From marine mammals to native birds, the Hauraki Gulf is home to a diverse range of marine life. The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (Ko te Pataka kai o Tikapa Moana Te Moananui a Toi) is New Zealand's largest marine park and covers an area of more than 1.2 million hectares in the Hauraki Gulf, Waitemata Harbour, Firth of Thames and the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. There are more than 50 islands within the park, many of which are public conservation lands and waters.
The Pest Free Islands in the Hauraki Gulf, including Tiritiri Matangi Island and Rotoroa Island, provide a haven for some of our most endangered species including sea birds, tuatara and takahē.
Our crew are experts and will help you spot native wildlife during your cruise - keep your camera handy so you can photograph our beautiful New Zealand wildlife in its natural habitat.
Dolphins
There are nine different species of dolphin found around New Zealand’s coast. In the Hauraki Gulf you’ll most likely see common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and occasionally orcas.
Dolphins are mammals, not fish, and are warm-blooded. They have a bony skeleton and they breathe air through their blowhole. Their bones are much spongier than land animals and their skin is ten times thicker than human skin, thanks to a thick layer of fat called blubber. The outer layer of skin is constantly replaced (as often as every two hours!) to remove algae and bacteria and help them swim faster.
Dolphins live and travel in groups called pods. They are clever hunters and only few animals dare attack them. They sometimes hunt alone but are more successful when they hunt together. Pods swim around schools of fish forcing them into a tight ball, then they take turns snapping the fish up. Living in pods also means the dolphins can help each other find food and watch for predators. Female dolphins help each other raise babies, and if a dolphin is injured, the pod will protect them.
Dolphins communicate with each other using clicks, squeaks and whistle-like sounds; their sounds are among the loudest animal noises in the ocean. They also like to touch each other just like humans, giving handshakes and hugs.
Keep an eye out for common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and orca on your Hauraki Gulf cruise.

Common dolphin (Delphinus Delphis)
Size: 1.7 -2.4m
NZ Classification: Not threatened
You can recognise common dolphins by their tall dorsal fin and pale side patches. Common dolphins are abundant in the Hauraki Gulf, but we don't have a precise population estimate. Common dolphins feed on a variety of prey including surface schooling fish, small mid-water fish and squid, often hunting together in schools. They can dive to depths of up to 280 metres in search of prey. They can dive for up to 8 minutes, but usually, spend between 10 seconds and 2 minutes underwater at a time.

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)
Size: 1.9 - 3.9m
Population: 450 around the North Island of New Zealand
NZ Classification: Nationally endangered
Bottlenose dolphins are larger than common dolphins, with a relatively short beak and a hooked, prominent dorsal fin. They have dark or light grey backs, with paler underbellies. They live in pods of up to 60.
When they’re feeding close to the shore, bottlenose dolphins mostly eat bottom-dwelling fish and invertebrates. They will dive for around 3-4 minutes while they’re inshore but might dive for much longer periods offshore. Male bottlenose dolphins can live as long as 40-45 years, while females can live up to more than 50 years of age.

Orca Whale (Orcinus Orca)
Size: Up to 9m in length with male dorsal fins reaching higher than a metre
Population: 150-200 in New Zealand
NZ Classification: Nationally critical
Orca, sometimes known as killer whales, are the largest members of the dolphin family. They have black backs and white patterns on their stomachs. Males have a large triangular dorsal fin, while females have a shorter curved fin. Orca live in small family groups or pods of up to 30 individuals, although pods tend to be smaller in New Zealand waters.
The language of orca is one of the most complex animal languages. They make high-pitched whistles, pulsed calls, low-frequency pops and they can make clapping sounds using their jaws. Every pod has their own language with members of the same pod making the same calls. They also communicate through touch and other gestures like head-butting and slapping their fins together.
Adult orca have an extremely diverse diet including all kinds of fish, sharks, rays, squid, birds and turtles. They are the only known cetaceans that regularly prey upon other marine mammals – when they arrive the dolphins usually skip town for the day! Orca hunt cooperatively and are even known to intentionally ‘strand’ themselves on beaches in order to catch seals. There is no record of orca attacking humans.
Whales
Whales are very similar to dolphins in that they’re warm-blooded mammals and breathe air through their blowholes. They also have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm, and like dolphins they sense their environment through echolocation.
There are two sub-orders of whales: baleen and toothed whales. Baleen whales are the largest animals on earth and feed on some of the smallest animals in the ocean. Their diet is made up of plankton and small fish that they suck in through the comb-like fringe on their upper jaw. Some well-known species of baleen whales include the blue whale and the humpback whale. Toothed whales feed on fish, squid, other whales and larger marine mammals.

Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera Brydei)
Size: Up to 12-15m in length
NZ Classification: Nationally critical
The most commonly encountered species on our cruises is the Bryde’s whales. They have a bluish-gray body with white on the underside and a very broad and short head with large eyes. Females are slightly larger than males. The Bryde’s ("broodus") whale has two narrow blowholes that can blow up to 4m high. It has no teeth but has two rows of baleen plates, which are similar to bristles, which it uses to filter and trap small fish like anchovy, herring and mackerel. They’re usually found alone or in pairs, but will sometimes gather in pods of up to 30 at good feeding grounds.
New Zealand Seals
There are around 33 species of seals worldwide, including fur seals, sea lions and common seals. Seals have thick fur and a layer of blubber to keep them warm in cold water. Their unique, wavy whiskers help them to detect prey in dark muddy water up to 180 metres (600 feet) away. They’re carnivorous mammals, usually feeding on fish, squid, shellfish or sea birds with leopard seals eating other species of seals. They can dive for food up to 914 metres (3,000 feet) deep.
Seals are very good swimmers and they’re are also very agile on rocky shores, with the ability to haul themselves onto high rocks. They can spend up to 10 days at sea on a feeding frenzy and come ashore (haul-out) to rest, feed their young, mate, give birth or moult.
Their natural instinct is to protect themselves, their pups and their surroundings and they can become aggressive by biting and attacking if humans get too close. It’s always best to stay away from them, watching and observing from a distance.

New Zealand Fur Seal | Kekeno (Arctocephalus Forsteri)
Size: Females up to 1.5m & 30-50kg | Males up to 2.5m & 90-150kg
The New Zealand fur seal, or ‘kekeno’ in Māori, is the most common seal in New Zealand waters. They live around the coastline and have also been spotted in some parts of Australia. Kekeno have pointy noses with pale whiskers, small earflaps and a dark grey-brown coat. Their hind flippers can rotate forward and they are very agile at sea and on rocks. Kekeno are excellent swimmers. They feed mainly on squid and small mid-water fish, but will also eat larger species such as eels, barracuda and hoki. New Zealand fur seals have been recorded diving deeper and for longer than any other species of fur seal. They mainly feed at night, when prey is closer to the surface, which is why you’ll usually see them resting during the day.
Hauraki Gulf Sea and Shore Birds
With its unspoiled environment of native bush and pristine waters, the Hauraki Gulf provides a safe habitat for many native bird species and the predator-free islands, such as Tiritiri Matangi Island and Rotoroa Island, are home to a number of rare and endangered species.
Here are some of New Zealand’s common and more unusual native birds that you could see in the Hauraki Gulf, both at sea and on land.

Little Blue Penguin | Kororā
Keep an eye out during your cruise for the world’s smallest penguin, the little blue penguin or kororā - you'll often see them bobbing around in the waves. Little penguins were common in New Zealand, but most are now on offshore islands where there is less disturbance. Recognisable by their slate-blue plumage and white bellies, they can move quickly underwater thanks to their paddle-like flippers.

Australasian Gannet | Tākapu
The Australasian Gannet is a large seabird with predominantly white plumage, pointed wings, a long neck and slender body shape. You may spot them up above the waves diving for fish. Gannets are impressive hunters – they fly high over the sea, scanning for fish from up to 30 metres above the surface, before making spectacular dives. They fold their wings to speed up, often travelling faster than 100 kilometres per hour when they hit the water.

Shearwaters
There are five different species of shearwater in the Hauraki Gulf - the fluttering shearwater is a small sea bird with a dark dark cap extending below the eye line. Often seen in fast moving flocks while foraging for food and can found feeding on schools of fish such as kahawai. They have a distinctive staccato call, ka-hek-ka-hek-ka-hek, which is mostly made in flight.

Petrels
There are many species of petrel in the Hauraki Gulf - the Black Petrel (Tāiko) is a medium-sized, all black sea bird with a dark-tipped yellowish bill and is often seen in the outer Hauraki Gulf feeding in small groups with dolphins and whales.

Black Shag
This large, mainly black shag has black-brown wings and tail with a white/cream feathering over its cheeks and throat. They are often seen individually, or sometimes in small groups roosting on rocky headlands, and usually forage alone feeding on small to medium sized fish.

Oystercatcher
There are two species of oystercatcher native to New Zealand: the South Island Pied Oystercatcher and Variable Oystercatcher (torea/toreapango). They can often be found together on beaches, probing the sand for molluscs and worms. The pied oystercatcher is more common and is black with a white belly, red bill and legs. Variable oystercatcher may be black and white or pure black and are slightly larger.

Dotterel
The tiny New Zealand dotterel (tūturiwhatu) is a beach dweller. Dotterels are very well camouflaged, being sandy brown with white underbellies, so you’re likely to hear its high-pitched ‘chip, chip’ call before you see one. Due to predators and habitat loss there are only about 1700 dotterels left in New Zealand, but they can be found on secluded beaches around the Hauraki Gulf.

Takahē
A small population of these threatened native, big blue birds can be found on Tiritiri Matangi Island and Rotoroa Island snacking on fresh grass roots. Takahē are New Zealand's largest surviving flightless bird which was thought to be extinct for nearly 50 years until 1948 and now has a population of around 500.

Tūī
Tūī are unique to New Zealand and belong to the honeyeater family, feeding mainly on nectar from flowers of native plants. These attractive birds can often be heard singing their beautiful melodies with a complicated mix of tuneful notes interspersed with coughs, grunts and wheezes. You will recognise them by their distinctive white tuft under their throat and noisy wingbeats.

Kiwi
A completely unique animal, the kiwi is an endangered, flightless nocturnal bird and are a significant national icon. The bird is a taonga (treasure) to Maori, who have a strong cultural, spiritual and historical associations with kiwi. Kiwi are the only birds in the world with nostrils and whiskers at the end of their beaks, which help them to sniff out worms, insects and fruit. The Northland brown kiwi has spiky reddish-brown plumage.

Weka
The cheeky and curious weka is a large, brown flightless bird that has a famously feisty and curious personality. The weka's best know call is a repetitive, loud 'coo-et' that is usually heard at dusk and in the early evening. It is presented as a duet, with the male giving the lower and slower part. Weka are scavengers and will eat anything from insects and plants to lizards, rodents, food scraps and the eggs of other birds.