Moeraki - Seahaven Lodge

At the end of the long drive through central Otago we landed in Moeraki. Moeraki is on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island. We had visited there 4 years ago to have a meal at the world-renowned Fleur’s Restaurant. Sadly, now closed. NZ covid regulations required restaurant staff to be vaccinated. Somehow, half the staff were anti-vaxxers. At least that’s the story we've heard. Fleur hasn’t yet reopened the restaurant.

When our original plan to fly from Queenstown to Sydney to visit friends was postponed till later in the trip, we had 6 days to fill in. Moeraki seemed like a good place to stop along the way to Christchurch, where we would fly to the North Island and pick up most of the original itinerary.

Moeraki is a small village, with a few seaside motels and campgrounds. Not much in the way of airbnbs. But we found a newish listing called Seahaven Lodge and it had a sauna. Say no more, I booked it. Weirdly, it wasn’t expensive. But it was so quirky, it gets its own post. Check out the photos!

One Airbnb reviewer said it was like having a resort all to yourself, I would agree. The house itself was lovely and comfortable. A chef’s kitchen and huge entertaining spaces. Clearly, this was someone’s custom built vacation home. The rest of the property was a rich person’s playground. Spacious decks with gorgeous ocean views for entertaining. A sauna and hot tub area. A trampoline, a helicopter landing pad and a pickleball court! With a food truck and bar area tucked on one of the decks overlooking the court. And for some reason, an old tractor, an old tuk-tuk, and various Polynesian sculptures all around the property. And lots and lots of fish things throughout the house. Quirky, but also ridiculously comfortable and spacious, and within walking distance of a great pub.

A perfect spot to chill out for three days. We didn’t drive anywhere. We walked the trails to the Moeraki Boulders Beach, though didn’t get as far as the boulders. It’s a very long beach and we’d seen the cool boulders before. Relaxed, enjoyed the sauna and hot tub, and ate at the local pub - delicious fresh blue cod and chips.

As we were leaving, we chatted with one of the folks doing some gardening and found out that the house is indeed owned by a wealthy person, an American with a hair care business in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Which explained all the complimentary hair care products in the bathrooms.

A bit about Moeraki: “Once the location of a Māori Pa, Moeraki has been a popular site for its abundant seafood. With the arrival of Europeans it became a whaling village and was initially believed it could become the main port for North Otago. A railway line was put in but due to the instability of the land was quickly abandoned. The millennium track follows the route of the railway with informative plaques along the way to read. These days Moeraki is a sleepy fishing village. There are a couple of commercial fishermen still operating who primarily catch Blue Cod and Crayfish. With a population of approximately 100 people the majority of the homes are holiday homes.” (from the Airbnb description)Read more