State Highway 1 reopening after one year

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Great News !! The New Zealand Transport Authority has confirmed that State Highway 1 (SH1), both north and south of Kaikoura, will reopen to traffic on December 15, 2017. It should be noted that initially the road will be open only from 7am until 8.30pm. Travelers will need to plan accordingly.

194 kms of our SH1 was badly-damaged by more than 85 landslides caused by the magnitude-7.8 earthquake in November of last year. We would like to send a BIG Thank You to all the people who have literally moved mountains to get the highway re-opened by this Christmas !

State Highway 1 - Mangamaunu

State Highway 1 - Mangamaunu

The stunning journey along Kaikoura's coastline is yours to enjoy once again. We look forward to welcoming you to Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses!

More information about the current conditions on the highway is available at www.nzta.govt.nz/p2c

Kaikoura Earthquake - State Highway One : Progress is well on track

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We were lucky that our Lodge and Tree House structures came through the huge “Kaikoura Earthquake” of November 14, 2016, relatively unscathed – plaster cracks, broken bottles, and the loss of a lot of sleep.  With respect to other aspects of our environment we were not as lucky and for the balance of our summer season, which in our southern hemisphere runs from September through March, we were challenged by the significant damage all along the coast.  The worst issue from our point of view was the massive landslides along Highway One that smothered the road in hundreds of tons of boulders, trees and dirt.

State Highway One - North of Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

State Highway One - North of Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Highway One runs from Picton (the receiving port for the Wellington ferry) and Blenheim (the nearest airport of size) in the north through Kaikoura to Christchurch in the south. The Highway is the Lodge’s primary artery for supplies and guest arrivals. It is essentially the only way into and out of Kaikoura.  There is an alternative, longer route from Christchurch to Kaikoura, the Inland Road, that was less damaged by the quake than Highway One, and which was restored relatively quickly.   From mid-January Highway One to the south, from Kaikoura to Christchurch, has been open on a restricted basis - but the route to the north is still closed.

The restoration of the Highway is requiring a huge and expensive outlay of money and effort, involving hundreds of workers and innumerable pieces of heavy equipment (even helicopters and ships) working 10 hous a day, 7 days a week.  This is particularly true for the northern route. There the landslides and rebuilding of the road are being attacked from both the north and the south simultaneously. The NZ government has announced that “ no matter what” the road will be fully open by December 2017, an announcement that we take to be a promise.  

Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

The staging area for the northern restoration effort is being carried on right around the corner from the Lodge, so we are able to monitor daily the progress being made by the hundreds of men & women from the recovery crews.  Considering the scale of the job the progress is quite remarkable.  Over half a million cubic tons of debris has to be removed from the roadway and disposed of in an environmentally safe way.  The largest load a dump or tip truck can only carry is 3 cubic tons, so we can only imagine the number of trips involved -  at times it seems to us to be a Sisyphean effort - but we are confident that the workers will prevail. We watch in amazement.

The larger Kaikoura environs were also affected in significant ways by the quake: major uplifting and subsidence of land, the ocean floor, including that of the local harbour, altered in significant and not yet fully understood ways, and the disruption of a large number of bird and ocean colonies.  Repair of Kaikoura harbour’s infrastructure is well under way, allowing the local oceanic tours, Whale Watch, Dolphin Encounter and Kaikoura Kayaks, to regroup and get back to business.

Full operation of the harbour is expected well before the opening of the 2017-18 summer season.

The Ohau seal colony, seals pup nursery

The Ohau seal colony, seals pup nursery

We are also getting good news about the recovery and regrouping of the local seal colonies.  The Ohau seal colony to the north of Hapuku is adjusting extremely well, with a number of new seal pup nursery pools evident only a few miles north of their previous long term nurseries. This good news coupled with the recent multiple sightings of Orca, Humpback, and Sperm whales and the daily sighting of hundreds of Dolphins leads us to believe that Kaikoura is on the road to a full recovery.

If you are thinking about coming to Kaikoura this next summer, please rest assured that the town will be ready to welcome you with open arms, as will we.

We want to give a special shout out and thank you to all those guests that joined us this past summer in spite of all the obstacles, and we hope that they found the shifting landscape and the earthworks as interesting as we do.

Kaikoura Earthquake – Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses Reopening

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Kaikoura was hit by a severe earthquake on the 14th November 2016. Our buildings are designed to a high specification and suffered no structural damage – New Zealand’s building codes are among the world’s best. 

We are delighted to announce that we have reopened and look to welcome guests in the next few days.

We have been so heartened by the support of our guests who planned to stay, the travel industry partners, our friends and supporters. We are also inspired by the fortitude of the Kaikoura township our local townspeople and those support services who have and continue to put in many hours of support.

Roading
Road access to Kaikoura continues to be impacted with the inland road route now open for scheduled journeys. Please refer to the NZ Transport Authority website for further details.
There is also very positive news that the main state highway south of Kaikoura (SH1) is likely to be opened before the 20th December. 

Alternative Transfer Options - UPDATE
Thanks to many of our good friends and partners we have put together special rates for transfers between various locations. We are pleased to add road transfer options now to this offering.
- Transfers by Helicopter will be direct to the Lodge
- Transfers by Fixed Wing will be to the Kaikoura airport & Hapuku Lodge will provide complimentary transfers between Kaikoura Airport and also between the Lodge and township during the clients stay.
- Transfer available either one way or return from Christchurch or Blenheim.

The participating companies are:

Fixed Wing:

Road Transfer:

Hapuku Lodge will provide complimentary transfers during the clients stay.

Transfer Subsidy
Hapuku Lodge recognises that with the roading challenges, getting to and from the Lodge for the interim period, has become difficult. In order to assist clients to come to Kaikoura and Hapuku Lodge we are offering an air transport subsidy of $250 incl GST per night of their stay. For example a 2 night stay in 1 room would = a $500 incl GST subsidy in total. This will be credited to your bill at the end of your stay.

Our Transfer subsidy assistance will remain in place until the 30th April 2017.

Kaikoura remains one of the world’s top marine destinations and needs your support over the coming months to ensure we can continue to share our beautiful destination.

Please contact these companies directly quoting “Hapuku Transfer Rate”.

Kaikoura Earthquake – Transfer Options to Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses

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As I am sure you all know Kaikoura was hit by a severe earthquake on the 14th November 2016.  Our buildings are designed to a high specification and suffered no structural damage – New Zealand’s building codes are among the world’s best.  At this stage we continue to be on track to reopen on the 1st December 2016.

Roading

Road access to Kaikoura is severely impacted with the inland road route yet to open at the time of writing this release. We understand from authorities that subject to any future disruption this should be open in the next few days.

Alternative Transfer Options

Thanks to many of our good friends and partners we have put together special rates for transfers between various locations. Transfers by Helicopter will be direct to the lodge & complimentary transfers will be provided for those flying by fixed wing from the Kaikoura Airport to Hapuku. Complimentary transfers will be provided during the clients stay at Hapuku.

The participating companies are:

Fixed Wing:

  • Sounds Air Blenheim & Christchurch – charter & multiple return flights per day Ph +64 3 520 3080 info@soundsair.com Base - Blenheim
  • Wings Over Whales – Kaikoura – charter Ph +64 3 319 6580 info@whales.co.nz

Hapuku Lodge will provide complimentary transfers during the clients stay

Transfer Subsidy

Hapuku Lodge recognises that with the roading challenges, getting to and from the Lodge for the interim period, has become difficult. In order to assist clients to come to Kaikoura and Hapuku Lodge we are offering a air transport subsidy of $250 incl GST per night of their stay. For example a 2 night stay in 1 room would = a $500 incl GST subsidy in total. This will be credited to your bill at the end of your stay.

Kaikoura remains one of the world’s top marine destinations and needs your support over the coming months to ensure we can continue to share our beautiful destination.

Please contact these companies directly quoting “Hapuku Transfer Rate”

Kaikoura Earthquake - Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses to reopen on 1 December 2016

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An official update for you from Tony, Chris, Fiona and the Team at Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses.

At a little after midnight on the 14th November the Kaikoura area experienced a severe earthquake. All guests and staff of Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses, located just north of Kaikoura, are safe and well.  Our buildings are designed to a high specification and suffered no structural damage – New Zealand’s building codes are among the world’s best.

Thank you to all the support we have received from the tourism industry, our partners and suppliers. 

Key Information for Partners & Guests

  • Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses is planning to host guests on 1 December 2016 pending establishment of transport links and electrical supply

  • No cancellation fees will be applied for any bookings effective 14th November until 15 December 2016

  • The latest information to hand, it is anticipated that a road route via Waipara and Culverden will be available in the next few days and over the coming week – we will update you on developments 

  • We are developing alternative transport options including subsidised helicopters and small plane transfers for access to Hapuku Lodge

  • Many of our tourism activity partners will be up and running soon too so we will keep you informed about activities for guests during their stay – new activities and experiences are already in development 

Please note that media reports both domestic and international are not always factual and may not represent the reality of what is occurring on the ground.  Kaikoura whilst hit hard is already recovering and business operators are positive about the year ahead.

Kaikoura remains one of the world’s top marine destinations and needs your support over the coming months to ensure we can share our beautiful destination.

We will continue to keep you informed of progress.

In the meantime please use Kerryn Ralston as the contact for all bookings etc.

Earthquake in Kaikoura

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Kaikoura experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on November 14, 2016. All staff and guests at Hapuku Lodge are safe and well. Most of the communications are down. For guests intending on coming to Hapuku Lodge in the next few days please contact your travel agent to arrange alternative accommodation. The property is not badly damaged and we will be up and running very soon.