Kaikoura

Boats run by the local Maori community head over the canyon for sperm whales. Rough seas can cancel a trip just before departure, so booking your first day leaves room to go again the next. Seasickness is common, and many take a tablet ahead of time.

In a wetsuit you swim beside pods of dusky dolphins that travel in their hundreds. They come closer to people making noise, so guides tell you to sing through the snorkel. The early morning boats fill first, so they need booking far ahead.

The undersea canyon deepens right off the shore, which brings ocean birds close to land. The boat stops and floats a block of fish oil, and albatrosses and petrels settle a few metres off the side. Some spread wings wider than 3 metres.

Fur seals sprawl over rocks right by the peninsula's far-end car park, in view as you step out. They match the rock and people walk up unaware; the Department of Conservation asks for 20 metres of space. Never stand between a seal and the sea.

From the car park a clifftop path crosses the peninsula to South Bay. The shore route below can be walked only on a low tide, so look up the tide times first. From above you see seals and seabirds on rock shelves the 2016 earthquake pushed up.

Built in the 1840s whaling station days, it is the oldest building left in town. Some of the piles holding it up are whale vertebrae, and you can peer at them through the gap under the floor. Opening hours shift by season, and in winter it shuts early.

Whaling tools, Maori treasures and records of the 2016 earthquake gathered in one place. It sits in one building with the council offices and library, so from the street it hardly looks like a museum. It suits a day when wind or swell keeps the boats in.

The mountain behind the town; from the summit the peninsula and sea lie spread out like a map. The climb has almost no shade the whole way, so take lots of water and leave in the early morning. Some sleep at the hut partway up and come down the next day.

Drive the coast road north of town and hundreds of seals gather on the rocks just below a roadside car park. The lookout was rebuilt along with the highway after the 2016 earthquake brought the road down. Use the car park rather than stopping on the shoulder.

A beach off the highway above town where waves peel for a long stretch down the point, which is what draws surfers. The bottom is round boulders rather than sand, so walking in barefoot is hard. The water is cold enough for a thick wetsuit even in summer.

A light plane or helicopter circles above the offshore trench while sperm whales blow below. From the air the whole body shows through the water, so the size hits harder than from a boat. It suits anyone who fears seasickness.

A tour snorkelling into the kelp off the peninsula to swim among New Zealand fur seals. Young seals are curious and come circling you first. Thick wetsuits are lent against the chill, and touching or chasing the seals is banned.

A scenic train between Picton and Christchurch that, north of Kaikoura, hugs the thin shore between mountains and sea. The 2016 earthquake wrecked the line, which was later rebuilt. Services are seasonal, so confirm its operating months first.