Honda NSX
Despite being on holiday, we needed to be out of the house at 0800. Kim was helping a friend out with a pre-purchase inspection of a Honda NSX. We had to go to Belfast to meet a mechanic who then sent his apprentice to lead us to an old chicken farm in Rangiora where the NSX (along with other racy cars) were stored).
The low-mileage NSX belonged to a deceased estate and hadn’t been started for about 20 years. The fuel tank wasn’t currently connected. Kim used a high-octane starting fluid to spray over the motor. Wow! After just an initial puff of smoke, the engine ran smooth as silk.
Crayfish capital
With that favour out of the way, we drove to Kaikoura, a journey of about 2h. This coastal town north of Christchurch is kinda the whale-watching capital and crayfish capital of New Zealand. We had done the former but not the latter.
Our road trip is partly to do things that we had never done before, so we are! At the local fish-and-chips shop, we priced a whole crayfish and it was NZD85 served up with chips. It was a tad more than I had imagined so we headed north about 20 mins to a famous caravan (now fixed to the ground) called Nins Bin beside the rocky beach. We chose a cray tail (with the head removed already) for NZD75 but it was discounted down to NZD70 because their fryer was broken and they couldn’t do the chips.
The big surprise was the cray was from Fiordland at the far end of the island and had been frozen then thawed in anticipation of our purchase. I guess demand for local crays here, due to its fame, must outstrip local supply.
The cray came cooked up with garlic butter and lemon on the side. We had to fend of the seagulls as we tried to enjoy our meal outside. We eventually took turns eating while the other fended off the seagulls. It was delicious! Lots of flavour and firm, yet not tough.
Despite the awesome setting, we didn’t linger after eating our treat. The wind was strong and chilly. And that treat wasn’t sufficient to take us till dinner, so we backtracked to the town and had eggs on toast and a sweet slice as well.
Text continues after this gallery.
-
- Kaikoura’s coastline.
-
- Crayfish shack.
-
- Waiting for our crayfish.
-
- Waiting for our crayfish.
-
- Crayfish at Kaikoura.
-
- Crayfish at Kaikoura.
-
- At the crayfish shack.
Hanmer Springs
We continued to Hanmer Springs where we would overnight. It was a 2h journey using any route, so we chose then inland route via Mount Lyford. It’s actually quite detour compared from Christchurch directly to Hanmer Springs.
Hanmer (or Hamner as most people would mispronounce it) is a resort town on the foothills of the Southern Alps with hot spring pools. Even though I had spent many years in Christchurch, I had never visited the pools due to lack of transport in my youth.
Being the Easter weekend, accommodation was expensive. We booked a private room at the Kakapo YHA Hostel which turned out lovely. It was spotless and the host was kind. The large kitchen was also clean and at night, the lounge area had a fire roaring.
At around 1630 we went to the hot pools. We got a 20% discount by showing our AA (Automobile Association) membership cards. In the complex, we wandered from pool to pool, trying to get from warm to hot, then down again to warm when we got overcooked.
At first, we were chilly once out of the water because the weather had cleared into a sunny crisp day. Eventually, our core temperature had risen and we were fine to wander around comfortably and check out some of the rides. We did a tandem inflatable slide.
Meals in this touristy city were generally pricey. We found Saints off the main drag that had nightly specials. Tonight, being Thursday, was ribs with chips, slaw and beer for NZD20. It was a delicious meal for a budget price! Back at the hostel, we enjoyed the fire in the lounge before retiring early.
NZD20 dinner at Saints per person including the beer.