On the south-west side of the island, there is an aquifer exuding fresh water (called Nga Puhake-o-te-ora or "the burp of life").

From the shore Motu o Kura is bare, but from the seaward side, there is enough cover to provide resting sites for blue penguins and sooty shearwaters.

When Jules Dumont d'Urville sailed past in 1827 he reported houses and boats on the seaward side.

[1] The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "island of Kura" for Motu-O-Kura.

[2] According to Māori legend, Kura was a mighty woman who, during times of siege, would dive down to obtain fresh water from the aquifer behind the island under the ocean in the place called Te Puhake o te Ora (well of living waters) as there is no fresh water found on Motu o Kura.