The Kaikōura Peninsula is located on the northeast of New Zealand's South Island. It protrudes into the Pacific Ocean. The town of Kaikōura is located on the north shore of the peninsula. The peninsula has been settled by Māori for approximately 1000 years, and by Europeans since the 19th century, when whaling operations began off the Kaikōura coast. Since the end of whaling in 1922 whales have thrived and the region is now a popular whale watching destination.

The Kaikōura Peninsula is made up of limestone and mudstone which have been deposited, uplifted and deformed throughout the Quaternary. The peninsula is situated in a tectonically active region bounded by the Marlborough Fault System.

History

Māori oral history and tradition describe the demi-god ancestor Māui standing on Kaikōura Peninsula where he 'fished up' or discovered the North Island. An old name for the South Island is Te Waka a Māui (the canoe of Māui), and the name of the North Island is Te Ika a Māui (the fish of Māui). The peninsula has been inhabited by Māori for the best part of 1000 years. They used it as a base for hunting moa, and also harvested the plentiful crayfish which are found along the shore. Strategic positions on the high terraces were fortified and those fortifications can still be seen in lidar imagery of the peninsula.

During the 19th century, European whaling stations were established in the area. In more recent times, the whales that visit the coast off the peninsula have been allowed to thrive, and whale-watching makes the area a popular ecotourism destination. Whales frequent these coastal waters because squid and other deep-sea creatures are brought from the deep Hikurangi Trough to the surface by the combination of currents and steeply sloping seafloor.

Geology and geomorphology

thumb|Wave cut platform formation|left

Kaikōura Peninsula is located on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Formerly an island, it was uplifted from the Pacific Ocean by tectonic processes about 180,000 years ago. At least five further uplift events thousands of years later increased the size of the island, with the lowest terrace being 60,000 years old. Gravel and silt eroded off the Seaward Kaikōura Range by the Kōwhai River and other streams gradually built up a floodplain and connected the island with the mainland, forming a peninsula.

Geologically the peninsula consists of an asymmetrical anticline bounded on either side by two synclines, the axis of which strikes northeast–southwest. The peninsula is made up of two different types of sedimentary rocks, including Amuri limestone of Palaeocene age and Oligocene mudstone. The limestones are Paleocene to Eocene in age, and composed of the calcite skeletons of microscopic plankton and foraminiferans, with chert/flint layers made of the silica skeletons of radiolarians and dinoflagellates. The highest and oldest terrace on the peninsula is 110,000 years old (give or take 20,000 years). Some of the terraces feature sea stacks, conical or chimney-shaped remnants of former hill slopes, shaped by erosion. Shore platforms range from 40 m to over 200 m wide and are cut in Tertiary mudstones and limestones. Weathering lowers the platforms by 0.9 mm/year (limestone) to 2 mm/year (mudstone); the highest rate is in rock 1 m above sea level, caused by subaerial weathering from salt crystal growth and wetting/drying cycles rather than wave or storm erosion. but the terraces are tilting and so surface uplift is variable. and South Beach on the southern side of the peninsula. The largest sphere at South Beach is about 4 m in diameter. The spheres were formed during the Late Cretaceous.

Hutton's shearwater colony

thumb|Te Rae o Atiu colony

The endangered bird species Hutton's shearwater is endemic to the Kaikōura region. As a conservation measure for the species, a new breeding colony (Te Rae o Atiu) was established on the Kaikōura Peninsula in 2005. First, a small transfer of 10 nestlings was sent in April 2005. After that, roughly 100 additional nestlings were moved annually each March in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013. In the first years, there were heavy losses of chicks because of predation by cats. Chicks translocated from the Kowhai colony were hand-fed in artificial burrows to ensure they would imprint on the new colony, and since 2010 have been returning there to breed. A pest-exclusion fence was built around the site in February 2010 by the Hutton's Shearwater Charitable Trust.

There were 27 chicks hatched in the colony in 2024, making this the most successful season to date. Regular weighing of the chicks indicated that parents were struggling to bring back sufficient food for the chicks, and supplementary feeding was provided.

Red-billed gull colony

thumb|Red-billed gull colony, Kaikōura Peninsula

Kaikōura Peninsula is home to New Zealand's largest breeding colony of red-billed gulls / tarāpunga (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus), with an estimated population of 3210 breeding pairs in 2014–2016. In the 1950s there were two breeding areas at Kaikōura. By the late 1960s this had increased to ten colonies spread out around the north and south of the peninsula, Red-billed gulls typically fly several hundred kilometres between their breeding colony, which they return to each year, and sites where they spend the winter, and most birds stay within of their breeding colony. However birds tagged at Kaikōura have been found as far away as Invercargill and Auckland. They may travel or more each day between roosting sites and feeding areas at sea. The red-billed gull is a protected species under the Wildlife Act 1953. Penalties for disturbing or harming the birds include a fine of $100,000 and/or two years' imprisonment.

Seal colony

thumb|Fur seal ([[Arctocephalus forsteri) on Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway]]

The rocky coastal environment of the Kaikōura Peninsula is an ideal habitiat for seal colonies. Large rocks and crevices provide hiding places for pups, and shady areas and rock pools help adult females control their temperature and provide somewhere for pups to learn to swim. There is an ample supply of food (octopus, squid and fish) in the deep water close to shore. In 1956 there was a marked influx of non-breeding New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) to Kaikōura, but numbers declined in the 1960s–1970s. As of 2024, there were several fur seal breeding sub-colonies and smaller non-breeding colonies along the east coast of the Kaikoura Peninsula between Point Kean and Whalers Bay, and also at Lynch's Reef, just off the peninsula. Males come ashore during October and November to establish territories before females arrive to give birth and suckle their pups before mating again. The number of seals on shore decreases in January and February at the end of the breeding season, and increases during the winter months.

The Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway is an 11.7 km-long walkway around the clifftops of the peninsula. The whole walk takes about three hours to complete, but it can be walked in sections. Beginning at Kaikōura, the walkway passes along the Esplanade to a lookout at Point Kean, from where one can see seals and tidal platforms frequented by many types of seabird. The walkway then passes along the clifftops of the peninsula, with side trips down to the shoreline, before looping back to Kaikōura town centre. It is also possible to descend to the coastline and, when tides permit, walk along coastal platforms and beaches to the end of the walkway at South Bay. Information panels along the route describe the history, landscapes and wildlife of the area.

References

  • Walk Canterbury – Kaikoura Peninsula at YouTube
  • Guide to Walking the Kaikoura Peninsula Track, KAIKOURA at Youtube