Kaikoura Crayfish

Koura is the Maori word for crayfish and it makes up half the town's name, usually translated as a meal of crayfish. What is caught here is a rock lobster, spiny and clawless, quite different from the clawed lobsters of the north Atlantic, and it comes out of cold water off the peninsula in pots hauled by a small local fleet. The standard serving is half a crayfish, split, grilled with garlic butter and eaten with a plastic fork at a roadside caravan on the coast road, looking at the sea. Most of the national catch is exported live, which goes a long way towards explaining the local price.

What to look for

• Roadside seafood caravans - the pull-in stops along the coast road north of town.
• Half a crayfish grilled - split, buttered and eaten outdoors, the standard order.
• The working harbour - crayfish pots stacked on the wharf and boats going out at dawn.
• Other local seafood - paua fritters, mussels and whitebait in season alongside the crayfish.

When to go

The caravans trade mostly through the warmer half of the year and keep short, weather-dependent hours, often selling out by mid-afternoon. Turn up early rather than at dinner time. Summer brings queues at the best-known stops. Supply varies with sea conditions and catch limits, so an empty counter in the middle of the day is not unusual.

Practical notes

It is expensive. Half a crayfish costs more than a full restaurant meal elsewhere in the country, and the meat is sweet but plain, so people regularly walk away feeling the price beat the pleasure. Caravans close in bad weather without notice. The 2016 earthquake lifted the seabed here and reshaped the reefs, and some shellfish gathering has been restricted since.

Nearby

The Kaikoura peninsula walkway and the whale watching boats work from the same small town.