24 hours in Kaikoura, New Zealand.

On the road for 24 hours in Kaikoura. Where to stay, eat, hike. What a seaside delight!

As you wend down the SH1 highway that runs inland, you first pass through the wine plains of Blenheim, which then opens up to hug the West Coast of the South Island to Kaikoura; the views of ocean on your left and the mountain ranges rising and falling on your right are a visual tour that winds and changes with every turn of the road. You see massive pine forests, distant farms, and precipitous vistas.

Kaikoura is a coastal town known for its abundant wildlife and its sperm whale population. The Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway begins at land’s end from the single road through the town. Another location for seals galore. That’s when you know you are near Kaikoura — the Ohau seal colony by the seaside; they have just finished building out a proper viewing area to stop, look over the cliff and view what must be hundreds of seals.

This is a mellow place; at first, it seems like there’s not a whole lot to explore; yet, seemingly endless outdoor wonders can be planned.

After watching parents and baby seals frolic, we decided we were too hungry to have a formal lunch, and also too far away from town. So we looked up roadside eating and found the highly rated Nins Bin to get great crayfish (N Zealand lobster). So worth a stop! Get the wet towels out! Watch for spikes. Dig in!

And then comes Hapuku Lodge.

Decidedly not a lot of great hotels or lodges to choose from, we chose the best in the area: the Hapuku Lodge — the amazing, luxurious, integrated into its surroundings, Hapuku Lodge + Tree houses.

Serving no more than a few dozen guests, the property was spacious, giving you a sense you could truly carve out your own retreat and “climb” into your treehouse and just soak up the views. Everything was consistent to the vision — quiet, luxurious, spare in a Nordic style.

All the rooms, if you can call them that, were built of wood and indeed resembled treehouses. We stayed in the newest one— the Oliver. Two bedroom suite.

Mouths agape, we toured the room, took in the views and shook our heads in disbelief at how every detail was covered in spare, but detailed luxury.

Also noteworthy, the treehouse is about 20 minutes north of Kaikoura town. The service was superb; the dinner and breakfast perhaps some of the best we have ever had.

The Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway winds from the town centre to lookout points at Point Kean. Close by, the rock platforms are home to a colony of New Zealand fur seals. When the tide is low, the rock formations seem to go on forever. Some are smooth and easy to navigate; some sharp spines carved from storms.

After a long walk — and you could easily go for hours, — we had collected a few unusual shells, seen many a seal and embraced the wildness of it all. As many people as were hiking, the roar of the ocean drowned all conversation out.

By the time we got back to the car, knowing it was nearly time to continue south to Queenstown, we had built up a considerable hunger. For what? Crayfish! The “koura” in Kaikoura means “crayfish”.

So we took the recommendation of the Hapuku Lodge concierge, and a local shop person and went to the dive bar and hotel, the Piers Hotel.

The hotel felt like it had been there forever (122 years in fact), with gnarly seaman having a pint and watching rugby giving it a genuine local flavor. The interior was fresh in its sparkling wood interior and smiling staff. Everyone ordered crayfish. We would have eaten outside, but with the pesky seagulls we chose an open window seat and dug in. The picture says it all.

The crayfish looks just like a lobster, just more thorny; it is also slightly less sweet than Maine lobsters, but oh so good. And the fries were a great compliment.

One activity we regret not doing — going on the Whale Watch tour. Kaikoura is a permanent home to sperm whales, dolphins and other wildlife. One company, run by the Maori, doesn’t just give tours in their boats (like you might in Cape Cod, MA) but they live the experience, it is a mission.

Seals, nature, treehouses, great food, always smiling folks, sun, sea and mountains…24 hours in Kaikoura is not enough. If you go, give it two days minimum.