Kaikōura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1, 180 km north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of 2,400.
The town is the governmental seat of the territorial authority of the Kaikōura District, which is politically a part of the Canterbury region. Kaikōura was the first local authority in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve recognition by the EarthCheck Community Standard.
The infrastructure of Kaikōura was heavily damaged in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, with one of the two deaths near the town. The bay and surrounding region were uplifted by as much as 2 metres.