Today’s Monday Escape takes you to sunny Kaikoura, found on New Zealand’s South Island south of the world famous Marlborough wine region.
It’s a beautiful spot for a town – tucked between the sea on one side and the rugged Seaward Kaikoura Range on the other. Kaikoura translates to kai – food and koura – crayfish and was once known soley for the crayfish (lobster) which were caught off its coast. Today, Kaikoura is a tourist mecca for those who want see and swim with dolphins, whales, seals, and other marine life.
The road north and south of Kaikoura slowly meanders its way along the seaside. It’s a jaw dropping ride, so allow plenty of time to stop and take in the views.
I only had a short day to spend in Kaikoura, so was unable to sample the tours which make the town famous. Stay tuned to Backpackingmatt in the coming weeks for my take on the whale-watching and dolphin-swimming experience.
Backpacking Matt 
I spent 5 days in the area, though only one in the town ($45NZ to camp!). The town was too touristy for me, but the area around is mostly untouched, rugged and beautiful.
Nice sunset shot, especially with the panoramic crop!
I definitely left Kaikoura thinking it was a bit touristy – and it is, similar to much of NZ! Like you said, the area surround Kaikoura is pretty amazing. I can’t wait to go back.
$45 to camp sounds absurd! We ended up parking the van along the main esplanade in town, right beside the beach. There were no “No Camping” signs so we felt it was legit. It was a pretty epic spot – you can see the van’s front in the first shot.
Very touristy town, but where else in NZ can you swim with seals? That is the only reason I stopped and had a fab time! Highly recommended.
Exactly! I was a bit shocked to hear you can swim with seals. I would have never guessed! I imagine it was a smelly swim!
I have the worst sense of smell, so I didn’t notice.
But I jumped right into the water to “play” (while most of the girls on my tour just hung onto the raft) and I guess I was too playful, because one nipped my wetsuite and i got three holes in it! The guide was shocked, as apparently that was the first time it happened all season (I went Easter weekend, 2008, agh, two years ago!!) and the season was almost over! But tons of fun, nontheless.
You can do dolphin swims (I liked Akaroa and Bay of Islands), whale and bird watching in other places around the ‘Zed. But no seal swimming:-).
You can swim with the seals in the Able Tasman as well … but seriously … sharks eat seals and humans can’t swim as fast as seals … just saying.
And they smell terribly … I’ll stick with dolphins I think!
You can’t smell in the water and you shouldn’t be getting close enough to seals on land before a swim to smell them! I’m a marine biologist who lived in Kaikoura for 3 years and helped tag seals. I would know 🙂
@Kim Great point, thanks! Next time I’m back maybe …