Kaikoura Overview
-
Port
Kaikoura, New Zealand
-
Activity Level
Easy Activity
-
Excursion Type
All
-
Wheelchair Accessible
No
-
Starting At (prices in USD)
$170
-
Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
-
Duration
Approximately 3 Hours
-
Meals Included
Meals not included
Explore like a local on this tour of Kaikoura, a dramatic seaside town with startling contrasts. Along the way, you'll see the Seaward Kaikoura Mountains, soaring to 8,500 feet, while the Pacific Ocean plunges to great depths just off the coastline, creating a trench that is frequented by sperm whales. You'll also learn all about the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rocked Kaikoura -- and indeed all of New Zealand -- in 2016. Evidence of both the earthquake and the recovery is visible everywhere.
Depart the pier and begin your tour at the Ohau Point Seal Lookout. Here, you can see many seals playing along the rocky coastline. It's the perfect place to take photos.
Paparoa Point tells the story of Paikea, the whale rider, and is themed around the connection that the Hikurangi Trench represents between Kaikoura and the east coast of the North Island.
As you continue your way back to Kaikoura, you'll hear more about the historic whaler's cottage known as Fyffe House. Built from native lumber atop a foundation of whale vertebrae, this is quite an interesting architectural statement.
Visit Point Kean, which offers a chance to view a colony of New Zealand fur seals and showcases the uplift of land resulting from the 2016 earthquake.
Finally, survey this astonishing part of the country from the spectacular Peninsula Lookout Point, which offers sweeping panoramas of the sea and the Kaikoura Mountains looming above the town, sometimes capped with snow.
Please note:
Tour requires minimal walking. Suitable for guests with mobility limitations; however, guests must be able to embark and disembark the coach with minimal assistance. Not advisable for guests using a wheelchair. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Shade is limited; to avoid sunburn, wear light, long clothing suitable for use as a cover-up. Bring a hat and sunglasses; wear biodegradable/reef-safe sunscreen. Bring bottled water.