Expert local guides. Knowledge no guide book carries. Trophy fishing, deer and tahr hunting, Fiordland dive charters — aboard MV Tutoko, the dedicated expedition vessel. These trips are not bookable online. They begin with a conversation.
Some groups have been returning to Fiordland every year for a decade or more. The same faces. The same fiord. The same disconnection — from meetings, from devices, from everything but this.
For returning groups, our crew handles everything around the trip — managing the freezers, butchery, and the local intel built across 25+ seasons. Your group focuses on the trip. We handle the rest.
Annual booking priority — protect your week before it opens to new clients
Full cold storage and game-handling facilities aboard MV Tutoko
25+ seasons of local knowledge — where the fish are, when to move
T1 alone or combined T1 + T2 fleet for larger groups
Zero-commission, direct repeat booking — no middlemen
"Skunking" is the fear that haunts every bucket-list fishing, diving or hunting trip — the one that costs a fortune and delivers nothing. In Fiordland, skunking happens when you're on the wrong vessel with the wrong crew.
At Fiordland Expeditions, our crew are locals who know these waters at every season, every tide, every condition. They eliminate the variable. They give your bucket-list trip the outcome it deserves.
Trophy crayfish, blue cod, kingfish — Fiordland has them all
Dedicated dive expeditions — consented multi-day anchorage
Deer and Tahr hunting expeditions from remote anchorages
Crew who know where the fish are — not from a brochure, from last week
Catch & cook — your harvest, prepared by our chef the same evening
Fiordland First
Fiordland is one of the most carefully managed marine and wilderness areas on earth. We hold one of a small number of long-standing DOC permits to operate overnight in the inner sounds — and we plan to be operating here for another twenty-five years.
That means we fish, hunt, and dive within the limits the fiord can sustain. Crayfish pots come up only as full as the rules allow. Trophy hunts respect the herd. Dive sites are rotated so the black coral keeps growing. We turn away groups who come looking for something else.
The harvest is real. So is the responsibility.
Our Vessels
MV Tutoko — T1
The dedicated expedition vessel for serious fishing, hunting, and diving missions. Built for Fiordland's unique demands — with cold storage, game handling, and dive platform capabilities. Max 8 guests.
✦ Max 8 guests
✦ Full game/fish handling and cold storage
✦ Dive platform
✦ Tender for shore access
✦ Multi-day consented anchorage in remote arms
MV Tutoko + MV Tutoko II — T1 + T2
For larger groups or expeditions requiring dedicated sleeping quarters alongside a purpose-built expedition platform. T1 handles the mission. T2 delivers the comfort. The two vessels operate in tandem — the only Doubtful Sound fleet offering this capability.
✦ Up to 20 guests across the combined fleet
✦ Separate sleeping and expedition platforms
✦ Ideal for large groups / corporate expeditions
✦ Full gourmet catering on T2; expedition capability on T1
✦ Pricing and availability strictly by enquiry
The Best Way to Start
Expedition and charter bookings for dedicated fishing, hunting, and dive missions are not configured online. Every trip is built around your group, your objectives, and the season. A ten-minute phone call designs the right expedition.
0508 888 656International: +64 3 249 9005 | Mon–Fri, 8am–6pm NZT
Or Write to Us
"Fifteenth year running. The crew knows exactly what our group needs — they've been waiting for us. Our week in Fiordland is non-negotiable."
"We'd been skunked on three other operators. The team here said 'we know where they are right now' — and they were right. Best blue cod session of my life."
"Eight divers. Four days. T1 and T2 in combination. The liveaboard dive experience Fiordland deserves — and only Fiordland Expeditions can offer it this way."
The MV Tutoko Difference
Eight is the number that makes a charter feel like a private expedition. Small enough that your skipper and guide know exactly what you're after — and experienced enough in these waters to deliver it every time.
Whether you're targeting blue cod, diving black coral forests, or heading into the back country for deer, your crew tailors the trip around exactly what you're after. No standard itinerary. No compromise.
Decades on these fiords. They know the tides, the holding spots, the dive sites that don't appear on any map, and the anchorages that shelter even in a southerly. That knowledge is yours for the charter.
Full dive compressor, fishing gear, kayaks, cold storage and game handling. Eight guests means room to move and work. Return with something worth talking about.
In the Fiord
Fiordland's crayfish populations are extraordinary. Guests haul the pots alongside the crew — your catch goes straight to the kitchen. Freshest seafood imaginable.
Black coral forests. Rare endemic species. Visibility unlike anywhere else on the planet. MV Tutoko carries a full dive compressor.
In a single afternoon, Fiordland regularly delivers multiple species. This is not a brochure claim — it's what happens here.
Blue cod straight from the fiord — caught from the vessel in some of the most pristine waters on earth.
Red stag from the Fiordland back country. MV Tutoko's game handling facilities take care of everything from field to freezer.
The tender takes hunters deep into country no road will ever reach. Fiordland's back country is accessible only from the water.
Other Ways to Explore