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• Waves on the Esplanade Apartments

  78 Esplanade, Kaikoura
  2 bedroom, 2 bathroom fully equipped apartments, just 500 metres from the town centre and across the road from the beach.
   
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  The Waterfront Apartments

  126 Esplanade, Kaikoura
  1 & 2 bedroom apartments, just across the road from the beach and 650 metres from the town centre.
  
  
  

Sightseeing

• Whale watching, 4 hours

• Dolphin swimming, 4 hours

• Maori cultural tour, 4 hours

• Quad bike coastal tour, 3 hours

• Seal swimming, 4 hours

• Visit Kaikoura winery, 2 hours
   

Drive Times

Kaikoura – Picton, 2 hours
Kaikoura – Christchurch, 2.5 hours 

Kaikoura Population: 3,500
Region: Canterbury

The seaside town of Kaikoura, situated on the rugged east coast north is Christchurch is overlooked by towering mountains which are covered in snow for much of the year.  This unique combination of coastline and mountains offers some stunning coastal scenery and a host of eco tourism activities, the most notable of which is whale watching.  This activity is managed by the local iwi (Maori tribe) who have made a successful business of observing these mammoth sea creatures.  Not all activities are marine based however.  Maori cultural tours, quad biking, hunting, winery tours, horse trekking, caving, and star gazing are also on offer.  Kaikoura is proud to be named a Green Globe Certified community, the first in New Zealand.

History and Culture

Kaikoura is a town with a fascinating history.  Archaeological remains indicate that Moa Hunters inhabited the peninsula 900 years ago.  In Maori legend, Maui placed his foot on the Kaikoura peninsula to steady himself while he 'fished-up' the North Island.  The Maori name Kaikoura translates to 'meal of crayfish' (kai - food, koura - crayfish), and it is crayfish for which the region has traditionally been famous.  The area's abundant food sources attracted Maori settlement, and the remains of several pa sites can still be seen on the peninsula to this day.

In 1770 Captain Cook first discovered the Kaikoura peninsula, believing it to be an island.  The first shore whaling station was established here in 1843.  Other whaling stations soon followed, and at one stage the industry employed over one hundred men in the Kaikoura district alone.  Whale numbers steadily declined after 1850 and the exportation of them became un-economic, leading whalers to turn to alternative means of existence, such as farming.  Whaling continued sporadically until as recently as 1964 when the last of New Zealand’s whaling operations ceased.

Today, the emphasis in Kaikoura is the conservation of marine life, working with a sustainable tourist industry which allows visitors from all over the world to appreciate life in the ocean.  In 1978, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was finally passed, providing total protection to New Zealand’s whales, dolphins and seals.  Kaikoura lies within the Southern Hemisphere Whale Sanctuary.  Several different species of whale can be seen off Kaikoura at different times of the year, but almost always the huge Sperm whales.  Flukes lifting clear at the start of the deep dive, adolescent male Sperm whales enjoy the rich diet of the Kaikoura waters while building up their strength to move to the mating grounds of the warm north.  Regularly diving to depths of one kilometre, Sperm whales have been known to dive to 3 kilometres, holding their breath for up to two hours, perhaps gulping down a few groper or wrestling with a giant squid.  The clean sharp fin of the Orca is often sighted in Kaikoura, and schools of Pilot whales are occasional visitors, while the fun loving Dusky Dolphins are seen everywhere.  Fur seals, once almost hunted to extinction are now plentiful here, resting on warm rocks after a nights fishing.  Seabirds, also enjoying the rich sea harvest, are abundant.

For more information about Kaikoura, click through to our Discover New Zealand Canterbury Region section