Kaikoura

Kaikoura is a small town on the North East coast of the South Island. It is a very popular tourist destination and we stopped off here to have a look around.

In 1770 Captain Cook first discovered the Kaikoura peninsula, believing it to be an island. The first shore whaling station was established in 1843 and other whaling stations soon followed. At one stage the industry employed over one hundred men in the Kaikoura district. Whale numbers steadily declined after 1850 and the exportation of them became un-economic, leading whalers to turn to alternative means of existence, such as farming. Whaling continued sporadically until as recently as 1964 when the last of NZ's whaling operations ceased.

Today, the emphasis in Kaikoura is the conservation of marine life, working with a sustainable tourist industry which allows visitors from all over the world to appreciate life in the ocean. In 1978, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was finally passed, providing total protection to New Zealand' s whales, dolphins and seals. Kaikoura lies within the Southern Hemisphere Whale Sanctuary.

Several different species of whale can be seen off Kaikoura at different times of the year, but almost always the huge Sperm Whales. The Orca whale is often sighted in Kaikoura, as well as the occasional sighting of Pilot Whales. Dusky Dolphin and Fur seals, once almost hunted to extinction now have a thriving population here too.