Kaikoura, New Zealand

I've only just realised that Kaikoura, one of my favourite places in the world, is on this site. Just had to tell people a bit about it.

Kaikoura is a small town about 2 hours north of Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. It originated as a fishing and whaling town, and its industries are still based around the sea, but now mainly in the form of tourism. However, it's far from being a stereotypical "tourist hotspot". ...
...main dive operation is Dive Kaikoura, a very professional centre based in the main town. They offer a range of courses, as well as single or double tank trips for qualified divers. A word of warning - this is not tropical diving! I actually found it good preparation for diving in the UK - the temperature varies from around 12-17C, so a good wetsuit is essential. Visibility id often fairly low, usually less than 10m. On the other hand, you get the ... more

I've only just realised that Kaikoura, one of my favourite places in the world, is on this site. Just had to tell people a bit about it.

Kaikoura is a small town about 2 hours north of Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. It originated as a fishing and whaling town, and its industries are still based around the sea, but now mainly in the form of tourism. However, it's far from being a stereotypical "tourist hotspot". It feels very like a sleepy little village, and it's easy to get away from things here. I spent 18 months living in NZ, mainly in Christchurch, and did a dive course here, travelling here on a regular basis.

The town is based around a number of water-based activites, the main ones being whale-watching (mainly sperm whales) and swimming with dolphins. The main town is situated on the north side of the peninsula, with the harbour, South Bay, obviously to the south.

The Kaikoura Whalewatch is owned by a local Maori co-operative, who have won awards for the way their tours are run. It's quite a slick operation, with great boats designed expressly for the tours. After a short presentation at the centre, you board buses to travel across to the harbour on the other side of the peninsula (something common to most of these activities). On board, you then see a fantastic short film about the conditions that make these waters so good for whale-watching; this is basically to do with a deep canyon underwater that lies very close to shore. Once whales are spotted, everyone can go up on deck to get a better view. I've done the trip 3 times, and each time saw at least 4 whales. Though friends of mine saw other whales (orcas in their case), you mainly just see the sperm whales the region is famour for, plus dolphins and the odd seal.

The dolphin trips are similarly well-organised. After getting your snorkelling gear fitted out, you watch a presentation at the centre explaining what to do and not to do, then get a bus over to the harbour. You usually have to head a little way offshore to find the dolphin pods. Once they are located, you get kitted up and wait at the back for the signal to drop in the water. Once in, it's up to you to interact with the dolphins to keep them interested (but no touching!); quite often they move off after a short period, so you tend to get on and off the boat a few times. At the end, there's a bit of time allocated to simply following and watching the dolphins, while you hear a bit more about them. This is also the best tme to photograph them from the boat if you're been in the water all the time.

Both activities are very weather-dependent - it has to be safe for the boats to run, but they also have to be able to locate the whales or dolphins. It's not uncommon for trips to be cancelled, so if you're set on a particular activity, it's good to have a spare day or so. It's also advisable to book in advance; although a number of trips run daily, they're very popular.

The main reason I travelled to Kaikoura so often was to dive (I did my Rescue course there). The main dive operation is Dive Kaikoura, a very professional centre based in the main town. They offer a range of courses, as well as single or double tank trips for qualified divers. A word of warning - this is not tropical diving! I actually found it good preparation for diving in the UK - the temperature varies from around 12-17C, so a good wetsuit is essential. Visibility id often fairly low, usually less than 10m. On the other hand, you get the chance to dive around the seals, who sometimes join you in the water, and there's plenty of crayfish if you're out for some food. (In fact, the actual meaning of Kaikoura comes from the Maori "eat crayfish", so it's the signature food in town.)

Other activities include snorkelling with seals, which I've heard is a great tour (I only snorkelled with them at the end of dives, but they're amazing to interact with), and fishing tours. There's also a couple of good walks, the best of these being the walk around the peninsula. There are two versions - the cliff-top walk, and the walk around the shore - the ideal way to do this being to combine the two in a loop back to where you started. The key thing is to be aware of the tides - in some areas the shore walk is impassable at high tide, so you MUST be aware of when high tide is, or you could get cut off. Keep an eye out for seals on the way round - you'll alsmot certainly see them, and occasionally have to edge past an angry-looking one!

For me the best thing about Kaikoura was the scenery and the opportunities for photography. There are some beautiful viewpoints, and it's one of the few places in the world where I will get up for sunrise. The best views are from the "new" pier, and from the seal colony.

A slight problem with Kaikoura is the lack of anything to do if it rains. While you could still go out and do many of the things I've listed, it's not always as fun when the weather's wet. And there's not actualy much to do inside there. There aren't many shops (though there is a small shopping centre on the way out of town to the north), and only a few restaurants and cafes along the high street. One of the few "indoor" things to do is to visit the old whaler's cottage (Fyffe House) on the way to the peninsula, but it's small and doesn't take long. Really, the key thing is to allow enough time for bad weather, and make sure you're staying somewhere nice, in case you spend the day indoors!

And there are plenty of places to stay. Most of my experience is of the backpacker places, of which there are several - I stayed at the Albatross Inn, the Lazy Shag and Lyell Creek Lodge, the latter two of which I especially liked. The Lazy Shag has a great little kitchen, and they recycle nearly everything. As far as I remember, Lyell Creek had no dorms, but was still set up as a backpakcers, with a couple of kitchens and a friendly vibe (but a bit further out from the town centre). But if you're in a group, or just looking to spend a bit more, there are great options for self-catering apartments - I stayed at both "Waves on the Esplanade" and Waterfront Apartments, and would recommend both. Many of them have balconies with (partial) sea views, and quite a few have small hot tubs - great after a dip in the (very chilly) sea! In between these options, there are a number of motels and small hotels, as well as lots of B+Bs. I rarely struggled to find somewhere to stay, even with no booking, but I'd be wary of turning up late with no booking.

There are also a number of good places to eat. If you're in either a hostel or an apartment, you'll be able to self-cater, but it's worth eating out a couple of times. There are some nice cafes along the high street, great for breakfast and lunch, but dinner options are fairly limited. One of the best options is the "Green Dolphin", a small restaurant out towards the peninsula. It's a bit inconvenient if you would rather not drive, but you can walk there from most of the town centre. It' one of the more upmarket places in town, and they stay open fairly late. Othe plces include the Olive Branch and the Craypot. Thee's a nice pub called the Strawberry Tree, and a slightly dodgy-looking pub across the way!

It's much easier to get to Kaikoura with your own transport. The roads to each side are winding and can be frustrating if you get stuck behind a lorry (unbelievably, this road is actually the main route from Christchurch to Picton, on the way to the North Island). There are buses that do the trip, but they don't run very often (a couple per day for each company plus some shuttles), so check the schedule in advance. There are also some trips that do a triangle from Christchurch to Kaikoura then to Hamner Srpngs, a small spa town nearby.

I'd highly recommend a trip to Kaikoura to anyone visiting New Zealand. It's a small, but very scenic place. Don't go expecting nightlife or shopping, but if you want to see the outdoors and get up close to some amazing wildilfe, I couldn't think of anywhere better  

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