A Week in Kaikōura | New Zealand

When planning my summer on New Zealand’s South Island, I decided to include a week in Kaikōura for one main reason: whale watching. I’m a big fan of marine wildlife (as long as it’s observed in an ethical, conservation-oriented way) and past experiences have included spotting orcas near Vancouver Island, dolphins at New Zealand’s Bay of Islands, sea kayaking in Monterey Bay, California, and of course endless wildlife in Antarctica. Kaikōura has the honour of being home to sperm whales – a species I’d yet to see! – year round, along with various other marine mammals. I spent a full week here, with several water-based activities at the weekend. Along with some walking trails and relaxation time after work through the week.

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The Coastal Pacific Train

I’m travelling New Zealand by public transport as much as possible. Most of my journeys will be by bus, but the country has a couple of train lines that I was eager to check out! These are mainly tourist trains, not used regularly by locals and are a bit pricier. But something I was happy to splurge on! The first is the Coastal Pacific line, which links Picton to Christchurch. I travelled the entire route across two journeys, with my week in Kaikōura breaking it up in the middle.

The train is spacious and comfortable, with windows stretching up into the roof so you can see everything. There’s also commentary available via a mobile app, which I listened to throughout to learn about what I was seeing. The observation car has open windows, without glass, which is better for pictures. But they offer a narrower field of vision and I had to stoop to see out, so I actually felt I could see more from my comfy seat! It also rained a bit both days, obscuring the views somewhat.

From Picton, we travelled through the flat vineyards of the Marlborough region. A highlight was the bright pink Lake Grassmere and its salt evaporation ponds! The train then meets the coastline, following it south alongside the wild Pacific Ocean and through tunnels carved into the hills. Kaikōura actually suffered a severe earthquake in 2016 and was cut off by road and rail for several weeks. A monument to the workers who fixed everything after now stands at Kaikōura railway station. The second half of the journey, when I left for Christchurch, continued along the coast further. Then it turns inland again, cruising through rural farmland and onto the Canterbury Plains. The coastal portion was the most scenic in my opinion!

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Whale Watching

Kaikōura’s rich marine ecosystem is largely courtesy of its underwater geology. A vast trench in the ocean floor just offshore provides abundant feeding grounds. The whole area actually uplifted during the 2016 earthquake, so it’s fascinating to think about how different the coast looked before. Luckily, the marine wildlife wasn’t disturbed too much and stuck around after the quake. If you’re here over winter (May to October), you might see humpback, southern right or even blue whales during their migration. In summer, you can still go out to look for the resident sperm whales. Interestingly, only males live here and they do leave at times to find females for breeding. But there are pretty much always a few in the area at any given time.

I headed out early in the morning with Whale Watch Kaikōura. This was the first time I’d been on a whale watching boat where we had to remain indoors and seated for parts of the journey, due to the speed over the choppy waves that morning. We stopped periodically to check for whales as the crew lowered a hydrophone into the sea to listen out for them. Meanwhile guests kept their eyes peeled, but could also enjoy views of the peninsula, its distant mountains strewn with long, white clouds.

Finally, we came across a sperm whale, whom they identified as a male named Tūmanako who is at least 30 years old or so. We watched him breathing near the surface for a while, gently rising and falling with the waves. Until eventually he prepared to dive, offering us a perfect photo shot of his tail before disappearing into the deep. I find whales are so majestic and impressive and peaceful to observe, and I feel very lucky to have gotten to see yet another species.

Dusky Dolphins

On our way back to shore, we had enough time to explore the coast a little, in search of other marine species. And as luck would have it, a pod of twenty or so dusky dolphins came to say hello! This small species have recognisable black and white markings and were feeling pretty playful! It was hard to get photos or videos of them since they moved so fast, jumping and twirling out of the water all around our boat! It was so fun and exciting to watch, especially for only my second time seeing dolphins in the wild. A very memorable way to cap off the boat trip!

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Sea Kayaking

I’d just been sea kayaking in Abel Tasman the weekend before, but the possibility of more marine wildlife here was too good to resist going again! Plus, I just enjoy kayaking in general anyways. I’d signed up for a late afternoon excursion with Kaikōura Kayaks. The weather was distinctly more overcast than in the morning, but luckily no rain though! Often when I go kayaking, as a solo traveller, I end up paired with a guide. Which is great when they’re steering and for being up close to the wildlife! But this time there was one other single, so she and I shared. She was brand new to kayaking, so I ended up steering and doing most of the paddling.

We were paddling around some rocks just off the southern side of the peninsula. The hope was to see some dolphins again, so we headed away from shore. Along the way, we came across this interesting shark-looking fish that no one was quite sure what it was. But it was cool to see it willingly swim under our kayaks! We managed to catch a glimpse of some dolphins as they swam away from the rocks, heading south. They were a little far away to see very well but we caught a glimpse of a baby dolphin calf with the pod!

The rest of our time was spent alongside the rocks, where numerous New Zealand fur seals lounge and make their home. Like the sperm whales, these are all males who will have to venture out to find mates. The females and pups are further up the coast and I passed them on the train! We counted dozens of seals here, their dark fur disguising them in the rocks. Then it was time to paddle back in and return to land.

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Kaikōura Town & Esplanade

Throughout my working week in Kaikōura, I headed out to wander and explore the town in the evenings. Since it was rainy when I arrived, I couldn’t see much of the surrounding landscape. So I was astounded the next day to wake up to see the majestic mountains that surround the town. The weather was mixed all week but there were enough good days to get out for walks.

The town’s main street curves down the coastline, right next to the beach and esplanade. The streets further inland are mainly residential. There were some nice cafes and gift shops to browse and of course, I had to get fish & chips for dinner one night. “Kōura” is actually the word for crayfish in Te Reo Māori, but it was a bit too pricey for my budget! I also went to the local cinema one evening (Wicked came out that week), which was a vintage-looking pink picture-house building, The Mayfair.

I also walked the length of the beach and esplanade a couple of times, enjoying the views of the coast and the mountains. It was late spring / early summer, so there were lots of wildflowers in bloom, bright pops of colour amidst the blues and greens. The beach itself is pebbled, so not the comfiest to sit or lie down on, though it wasn’t quite warm enough for that anyways. There is also a grassy esplanade with various small gardens and statues to check out along the way too.

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Kaikōura Museum

Kaikōura might be a small town, but it’s got enough history to have its own little museum. You do have to pay an entry fee, which goes towards the upkeep. But it’s certainly a good option for an indoor, rainy day activity! It’s on the ground floor of the library building on the main street, so easy to access. The first, smallest room had an exhibition on local surfing. The coast here has some good waves for it, being on the Pacific Ocean, so it’s one of the most popular spots in New Zealand. People have been coming here for decades!

The main exhibit is a large room crammed full of local artefacts and memorabilia. There’s a good amount of emphasis on its natural history and the wildlife, which makes a lot of sense from what I’d seen so far! But there are also things about the history of the town and its people, both Māori and European, who choose to live on this rugged little Pacific peninsula. And of course, their connection to the sea and the prominent fishing industry.

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Kaikōura Lookout

One of the longer walks I took after work during the week was up to Kaikōura Lookout. While much of the town sits by the coast, the headland of the peninsula is pretty high up. Even higher now after the uplift from the earthquake! The lookout is next to the water tower at the end of Scarborough Street and you can drive up if you prefer. I walked through the town, following Churchill and then Scarborough Streets. It was a fairly slow, steady incline for the most part. The views started to appear even before I reached the lookout, as I headed further out onto the peninsula and could see the ocean on both sides.

At the lookout, you turn to look back inland and get to see the town below and the mountains on the horizon. On the other side of the peninsula lies the smaller village of South Bay, sitting at the end of a long, sandy bay. The mountains here aren’t as big or numerous as those of the Southern Alps, which I had yet to experience, but were still an impressive introduction to the South Island’s scenery!

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Peninsula Walk

On the final day of my week in Kaikōura, my train onwards to Christchurch wasn’t until late afternoon, so I had most of the day to explore. I took a much longer hike today, tackling the Peninsula Loop that crosses over to South Bay and then circles all the way around the peninsula’s coastline and back to town. It takes around 3 hours to complete – longer depending on how much time you spend looking at seals! The route started on Scarborough Street once again, but then took a right turn onto the peninsula walkway. The track led me down to South Bay, with more lovely views along the way. I strolled through the small village, passing the harbour full of whale watching boats again.

Then what goes down, must come up again it seems! At the end of the village, I rejoined the proper hiking track and tacked the steep uphill climb to the top of the peninsula’s cliffs. Definitely the most strenuous part of the hike! But from here, you can view the rocky outcrops and dazzling blue bays that ring the peninsula below. There is a point where you can descend the cliff and follow a low-level trail next to the rocks and the seals. I stayed above though, soaking in the vast, epic views all around. I could certainly see plenty of seals from above as well!

Seal Colony

Towards the end of the loop, at the southern end of the main town, I was able to descend to visit the seals. You could walk back around the coast on the lower path here as well, but I was a bit too tired to go that far now! Instead, I walked straight out towards the sea to look at the seals closest to town. It can get slippery and the rocks are pretty big so do be careful! I also felt some people were getting far too close to the seals when taking photos. As slow and sedate as they seem, these are still wild animals. It’s important not to crowd them or stress them out!

I tried to maintain what I felt was a good distance and was able to see them clearly and get plenty of decent photos. They can be pretty entertaining to watch, like when I saw them scratching their ears like a dog. And they’re so elegant in the water, yet so clumsy and floppy on land! Getting to observe wildlife fairly close like this, surrounded by such rugged, beautiful scenery, is certainly a privilege and an incredible experience.

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A Week in Kaikōura

I ended up really liking my week in Kaikōura and would probably end up ranking it amongst my top locations in New Zealand! Which makes sense for someone like me who enjoys looking for marine wildlife, being on the water and going hiking. I can understand why Kaikōura might not be for everyone, if those things aren’t your cup of tea. I think I was mostly surprised by how pretty the town was, helped by those springtime wildflowers. I’d only really seen pictures of whales and dolphins and seals, so the scenery was a pleasant backdrop for all that coastal exploring!

Seeing more dolphins while kayaking would have been cool, but you can never guarantee wild animal encounters. Which is part of why it’s such a joy when you do spot them! Overall, I was delighted with what I got to see this week. And much of my South Island trip will be focused on mountains and lakes, so a week by the coast, learning more about the ocean, made for a nice change. From here, it was south to Christchurch for a quick overnight stopover. Then inland to those aforementioned mountains and Lake Tekapo!