Up close and personal: Kaikōura's wild shores

The Pacific Ocean surrounds Kaikōura, a dramatic and wildlife-filled peninsula on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, approximately a two-hour drive north of Christchurch.

Any time of year is good to visit Kaikōura, where its moods change with the seasons and its colours with the sea, from molten silver [sunrises] to ethereal, thick mists, to brilliantly blue skies with potent sunshine.

Kaikōura’s name in te reo Māori translates from ‘kai’ (food) and ‘koura’ (crayfish, a lobster-like crustacean). Smaller roadside stops serving up fresh seafood abound and are frequented by locals and visitors alike.

Nin’s Bin is a family-owned Kaikōura classic. The roadside diner is 20 minutes outside of Kaikōura and a favourite roadside stop for travellers, as well as a top lunch spot for locals. The menu is simple: fresh mussels and crayfish.

Johnny Clark, the owner of Nin’s Bin, wears the local uniform of a sweater, jeans, and boots. The clothing is practical for working on land nestled between the mountains and sea.

Pastel tones herald the start of another day in Kaikōura, a peninsula framed by a wall of 2,800-metre mountains and the Pacific Ocean, which plunges into the Kermadec Trench, an underwater canyon more than 1,300-metre-deep, located a half-mile offshore that bursts with marine life.

Kaikōura is famous for its abundant marine life right off its coast – sperm whales, fur seals, penguins, and frisky pods of dusky dolphins, which love to ride a boat’s wake.

Visitors can get up close and personal with Kaikōura’s marine life. Activities include swimming alongside wild dolphins, whale watching encounters and kayaking.

Brett Cowan, a kaumātua, a respected elder in Māori society. He volunteers his time teaching conservation and martial arts and also plays the saxophone.

Illustrator Christoph Niemann is one of many artists who have found inspiration in Kaikōura’s ever-changing landscapes. Here he pulls out his sketchbook at the Point Kean Seal Colony, a popular local viewpoint.