Expedition Vessel · Max 8 Guests
Our original expedition vessel. Sixteen metres, eight guests, two crew who know every rock, and everything a serious fishing, dive, hunting or research trip needs on board.
We reply to every charter enquiry within 24 hours.
Photo: Derek Morrison
The Short Answer
MV Tutoko is a 16 metre expedition vessel for private charters in Fiordland. She carries up to eight guests and two crew, and is set up for dedicated fishing, multi-day diving, red deer and tahr hunting, and research work from Doubtful Sound to Dusky Sound and Preservation Inlet.
She is chartered privately, never shared, and every trip is quoted around your group and your goal. The scheduled overnight cruise runs on our flagship, MV Tutoko II.
Vessel Details
| Role | Expedition vessel for private charters |
|---|---|
| Length | 16 metres |
| Guests | Up to 8, with a crew of 2 |
| On board | Spacious lounge and seating area, two toilets, one shower, diesel stove for the cold months |
| Equipment | Full dive compressor, fishing gear, kayaks, cold storage, game handling |
| Best for | Fishing charters, dive expeditions, hunting, research and documentary teams, small groups of friends or family |
| Range | Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound and Preservation Inlet |
| Departs | Pearl Harbour, Manapouri. Transfers to Deep Cove included |
| Booking | Private charter by enquiry. Reply within 24 hours |
Built for the Mission
Blue cod, hapuka, bluenose, kingfish, trumpeter and more. Our crew know where the fish are, and the catch becomes dinner.
Black coral forests and some of the clearest water in New Zealand. A full dive compressor on board means multi-day dive charters from consented anchorages.
Red deer and tahr from remote anchorages, with game handling and cold storage on board and crew who know where the animals run.
A stable platform for field teams: sheltered anchorages, dive support and crew used to working alongside scientists. See our tawaki survey work.
Eight is the number that makes a charter feel like a private expedition. Friends, family or a work crew, with room to move.
No standard route. You tell us what the trip is for, and we build the days around it.
On Board
Kayaks ready on the upper deck. Photo: Derek Morrison
The saloon and galley. Photo: Derek Morrison
Bunk cabin. Photo: Derek Morrison
Skipper in the wheelhouse. Photo: Derek Morrison
A night anchorage. Photo: Derek Morrison
Our crew have spent decades on these fiords. They know the tides, the holding spots, the dive sites that do not appear on any map, and the anchorages that shelter even in a southerly. That knowledge is yours for the length of the charter.
Dive compressor, fishing gear, kayaks, game handling and cold storage. With eight guests there is room to move and work, and to come home with something worth talking about.
Pricing and What to Tell Us
There is no rate card. The quote is built from the number of nights, how far into the fiords you go, the season and the size of your group, and it covers the whole trip: vessel, crew, meals, refreshments, transfers from Manapouri, kayaks, fishing gear and the crayfish pot.
To quote quickly, tell us who is in the group, when you want to go, how long for, where, and what the trip is for. We reply within 24 hours with a vessel, an itinerary and a single price.
Questions
The Fleet
MV Tutoko II and MV Tutoko side by side: what each vessel is built for and who it suits.
See both vessels
Whole-vessel charters for fishing, diving, hunting, research and groups, quoted for your trip.
Plan a charter
Trophy fishing, red deer and tahr, and dive expeditions with crew who know the back country.
For serious trips
The scheduled two-day, one-night cruise aboard our flagship, MV Tutoko II. Maximum twelve guests.
See the cruise
Photography by Derek Morrison, used with permission. Fiordland Expeditions. Since 2004. Two vessels, one family.