Crayfish in Kaikoura

Livvy Skelton-Price
2 min readFeb 18, 2022
Restaurant in Kaikoura by Livvy Skelton-Price

Crayfish is something I had never tried before. I’d heard many people talk about the mouth-watering deliciousness that crayfish is. My mouth had watered upon hearing these short but emotional descriptions of crayfish.

I was driving along the beautiful coastal road of Kaikoura, the rocky shoreline and endless ocean took my breath away and made me do last minute left turns into lookout car parks.

But there was something missing. And when I saw this Lobster Hut I knew what it was. Lobster. But it’s actually crayfish (is there a difference?)

I pulled into their carpark and raced into their bathroom. Something I learned about road tripping is you are always busting. Stop at every bathroom you see. Pro tip right there.

I walked into the lobster restaurant, mask on and scanned in, and checked out their menu. It was expensive. Surprise surprise. They were the only store along this beautiful coastline. But I didn’t see lobster or crayfish on the menu. So I asked them about it. They brought me over to show me the crayfish sitting on ice. They were whole and they were dead. I did not like the sight. But crayfish is a must have meal so I swallowed my disgust and carried on. I asked about the dairy content as it’s something I can only have in small doses. The kind lady at the counter walked me through how they are prepared and said they could leave off the garlic bread. I was happy.

Next I asked about price. Turns out price is dependant on weight. So she weighed the smallest one for me.

Can you guess?

$50.

For one crayfish.

One.

I made that sound that could be described as awkward laughter. And then I apologised and left. The lady looked as though this sequence of events was no more than what she had expected.

Ah well, Crayfish, another time.

We shall meet again.

Disclaimer: I did end up having crayfish at a later date. Cooked it myself, screamed a little. Did not like the blood and guts. Did not like shoving it in boiling water. And did not like the taste. Maybe I did it wrong. Maybe I don’t like crayfish.

Thoughts?

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Livvy Skelton-Price

Columnist for The Diarist. Follow the tag 'The Netherlands Diaries.' I'm also - a person. Travels a bit. Writes a bit. Tries to get by. So far so good.