Gannet Safari: Cape Kidnappers Wildlife Tour

Explore Cape Kidnappers’ gannet colony with ease. Enjoy breathtaking views, rich geology, and expert commentary on this iconic Hawkes Bay tour.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cape Kidnappers - Cape Kidnappers is the worlds largest accessible gannet colony. Learn local history - take in spectacular views, geology, legends and study the memorising gannet birds.
What's Included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Tea and coffee
Additional Information

This tour is the most iconic in Hawkes Bay. For over 50 years, Gannet Safaris Overland has been leading visitors across Cape Kidnappers. It is the only tour that takes you within meters of the extraordinary gannets without any walking required. The journey covers riverbeds, expansive rolling pastures, native bush areas, steep gullies, and offers…

Location
100 Marine Parade
Marine Parade
Passengers get the shuttle from the ship into Napier iSite (takes 5 minutes and is free) and we collect 200 metres down from where you are dropped off, opposite the Napier Museum on the Oceanside of the road.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(10 Ratings)
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P1839sksueh
Feb 21, 2020
Amazing birds and scenery. Fantastic. - Interesting, amusing and informative. Tony was just great. Amazing knowledge of both the local Cape Kidnappers area and also the economics of the wider Hawke’s Bay. All interspersed with gentle humour. Oh and the gannets were fantastic too. We park within metres of the birds (thousands of them) and they totally ignore us and go about their business. Absolutely loved it, totally recommend it to anyone interested in the birds and also amazing New Zealand scenery.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Experience91183
Feb 19, 2020
Amazing - Great trip! Worth every penny. Don't miss the amazing birds! Best chance to use slo-mo mode on your iphone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trufa
Feb 18, 2020
one of my best souvenirs from a wonderful cruise - Regent cruise from New Zealand to Bali, such gorgeous sites its hard to say which the best, but this for sure is a shore excursion not to be missed in Napier. Our guide Dawel took us thru an amazing natural envirment on a 2 hours unforgettable trip, till we reached the cliff where gannets live. Absolutely spectacular!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anuj_d
Jan 28, 2020
Must do experience! - The Gannet colony is in a privately owned property and it takes more than an hour to drive up to the colony. The drive is so beautiful with many picturesque landscapes. The Gannet colony was bigger than we expected and it was one of the best experiences for us to see the birds so close.
Review provided by Viator
Fredrichd2017
Jan 27, 2020
Gannet colony is the frosting on the cake! - What a great excursion from our cruise. Beautiful countryside including farm backroads to the Gannet colony. Jan, our driver and guide is local, very local and knows the back story. She knows about the Gannets in detail and was happy to answer questions. She made a good trip a great trip. She was truly a delight. And by the way, an excellent driver.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
685joanc
Jan 17, 2020
Fabulous tour! - This was a fantastic tour. We saw beautiful landscapes that were so extraordinary, heard the history of the land and the nature reserve, and had close encounters with the amazing gannet colony. Our guide Tony was so informative with his historical commentary, and he even added a quick stop at the world-famous golf course! This is a not-to-be missed experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Donna_m
Jan 5, 2020
Personal and up close - Did not realize we would drive right up to the birds. The scenery going and coming was fantastically
Review provided by Viator
Abeonaadiona
Dec 12, 2019
Awesome, in the true sense of the word - You can’t imagine how thrilling it is, after driving over an hour, to reach the summit of a lookout and see thousands upon thousands of nesting gannets just within a few feet of you. You can see males bringing seaweed to their mate, who will build a nest for the one egg that she will lay. Some males are lazy and wait around to steal the seaweed from other birds. We were lucky enough to see chicks of various ages and sizes. Some of these nests and birds are only 10 feet beyond the roped area. This was a close encounter that made it even more thrilling. A shout out to Rob, who was our excellent driver and guide. Make sure to put this on your list of things to do while visiting Napier. You will be glad that you did.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joseph_l
Jan 1, 2020
Beautiful Gannets - To see these beautiful Gannets in person is a wonderful and unforgettable experience. However, if there was no confusing in the coordination of the ride ( there were a few people just walking in our fully occupied bus when we were in the rest area) I would have given them five stars.
Review provided by Viator