Often grown as an ornamental, but occurs naturally north of Greymouth and Kaikoura near the sea and, as the name suggests usually on rocks.
Freight trains also pass through the town, mainly carrying freight between the marshalling yards at Middleton in Christchurch and the Interislander rail ferries at Picton.
It is popular with Scuba divers and the site is served by local dive shops in Picton and Kaikoura.
The most important are the Soundsplash Eco Reggae Festival in Raglan, the Kaikoura Roots Festivaland and Coromandel Gold, a New Years event featuring New Zealand reggae and dub bands in the Coromandel Peninsula, and local reggae artists are an integral part of the live music scene.
Kaikoura |
The line was envisaged to then follow a series of inland valleys (such as those of the Conway and Charwell Rivers) to Kaikoura.
Construction then proceeded up the Leader River valley as part of a somewhat inland route to Kaikoura via river valleys, but the start of World War I brought a halt to construction and the 3 km of track laid beyond Parnassus was removed.