Alpine View Motel, Kaikoura

Advantages: Great location and facilities
Disadvantages: None

...Location: Kaikoura is one of the most breath taking places on earth. From the north you drive through rugged landscapes, catching glimpses of the Pacific along the way, building anticipation to what you are about to discover. When finally you arrive in the centre of Kaikoura, you find a friendly welcoming town which makes the most of its stunning location. Everything in the town is focussed on the sea. From the restaurants with fantastic views, to the trips out to see whales, dolphins, seals and more! Kaikoura is relatively isolated but this adds to the atmosphere, and whilst in good weather the town sparkles, during a storm you can't fail to be impressed by nature's wild show. All this is overlooked by the towering, often snow capped, mountains that you will find yourself glancing at time and time again to remind yourself that you... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful, sunny, friendly, lots to do
Disadvantages: Sharky waters right in the centre of kaikoura

...staying in the Adelphi Lodge, we actually cryed when we had to leave as it felt so much like home and we made such good friends. So, what can you do in Kaikoura i here you ask? Well Dolphin swimming in one of the main attractions in Kaikoura, the cost is about $80 dollars per person and all equiptment is provided. To get to the dolphin swimming reception you turn right out of the Adelphi Lodge and walk for about 15 minuites straight up the road! Also available is whale watching, this requires a short journey which we hired a taxi for, $10 dollars each way. The whale watching involves going up in an 8 seatered light aircraft and flying over the bay on the lookout for whales. When you locate one the plane flys as low as possible to get you a good view of it. This is an absolutly amazing experience and the cost was approx $90 per person. We went... Read review

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Advantages: A good way to travel
Disadvantages: But could be better still

..., which we eventually cross by the Staircase Viaduct, the highest on the route, with precipitous views down to the rocky riverbed below. TranzScenic boasts that the TranzAlpine is "rated as one of the great train journeys of the world." I don't know who bestowed this rating, nor would I want to seem grudging in my own assessment of what is indeed a stimulating and scenic ride, but this has to be hyperbole. The climb up from leaving the coastal plain at Springfield to the high point of the crossing at Arthur's Pass takes not much longer than an hour, and once the train emerges from the Waimakariri Gorge the landscape, although wild and desolate, is not outstanding by New Zealand's spectacular standards. Arthur's Pass is 737m above sea level, high but not extraordinarily so; it has after all been chosen as the lowest point at which... Read review

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