The most widely reported

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

incident in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and the only one investigated, involved the Kaikoura lights encountered by aircraft, filmed and tracked by radar in December 1978. The

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

does not take an official interest in UFO reports, but in December 2010 it released files on hundreds of purported UFO reports. New Zealand's then-Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp said at the time people could "make what they will" of the reports, and said "a quick scan of the files indicates that virtually everything has a natural explanation".

1950s

*In 1955 the captain of a

National Airways Corporation National Airways Corporation is a commercial aviation company with its head office on the grounds of Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company offers a range of products and services for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter mark ...

aircraft reported seeing a light that showed apparent movement and changes in colour and intensity. The Director of Intelligence at the Carter Observatory concluded that it was

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

as it rose in the night sky. *A Blenheim farmer claimed to have seen lights and a UFO containing two men in silvery suits in the early morning of 13 July 1959.

1970s

The 21 December 1978 incident in the

Kaikōura Kaikōura () is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1, 180 km north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of (as of ). The town is the governmen ...

area attracted media attention throughout New Zealand and Australia. The crew of a cargo plane reported strange lights over the Kaikōura Ranges and a Wellington radar team reported inexplicable readings. These were filmed by a news crew over several nights.

2010s

*On April 12, 2011, a family in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established ...

observed a fireball-like UFO at 8:55 PM, capturing the incident on camera. One witness stated it resembled a pyramid shape with a round top, later on it appeared to "cool down" with a red ring resembling a

heating element A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. Unlike the Peltier effect, this process is indepen ...

. A week prior, a member of the Hawera Observatory and Astronomical Society observed a similar incident a week prior. A local dairy worker reported a similar sighting in the area during January 17 of the same year. *In June 2016, a spherical UFO was caught on camera near the city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

which rapidly changed colours and sped away after two hours. Two sightings of the object occurred, with both being captured on camera, the changes in colour appeared to be coordinated in the second sighting, which involved two objects. *On 31 March 2019, a couple spotted two lights hovering 200 metres above the water in Karekare Beach in Western

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. One of the two objects reported changed colour and quickly flew away. The couple later spotted 5 others displaying erratic flight patterns and changing their colour.

2020s

*A woman residing in Porirua witnessed three objects hovering over the city in the morning of August 3, 2020. She captured the objects on film and shared them on a local Facebook group, where another resident commented he saw the same objects.

References

External links

Ian Porritt UFO UAP ResearcherUFOCUS NZNew Zealand sightings
at UFOINFO
Original files: New Zealands's UFO sightings

{{UFOs

Historical events in New Zealand

Lists of events in New Zealand