Kaikōura’s underwater canyon creates a year-round upwelling that supports resident sperm whales and seasonal visits from humpback, blue and southern right whales. The vessel-based tour, the country’s only one of its kind, keeps everyone seated and dry, with a good chance of fur seals, dusky dolphins and the odd wandering albatross along the way.

For those who want to get closer to the water, a pedal-powered kayak along the Kaikōura Peninsula gets within metres of New Zealand fur seals without disturbing them. For anyone who’d rather stay on land, a coastal walk covers the same stretch of coastline from the cliffs above.

Taiaroa Head holds the only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross in the world, viewed from an observatory built into the headland, birds with a wingspan up to three metres gliding past at close range. A wildlife cruise around the same headland adds fur seals basking on the rocks and, with some luck, sea lions and little blue penguins in the water.

A guided tour at a private conservation reserve gives a chance to see yellow-eyed penguins, the rarest penguin species in the world, from camouflaged hides, alongside New Zealand fur seals and the occasional sea lion. Larnach Castle, New Zealand’s only castle, built in 1871 on the same peninsula, makes for a gentler counterpoint for anyone who’d rather skip the walk to the hides.

A short water taxi crossing reaches Ulva Island, a predator-free sanctuary where birdlife once driven from the mainland, saddlebacks, yellowheads, Stewart Island robins, has thrived undisturbed for decades. The walking is easy and flat, suited to all ages, with a chance of a Hooker’s sea lion on the beach as a bonus.

Stewart Island is one of the few places left where kiwi can reliably be seen in the wild rather than in an enclosure. A guide leads a quiet evening walk through coastal forest, with a very high success rate for spotting the Stewart Island brown kiwi (tokoeka) feeding after dark.