Things to do in Kaikōura
Kaikōura offers a diverse range of quality activities and other than Whale Watching, you can swim with dolphins and seals, cruise around the peninsula on a kayak, fly your own plane, visit the new classic car museum or go out back on a quad bike to mention just a few.
Kaikōura also has a variety of quality accommodation styles on offer to suit all budgets such as luxury lodges, motels, motor lodges, holiday parks, hostels, B&B’s and Backpackers and if your into wining & dining Kaikōura has plenty on offer here to with Seafood common place on most menus around town. To find out more on what Kaikōura has to offer please visit www.kaikoura.co.nz
Kaikoura Peninsula Coastal Walks
Crystal clear rock pools and wild empty beaches. Walking Kaikōura 's scenic coastline will expose you to the world's cleanest ocean environment.
The Kaikōura Peninsula has clearly marked cliff-top and coastal walking tracks guiding you from lush open farmland to inter-tidal limestone shore platforms. A great opportunity to observe seals and dolphins, penguins and wading birds.
Kaikōura Mountain Walks
Breathtaking views await those walking the mountain trails of the hinterland as Kaikōura is the only place in New Zealand where such high ranges so abruptly meet the sea. The return walk to Mt Fyffe takes a day but is easily achieved by those of even moderate fitness. Trail maps are available from the Kaikōura Visitor Information Centre.
There is still plenty to discover in these incredible mountains. As recently as the 1990s two new species were found here - a giant weta and a lizard. Another recent discovery was the nesting habits of a local seabird, the Hutton's Shearwater. Every year, thousands of Hutton's Shearwaters lay eggs and raise chicks in deep burrows dug through the snow into the hard shale of the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges. No other seabird is known to nest at such high altitudes.
On the way to the mountains you will pass through dense native forests of Manuka, Kahikatea, Totara and Beech inhabited by New Zealand Wood Pigeon, South Island Robins, Fantails, Bellbirds and the Grey Warbler. You may also encounter introduced species such as wild pigs, chamois and deer. Mountain walks are an ideal way to fill in time if the sea is too rough for a NZ tour on a Whale Watch boat.
Surfing in Kaikōura
The Kaikōura district has some of the best year-round surf in New Zealand and is home to a number of national surfing champions. There is a local surf school for those who want to have a go and surfboards and surf gear can be bought in town.
Kaikōura is where resident surfer Brian O'Connor created his famous Paua Surfboard - a work of art now housed in Te Papa, the National Museum, Wellington. Kaikōura locals often surf and snowboard on the same day. Mt Lyford ski field is less than an hour away.