The Kaikoura area has some spectacular coastal walks.

The sleepy seaside town of Kaikoura is the best place in New Zealand to swim with dolphins.

Some 180km north of Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, it is backed by the snow-capped Seaward Kaikoura mountains.

As well as the dusky dolphins, Kaikoura is an excellent place to spot rare Hector dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, wandering albatross, blue penguins and sperm whales (appropriately, the peninsula Kaikoura sits on is shaped like whale flukes).

The one-kilometre-deep Hikurangi Trench which lies just off the Kaikoura Peninsula is what attracts Kaikoura's abundant marine life. Warm and cold ocean currents also converge here, creating a nutrient-rich habitat.