A seafood surprise

KAIKORA, CANTERBURY, SOUTH ISLAND - 30th January 2010

Breaking up the spare day between my relaxing couple of nights in Christchurch and today's ferry back to North Island from Picton, I spent last night in the coastal town of Kaikora, famed for the abundance of whales and dolphins that inhabit the waters just off its coast, as well as the colony of seals that pass their time dozing on the rocks on the outskirts of town.

Arriving late afernoon, I donned the hiking boots and took on the 4 hour 20km Peninsula Walk, that follows the coastline all the way around the rugged Kaikora peninsula, past the seal colony and culminating in an ascent up and over the central hilltop that runs like a spine from the mainland - the latter being timed perfectly for probably the best sunset of my travels so far.


The new camera earned its keep with photos like those above (that will appear soon enough), but having bothered to learn how to take slightly greater advantage of its capabilities over the previous 24 hours or so, I was able to take some pretty special snaps descending the other side of the hill back to town; the full moon glistening over a twillit sky leaving its eerie glow over the wild South Island vegetation.

I never miss the opportunity to talk about good food, and Kairkora can proudly claim the honour of hosting what is surely one of my Top 5 Eating establishments in terms of pure value. Out on its own, secluded from town with no other building in sight in any direction, stands the shack of Kaikora Seafood BBQ - a roadside stall located on the road/track that runs one-way towards the end of the peninsula. Here, you get the day's freshest seafood prepared in front f you at barely a cut above market prices - in effect, the best quality fish in town for the lowest price. LPG recommended, part of the reason for undertaking the big walk was the knowledge I'd be passing this place en route.

Of course, in my world things are rarely so simple, and after walking for half an hour from town to reach the shack, I discovered I had next to no cash... with time running out before the place closed. It was either a return walk back to my car and sacking off the Peninsula Walk (it'd get too dark to complete it if I turned around), or miss the some of best seafood in New Zealand. Bad times...

However, fate clearly agreed that it owed me some good cards, because after glumly walking 5 minutes up the road I starting chatting to a local who was parked on the roadside digging up weeds to take home for feed for his rabbits. I was after a lift back to my car in order to get to an ATM, but he was having none of it - he just gave me a $10 bill straight off on the basis that "it's the season, isn't it?", and dropped me off right outside the BBQ Shack. Crayfish lobster is the local speciality - you can't get it fresher anywhere else - so a few minutes later I was enjoying an excellent crayfish fritter toasted sandwich, all thanks to one geneous Kiwi!