Seaward Kaikōura Range

The rugged high peaks of the Seaward Kaikōura Range tower above the coast. Manakau, the highest peak on the range, is only 12km from the coast, and in winter the snowy summits seem tantalisingly close. The range experiences climatic extremes – dry in summer, southerly storms and snow in winter. Vegetation cover was greatly modified in Polynesian times by burning and later by pastoral clearing. Pockets of original podocarp forest remain, and some Halls tōtara and red beech on higher slopes. There are extensive areas of subalpine scrub, kānuka and mānuka. The range was formed by rapid land uplift, and there is much evidence of faulting and erosion on the upper slopes.
Ka Whata Tu o Rakihouia Clarence Conservation Park straddles the Seaward Kaikōura Range and includes the eastern side of the Inland Kaikōura Range.