Queen Charlotte Mail Boat Cruise: Experience Authentic New Zealand Post Delivery Service

244 Ratings

Picton

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Experience the authentic New Zealand post delivery service on the Queen Charlotte Mail Boat Cruise. Join us as we deliver mail, groceries, and freight to the residents of Queen Charlotte Sound. Don’t miss this unique tour!

Duration: 4 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Queen Charlotte Sound - Cruise through the tranquil waterways of the Queen Charlotte Sound, see wildlife and native flora and fauna along the way

What's Included

Commentary on board
On-board restrooms

What's Not Included

Food
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Additional Information

For more than 150 years, mail has been transported via boat in the Queen Charlotte Sounds, a service we are proud to be the sole officially sanctioned New Zealand Post Rural Delivery Service by water in the Queen Charlotte Sound, rendering this tour truly unparalleled!
Join us on the Mail Boat Cruise to partake in the thrilling routine of Mail Day, as…

Location

1 London Quay

London Quay

Please meet us at the Beachcomber Cruises Office on the waterfront - the Corner of Wellington Street and London Quay, we are a black building with Blue Signage.

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.7

(244 Ratings)

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1 star

Kmccasker

Oct 19, 2024

Highly recommend - So glad we did this trip. Got to see the sound at its best and calling into the little settlements delivering mail etc was interesting. Highly recommended

Review provided by Viator

Brendajulie

Jul 17, 2024

The sounds mail delivery run - Greg our captain gave a great commentary of the sounds as he delivered supplies and mail all the way to Furneaux lodge and back, we saw lots of dolphins, seals and blue penguins as well as the lovely landscape. A very interesting trip, well worth doing and enjoyed by ourselves and friends that we travelled with

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Discover62977272803

Jul 8, 2024

MAGIC Mail Boat Cruise - the best adventure in all of Picton! - The cruise of our DREAMS! Stunning views, small tour size, friendly and informative staff. We were greeted at the counter and shown a map of the Queen Charlotte Sounds, boarded the boat and took off. We saw dolphins, seals and Blue Cod! The sun went down on the trip back. A perfect afternoon!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Departure00096900417

Apr 20, 2024

Fabulous cruise around the Sound - A very beautiful and interesting trip. Well worth doing to see this incredible scenery and to see the beautiful remote places where people live in the Sound

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Wayne

Apr 15, 2024

Unique Experience - Great experience on the water on a working mail delivery boat. Greg the skipper was a local fisherman who was an excellent guide with plenty of local knowledge and experience. The boat is dry, comfortable and safe. We saw some great out of the way places and people, all excited to be receiving the mail. Highly recommend. Ps. Office staff were a delight to talk to, also very knowledgeable

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Jane_t

Mar 28, 2024

Great way to spend a few hours in Picton. - This was a really fun and interesting adventure for 4 hours or so. The boat holds quite a few people (30+) between the top and bottom areas. but everyone moves around to get good pictures. The driver goes from cove to cove to deliver mail and packages to residents and resorts in these areas. The boat is met at the dock by the owners and sometimes their dogs too. For the most part the driver does not provide much commentary and even if he does, it was difficult to hear with all the people. That was fine--I did not take this tour for the commentary anyway. It's a great way to see the bay and how people live and would totally recommend this low key tour.

Review provided by Viator

Robynf888

Mar 24, 2024

Fabulous - I went out on the Friday’s 1.30pm Mail boat delivering Mail to the most off the grid, eclectic places and seeing the amazing Kiwis who live there Such a fabulous 4 hours following the Wellington bound Interislander ferry up the Tory channel, seeing the Salmon farms, Mussel farms and the old whaling station. Picked up some Queen Charlotte Track walkers on the way back at the Fumeaux Lodge then back down Endeavour Inlet. It’s Autumn, so I left Picton in a T shirt, then a jacket and then scarf and gloves. Such a beautiful place, both on land and sea. The staff were great also. Nothing was too much trouble for them A must for everyone to experience.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Philiplo8061jr

Apr 21, 2024

Great scenery and great to visit all the bays - Had a great day out. The weather was perfect. Saw lots of new country. The staff were very friendly and informative. Well worth doing.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Deborahann_a

Mar 25, 2024

Great afternoon on the open top deck - Packed a cooler with some wine and cheese and crackers, dressed in layers, then sat back and watched the beautiful scenery. Very cool to be able to get into the bays and see the isolated homes of the people who live there. The dogs coming down for their treats were so entertaining!

Review provided by Viator

Carmelo_u

Sep 11, 2024

Disappointed - Not the boat they advertised but a small water taxi. No tiolet on board. No commentary only driver who was not confident about the weather conditions. Water taxi engine broke down for about a hour. Delivered a couple of boxes & mail bags precariously . Did not do the full tour. Would like half of our payment back as did not deliver the stated inclusions & it was terrible weather. Enclosed inside taxi. Very choppy. Hard to see out of closed windows . For safety reasons the company should have canceled it before. Actually wasted 2 of our days to fit the tour in. The booking company Viator is no help. If you can’t deliver you should not take people’s hard earned money!

Review provided by Viator

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