Leicester on the boat.It was a beautiful morning, we were only 2 boats on the water and it was gorgeous.Leicester took our 2 kids on his faster boat and let our son driveWe rode for 3 hours with a stop on a deserted beach where the kids were able to observe dead jelly fish with great interestA fantastic way to discover the Marborough Sounds

We were on a cruise ship and Leicester the owner, picked us up at the port. It is about 30 minutes drive to the Marborough Sounds site. Leicester gave our group safety instructions and showed us how to operate the boats. He is a lovely person with a great personality. He made the tour so special. We rode for many hours through the most magnificent scenery! It was so much fun and a wonderful day.His wife Liana, does all the emails and is quick to respond to all questions. If you have time for one activity on Picton then you must do this tour. It was FANTASTIC! It was one of the highlights of our trip to New Zealand!

We had a wonderful day with Leicester. Thoroughly enjoyed learning how to ride the tinnies and loved the beautiful surroundings and Leicester's droll commentary. This was money well spent and I highly recommend the trip. An added bonus was that we were transported there and back from Picton.

We did a full day trip with Leicester and were lucky enough to be the only couple on the tour that day.Leicester is a boat designer and he has created these great little boats which are fast, stable and really easy to drive. We had a fantastic day zipping about the sounds in some very quiet and peaceful areas with hardly another boat around.Leicester really knows the area and was an outstanding guide. He's very funny, tells a great story and is really knowledgeable about the ecology, trees and wildlife in the area. We had an absolute hoot with him. Highlights were seeing sting rays feeding on the shore line, a walk through native forest, seeing a thousand year old Rimu tree, the visit to see the mussel farm and above all Leicester himself.Leicester was taking snaps of us all day and provided us with a CD of pictures free of charge, which is a lovely and rare thing. Thank you Leicester!

Loved loved loved this tour. Leicester was a fantastic guide who helped us navigate the Marlborough Sounds in our own boat. There was amazing scenery as we boated past and got a lesson in mussel farming in New Zealand. We booked the day tour, but only did the boating portion, not the walk (make sure to pack your lunch). I just wish we would have seen some more wildlife, but we weren't there during the peak time in the Sounds (February for those who are wondering). Highly recommend. Highlight of our New Zealand trip.

We went out in the half day tour, the people running it were lovely, very friendly and helpful, they teach you how to drive the boat and all the safety requirements. Then it's out into the sounds which has absolutely stunning scenery, you learn about the mussel farms and most of all have fun driving your own boat :) my 6 year old loved it!

My husband and I had an awesome time exploring the Sound, operating our own boat for the very first time. The view is breathtaking, and it's a very different experience than just sitting in a big boat cruise - you actually get to drive your own boat and be much closer to nature. The boat is stable and with much encouragement from Lester, I tried operating it (instead of just relying on hubby) and love it so much!Lester is really great, and apart from the awesome fun time, we got some good life wisdom just chatting with him over lunch since it was just the 2 of us on the trip that day. Definitely some reflections for us, just like our boat name Reflections. =)Thank you for the wonderful time Lester!

We opted for the half day as the weather which had been fine took a turn for the worse. It was a bit cold and cloudy but our luck was in. My wife and I were the only customers that morning but Lester was more than happy to show us the ropes and get us on the water. The little boat with its 10 hp outboard is a perfect way to quickly navigate the sounds and we followed Lester in his boat .The trip exploded into our most memorable when we came across a pod of around 7 or 8 Orcas or killer whales feeding on stingrays close to the shore but as was explained over 40 km inland from the main Ocean. Our proximity to the pod was such that this turned out to be a real " David Attenbourgh" experience. We decided to track the whales for about 1.5 Hours. Our fast little boats enabling us to keep pace with the Orcas, something we could not have done in a Kayak. Some of our photos and the disc provided by Lester ( free of charge) are simply incredible .If your luck is in this can be one super experience. Jeff & Carol

We had a fantastic day out on the sounds with Lester. Even though we were the only couple going his wife picked us up from Havelock and Lester was happy to take us out. It was really a treat for my husband because I am not that keen on small boats but I felt very safe with Lester guiding us. It was great to explore parts that can only be reached by boat and lovely to stop for lunch on a deserted beach.The free CD of photos taken by Lester on our trip was a lovely bonus. We booked the trip by internet and had no trouble at all with the payment system which was the same as that used by most of the motels we stayed at in NZ. Altogether a great day out and money well spent. Thank you Lester.

I wasn't going to comment on this but in the end have decided to do so. Firstly it is a great day out there is no doubt about it and we enjoyed ourselves very much. I am not very good with boats and we had a few problems finding the place. It is not clear that on leaving Havelock you must turn left and we sailed by and were around 30 minutes late. Maybe Leicester was slightly fed up with us because I think he could have been a little more patient with us during the day.The big issue is the payment system.....old fashioned manual swipe technology with no EFTPOS or online booking....this failed with our card on processing at the bank and then my card would no longer work at all afterwards. This was hugely inconvenient for me as my main card was out of action and try though I did I could not get the card issuer to sort it out. The owners then needed me to go into a bank so that they could be paid by a cash payment into their bank account. This was not very convenient either as you can imagine. I know EFTPOS machines are a cost and on line booking also costs but small business owners really need to embrace one of these methods of payment or these problems will happen. I know they are trying to avoid costs but as a percentage of the total amount taken it is not that great and is an important aspect of providing good customer service. This is the third example I have seen in New Zealand of this and each time it makes me nervous. I might choose not to come on a trip in future because of it. So my advice would be to at least choose one of these methods to ensure this does not happen again to others. In the long run it is better for owners and customers as cash flow is better and security much improved! Rant over!!!!

Perfect weather, the best tour guide ever and a great experience. Its the real must have in New Zealand!

This was one tour that I was really looking forward to. But the weather.. oh the wicked weather had to act up on the afternoon that we were supposed to head out. It did not look bad, just a tad of wind with heavy dark clouds hanging above. But as one of the reviewer said, Leicester takes safety very seriously and rightly so. I tried to cajole him (several times) but he would rather forgo the earnings than risk anyone's lives. Even though the tour did not go ahead, I believe it would have been very good judging by the way he runs the place, and also from speaking with him for a long time. Leicester was kind enough to chat with us even though I am sure he had more important things to do. As we had the afternoon free, he kindly pointed us to a place nearby where we had a good time searching for one of the Sound's bounties.

We booked this trip as a birthday treat and had a fabulous day. We never dreamed we would travel so far around the Marlborough Sounds. You simply have to be on the water to really appreciate the area and the fantastic thing about the safari is that you can be a complete novice and still be able to pilot your own boat. You have the best of both worlds, the knowledge and guidance of a great guide and the privacy of having your own boat. We saw penguins, cormorants and a ray on our trip. We even got to hold a jellyfish! We learnt a lot about the area and the mussel farms from Lester, he has an obvious love of the Sounds and talks about it as if he's taking you for a stroll round his garden. This is a 'must do' for any visitor. We would highly recommend the full day trip if you have the time.

A great way to see Marlborough sounds. Driving your own boat is great fun and Lester the guide gives you plenty of freedom and time to play, jump waves and explore! He is very knowledgeable and will stop to point out interesting wildlife and historical areas as well as explain how the mussel farms work.. A lovely stop for a picnic lunch on a secluded beach adds to a brilliant day out. We can't recommend it enough! Thanks!

We had a wonderful day with waterways safari. Definitely the best way to see the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. Lester the guide was very knowledgable and great company.Driving the boats was lots of fun, and very simple. We had plenty of time to play around jumping wakes and waves. Would recommend this to anyone looking for an interesting way to see the sounds. Adam & Laura