Planning a trip to Kaikoura
Visitor Information
The Kaikoura i-SITE Visitor Centre is located at the south end of the town's main carpark, West End (tel. 03/319-5641; www.kaikoura.co.nz or www.naturallykaikoura.co.nz). It has comprehensive displays of all the town's attractions and can organize transport.
Special Events
Do your utmost to be here for the first week of October for Seafest in Takahanga Domain (tel. 0800/473-2337; www.seafest.co.nz), Kaikoura's crazy and delicious celebration of the ocean and its extravaganza of tastes.
Getting There
Traveling on State Highway 1, Kaikoura is an easy 2 1/2-hour drive from Christchurch - unless you use this opportunity to stop over in the Waipara wine region, in which case you should allow a whole day. It is approximately 2 hours south of Blenheim. You can also go by train and the TranzCoastal (tel. 0800/872-467 in NZ; www.tranzscenic.co.nz) is certainly a lovely trip. As a round-trip day trip from Christchurch, it costs NZ$88 for adults and NZ$62 for children ages 2 to 14, but check online for cheaper fares. The train gives you around 5 1/2 hours to explore Kaikoura or go whale-watching. It departs Christchurch at 7:30am and returns at 7pm. One-way fares are also available. ATSNZ Hanmer Connection (tel. 0800/242-663; www.atsnz.com) provides a shuttle service to Kaikoura via Hanmer Springs on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; InterCity (tel. 09/623-1503) and Newmans (tel. 09/623-1504) both pass through the township.
