Welcome to Kaikoura

Take SH1 129km southeast from Blenheim (or 180km north from Christchurch) and you’ll encounter Kaikoura, a pretty peninsula town backed by the snow-capped Seaward Kaikoura Range. Few places in the world are home to such a variety of easily spottable wildlife: whale, dolphins, NZ fur seals, penguins, shearwaters, petrels and several species of albatross all live in or pass by the area... Read More

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New Zealand's unmissable aquatic adventures

With the world’s tenth longest coastline and an interior riven with more than 180,000km of charted rivers, it’s no surprise that New Zealand’s cup is overflowing with watery adventures. Surfing, kayaking, rafting, diving, snorkelling, sailing, and even swimming with dolphins or seals, there’s plenty to immerse yourself in.

Bobbing on the rapids as spray whips your skin... few thrills can beat rafting down the Tongariro River in New Zealand. Image by Oliver Strewe / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images

Sarah Bennett and Lee Slater
Lonely Planet Writer

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