There’s something about Kaikoura that’s almost other-worldly.
Visiting this piece of paradise high on New Zealand’s South Island firmly reminds you we are just co-tenants on this planet.
The sea is ALIVE here and hundreds of thousands of people visit and rave about the place every year.
But just how long before this popular tourist attraction “re-opens” remains a huge question after access to the region was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on November 13, 2016.
Highways torn apart, rail lines washed into the sea, 1200 tourists stranded with many evacuated by helicopter … it’s devastating for the region’s 3800 residents who are mostly connected to the tourism industry in some way.
The damage bill facing the historic former whaling town that lies in the north-east corner of Canterbury about 2.5 hours drive from Christchurch and two hours from Picton (the popular entry and exit point between the North and South Islands), will run into billions according to Prime Minister John Key.
Kaikoura is one of the favourite places on earth among the Well Travelled team and we wish the people and the village the very best for the long recovery period ahead.
No doubt this region will recover and reinvent itself like it has several times already.
Now most well-known for its incredible whale-watching opportunities, Kaikoura’s first iteration with humans was 900 years ago when the Moa hunters discovered the richness of its environment. But it was the even larger bounty from the sea that took hold.
In the Maori language, ‘kai’ means food and ‘koura’ means crayfish. Still today, the incredible diversity just offshore earns Kaikoura global recognition.
“It’s an amazing place. There’s a deep valley under the ocean there so there’s an upswelling of nutrients and the place is just going crazy offshore. You’ve got dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales feeding on squid down in the Kaikoura Canyon so you can see just about every kind of marine life in there.”
Director and Explorer, James Cameron
Long after the Moa hunters and first maori inhabitants, Europeans first made contact with the area in 1770 when Captain Cook sailed upon the peninsula believing it may have been an island. Regardless, its harvesting potential was immediately evident to Europeans as well and just 63 years later, the first whaling station was in operation.
After a century of hunting Sperm whales, Humpbacks and Fur Seals, the abundant waters ultimately felt the strain of the harpoons and as the ocean stocks diminished, the early settlers began to look inland to develop the farmlands that remain a verdant backdrop to the rejuvenated seas today.
Flanked by the rugged Seaward Kaikoura Range, many of those farms also suffered significant damage in the quake.
Our best wishes go to all who live and work in this beautiful place and we look forward to its next iteration.
