Strong quake jolts Kaikoura overnight

Kaikoura continued to be rocked by nasty late-night tremors with a strong shallow quake hitting the region in the early hours of the morning.

GeoNet recorded the latest strong tremor shaking the quake-battered region at 2am.

The quake's epicentre was 35km north of Kaikoura at just 8km deep.

It was mainly felt around the Marlborough and Wellington regions but some reported it as far afield as Waikato and Taranaki.

Just one minute later a shallow quake struck the central North Island north of Taihape.

The 3.3 quake struck 25km north of Taihape and was felt across the Marlborough and Wellington regions.

GeoNet have previously said the region can expect aftershocks for some time to come with a high probability of strong aftershocks hitting the region in the first 30 days.

It's a fortnight since central New Zealand was rocked by a destructive 7.8 magnitude quake. Kaikoura remains cut off and the army is ferrying in critical supplies by convoy across the Inland Rd.

The road, which reopened briefly on Friday to private vehicles leaving Kaikoura, is only open to vehicles involved with critical infrastructure and army convoys.