27 Facts About Kaikoura

Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Kaikoura was the first local authority in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve recognition by the EarthCheck Community Standard.

Infrastructure of Kaikoura was heavily damaged in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, with one of the two deaths near the town.

Kaikoura reported seeing four double hulled canoes approaching HMS Endeavour containing 57 Maori.

In 1827 or 1828, Kaikoura was the site of a battle between the Ngati Toa and Ngai Tahu.

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In 1985 a group of local Kaikoura people established a tourist centre, and began promoting Kaikoura as a tourist destination.

Kaikoura Peninsula extends into the sea south of the town, and the resulting upwelling currents bring an abundance of marine life from the depths of the nearby Hikurangi Trench.

The name Kaikoura means 'meal of crayfish' and the crayfish industry still plays a role in the economy of the region.

However Kaikoura has now become a popular tourist destination, mainly for whale watching and swimming with or near dolphins.

Kaikoura is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers 9.

In Maori mythology, Kaikoura Peninsula was the seat where Maui sat when he fished the North Island up from the depths of the sea.

Kaikoura canyon is a submarine canyon located southwest of the Kaikoura Peninsula.

Whale watching is a popular tourist attraction for Kaikoura, and is an important contributor to the local economy.

Several species of dolphin can be seen in the waters off Kaikoura, including Dusky dolphins, and the endangered Hector's dolphin.

From a local conservation perspective, particularly notable seabirds in the Kaikoura region include the Hutton's shearwater, the Red-billed gull, and the Little penguin.

Hutton's shearwater or Kaikoura titi is an endangered seabird in the family Procellariidae.

Conservation organizations in Kaikoura rescue stranded birds for later release, and advocate for reduced lighting.

The Kaikoura peninsula has one of the three largest breeding colonies of these gulls, but the local population is in significant decline.

Hikurangi Marine Reserve is a marine reserve off the Kaikoura coast, covering an area of 10,416 hectares south of the township, and including part of the Kaikoura canyon.

In 2020, the GDP of the Kaikoura District was $232 million, with an annual growth for the region of 1.

Kaikoura Airport is mainly used for whale spotting tourist flights but it can be used by small private and charter flights.

Kaikoura is served by the Main North Line, the northern section of the South Island Main Trunk Railway.

Kaikoura was served by the Coastal Pacific long-distance passenger train, formerly called the TranzCoastal, which connected the town with Christchurch to the south, Picton and the Cook Strait ferries to the north until 2021.

Kaikoura Station was the last station in New Zealand to have a refreshment room for passengers, which closed in 1988 when the Coastal Pacific Express introduced on-board refreshments.

Main newspapers for Kaikoura are the Wednesday weekly Kaikoura Star and Monday to Friday late morning daily The Marlborough Express.

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The club was first established in 1914 with the first Kaikoura Trotting Cup won by a horse called Kintail owned by Albert Edgar and trained by Billie Honeybone.

In 2021, the Kaikoura Trotting Cup weekend, normally held in early November was transferred to Addington Raceway in Christchurch due to Covid-19 restrictions.