The peninsula has been settled by Māori for approximately 1000 years, and by Europeans since the 1800s, when whaling operations began off the Kaikōura Coast.

Māori oral history and tradition describes the demi-god ancestor Māui standing on Kaikōura Peninsula where he "fished up" or discovered the North Island.

Strategic positions on the high terraces were fortified and those fortifications can still be seen in lidar imagery of the peninsula[2] During the 19th century, European whaling stations were established in the area.

In more recent times, the whales that visit the coast off the peninsula have been allowed to thrive, and whale-watching makes the area a popular ecotourism destination.

Whales frequent these coastal waters because squid and other deep-sea creatures are brought from the deep Hikurangi Trough to the surface by the combination currents and steeply sloping seafloor.

[2] Flights of beaches that fringe the Peninsula record a combination of uplift by earthquakes and sea level fall.

[2] The shore platforms are polycyclic and contain inherent morphological features but are being actively rejuvenated by the removal of cover deposits.