Hundreds of Kaikoura residents and visitors have been evacuated from the quake-devastated township on a navy ship overnight, with the military now turning its attention to delivering supplies to those staying put.

The North Canterbury town was completely cut off by Monday's magnitude 7.8 quake, with quake damage and landslides blocking roads and highways, destroying water infrastructure, and knocking out power and communications.

Some 450 evacuees, plus four dogs and seven tonnes of luggage arrived in Christchurch on HMNZS Canterbury about 12.30am on Thursday, the New Zealand Defence Force said.

SUPPLIED An evacuee boards an inflatable vessel to transport them to the HMNZS Canterbury.

They were "in good spirits" after arriving at Lyttelton Port, the Canterbury Regional Emergency Management Office said.

READ MORE:

* Live: Magnitude 7.5 NZ earthquake

* Response teams gather in Kaikoura, waiting for navy ship

* Overland relief reaches Kaikoura

* Slow process to freedom for tourists

* Seal breeding ground destroyed by quake

* Earthquake: Aftershocks pass the 1500 mark

* Kaikoura's inland road a priority: Stuart Smith

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ Evacuees disembark after their journey from Kaikoura to Christchurch.

The evacuees took buses into Christchurch for the night.

The ship's journey had been expected to take until 2am or 3am, but the Canterbury picked up speed during its journey.

Many others in Kaikoura – regular population 3550 – were staying put, awaiting the completion of a new inland road link.

On Wednesday, a convoy of a water truck, loader, digger and support vehicle slowly made their way by road from Christchurch to Kaikoura, with engineers monitoring slips as they went.

It was hoped the precarious road, via Mt Lyford, could open by the weekend.

TOURISTS IMPRESSED WITH QUAKE RESPONSE

SAM SHERWOOD/FAIRFAX NZ German tourists Klara Loos and Dominik Hahne stayed overnight at Uni Halls in Christchurch after being evacuated from quake-stricken Kaikoura.

German tourists Klara Loos and Dominik Hahne know firsthand how an earthquake can change someone's travel plans.

Their bikes are in Picton, they had to leave their rental car behind in Kaikoura, and now they are staying at University of Canterbury's University Hall after arriving on the HMNZS on Thursday morning.

"It's nice to be on safer ground. It's not that important to have showers really, we're looking at destroyed houses, we were in our tent," Loos said.

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ Evacuees from Kaikoura arrive after sailing overnight.

"What do we have to complain about? We are thinking about the people in Kaikoura, even the night of the earthquake there were people with us who didn't know what their houses were like – we felt like we have not much to worry about."

The couple were staying in their tent in Kaikoura when the earthquake struck. Loos said they had planned to drive to Picton on Monday to take the ferry to Wellington.

"It was like 'what's going on here? Who's shaking our tent?'

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ Evacuees arrive at Christchurch's Horncastle Arena on Thursday morning.

"We sat up and had to hold onto the ground. It was a big surprise. We had never experienced an earthquake before and never imagined this would happen."

Hahne said it was good to see how fast the community pulled together.

"The earthquake was really a surprise for everybody – to me it seemed surprising how organised everything was. People set up, came and got something to eat and something to drink."

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ A family sits and waits for their luggage, having arrived in Christchurch this morning on the HMNZS Canterbury.

The couple had hired a rental car and would travel around the bottom of the South Island while they waited to hear if they could get a bus to Picton to collect their bikes and head to the North Island. They planned to return to Germany on November 29.

"Earthquakes can change your travel plans," Loos said.

Campus living director of marketing Shelly Peebles said they were asked to work with Civil Defence to help accommodate people from Kaikoura once they arrived in Christchurch.

"They were all taken to Horncastle Arena [Thursday] morning and those people who were suitable for accommodation came here, many people had other places to go."

Peebles said the three busloads of evacuees were happy to be out of Kaikoura.

"I understand the food on the boat was really excellent, they have been treated really well.

SUPPLIED Evacuees rest aboard the HMNZS Canterbury en route to Christchurch.

"They were tired obviously after the long journey but in good spirits and were really happy to be here."

NZDF FOCUSES ON SUPPLIES

The Defence Force was turning its attention to delivering vital aid supplies to those people.

SUPPLIED Evacuees on their mattresses on the HMNZS Canterbury.

"The evacuation has been a complete success," Acting Joint Forces Commander Air Commodore Darryn Webb said.

We achieved our immediate priority, which is to evacuate as many displaced people as possible from Kaikoura."

HMNZS' Commanding Officer Commander Simon Rooke said the evacuation was aided by good weather.

SUPPLIED Evacuees board the HMNZS Canterbury in Kaikoura.

"It is a matter of pride for us all that Canterbury has been able to assist the communities affected by the earthquake, since she was also at the forefront of disaster relief efforts when a massive earthquake struck Christchurch in 2011."

EARLIER EVACUATIONS

Another 165 evacuees were airlifted out of Kaikoura on NZDF helicopters throughout Wednesday.

The helicopters also delivered about 8000 kilograms of food, water and other supplies for those remaining in Kaikoura.

About 6pm on Wednesday, an Air Force Hercules air-dropped about 5000 litres of water.

Earlier in the day, it delivered a power generator and a water purification system from Linton Military Camp in Manawatu.

Warships from Australia, Canada and the United States, in New Zealand for the Navy's 75th anniversary celebrations, were retasked to assist the relief effort.

The HMAS Darwin arrived in Kaikoura late on Wednesday night and the HMCS Vancouver and USS Sampson cruised in early Thursday morning.

Surveillance aircraft from Japan and the United States also conducted surveys of quake-damaged areas on Wednesday.

On Monday and Tuesday, private planes and helicopters were chartered to airlift a large group of Chinese nationals and international tourists from the area.