Gooch's (Gooches) Beach

Easily found on the esplanade of Kaikoruka Township, this small beach is fairly rocky but with a generous cover of shade on sunnier days. The coastline of Kaikoura is often sought out by tourists as a whale-watching destination, and communities of seals have been known to frolic close to shore. Parking, public toilets, changing sheds, and a children’s playground are available on the beach itself, and other amenities are readily available in the township proper.

WATER QUALITY

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on March 12th, 2018. Swim Guide NZ updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

Report Pollution

MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

Coastal waters are tested for Enterococci levels.

The council issues an amber alert if a single sample level of Enterococci are greater than 280 units /100ml.

Pulse Energy updates Swim Guide for the latest water quality information daily, Monday - Friday during the swimming season. Data in Swim Guide is sourced from LAWA’s “Can I Swim Here” program.
Visit LAWA’s factsheet on recreational monitoring in NZ here. https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn/factsheets/what-do-the-swim-icons-mean/

A beach has a GREEN current status in Swim Guide when it has met the water quality standard of <280 enterococci/100 mL.

A beach has a RED current status in Swim Guide when samples exceed the water quality criteria of >280 enterococci/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey in Swim Guide when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.

Swimming is not recommended within 48 hours after a heavy rainfall or around storm water outfalls and at stream mouths.

Water quality updates are also available on the CRC’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/canterburyrecwater?v=wall

WATER QUALITY GRAPH