Lyttelton Harbour

View of the harbor entrance

The Lyttelton Harbour ( Te Whaka - raupo ) is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula on the coast of the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. The other is Akaroa Harbour.

The from the mouth to Teddington some 15 km long natural harbor created as a result of Caldera Vulkanerruptionen. The steep Port Hills on the north coast are part of the edge of the caldera.

The most important place in the port is Lyttelton, with the Christchurch by the single-track railway tunnel Lyttelton Rail Tunnel (opened 1867) is a two-lane road tunnel opened in 1964 and two streets over the Port Hills connected. Diamond Harbour is located opposite the south bank, the Māoridorf Rapaki west of Lyttelton. In the north- west of the bay is the settlement Governors Bay. The Nature Reserve Quail Iceland is located in the inner part of the harbor, south of the little King Billy Iceland, the island Ripapa Iceland near the south side at the mouth of Purau Bay.

In Lyttelton is a major seaport. 1877 initiated the Lyttelton Harbour Board (now Lyttelton Port Company ) to build the port facilities, which include a warehouse for oil and a modern container terminal. Ripapa Iceland has extensive military fortifications with Fort Jervois and was at the time of World War 1 for the internment of German used, including the " monkfish " Felix Graf von Luckner. Quail Iceland was used by early European settlers as a leper colony and is now a nature reserve.

In the port Hectordelfin and New Zealand Fur Seal occur.