Lost in the Diaper Aisle

Venison on the Menu

at

Waitomo Hotel

The first time I traveled five months in New Zealand, I stopped at a supermarket on my way out of Auckland and got lost in the diaper aisle. I needed napkins. I was sent to the diaper aisle for baby diapers. I soon learned nappies are for a baby’s bottom. Surviettes are to wipe your top when you’re a sloppy eater.

Larger towns have supermarkets with bakeries and delis. You’ll need your trolley or trundler. Smaller towns have butcheries, bakeries, dairies and milk bars. Fruits and vegges are cheap and abundant in the summer. Blackberries, raspberries, strawbs, capsicans, cougarettes, butternut, silverbeet and marrow are in season. Avocados can be found as low as five for 1$NZ at the greengrocer or on a table in someone’s yard. Just pick the ones you want and drop your money in the honesty box. Swedes are 2$NZ per bag. Dave’s a Swede in good nick, too. He won’t let me stuff him in a bag, though. Fruits and vegges are more expensive in the South Island. Hawks Bay and Northland near Kiri Kiri are good produce areas. In March, the first crop of apples from the South Island hits the markets as low as 2$NZ per bag.

Capsicum

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Photo By

Yun-Shan

Meat is fresh and cheap. Most cuts are the same as US cuts, but watch the T-bones– the butcher steals the fillet. Hungry for a hamburger on that new barbe? Better ask for steak mince or you might end up with beetroot in that patty. Or try a banger– good with onions. Of course not as good as Wisconsin bangers my traveling Wisconsin food expert tells me. Watch the hogget, too. It’s one-year-old lamb, not pork. The beef seems a little gamier– possibly fresher. Deer and elk raised for export is available in some areas– as well as on the menu in upscale restaurants. When camping in elk farm country, never spend the night across the river from a lonely bull elk. And never share a campground with a hippie and his bongo drum.

If you like sea food, try tuna, snapper mahi mahi or salmon. Dig your own tua tua or pipi or find some paua– a little smaller than California abalone. Supermarkets carry good supplies of sea food if you don’t want to get your toes sandy. To catch your own fish– salmon, trout or a bill fish, you’d probably have better luck with a guide or charter company. And, that’s a topic for another post.

Hangi to Go

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Photo By:

Testpatern

New Zealand is very careful about agricultural disease. When clearing customs, you are asked if you’ve been on a farm or golf course in the last thirty days. Golf shoes need to be disinfected. New Zealand’s economy would be devastated if any of the European or Asian diseases got into the country. New Zealand is very clean. You don’t have to worry about the safety of the food supply. You do have to worry about the safety of your pants– remember to bring those elastic pants.

(To be continued)

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

Eat, Drink and Get Fat

American Pie

&

Kiwi Coffee

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Photo By:

Tirau Dan

When traveling on the cheap in New Zealand by RV or auto, you’ll probably prepare most of your own meals. If you want to travel through New Zealand fast and fancy, find a tour guide or rent a vehicle then graze your way through New Zealand at any restaurant that suits your fancy. You can find Indian, Thai and Chinese restaurants– just about any type of restaurant you find at home. New Zealand is short on Mexican restaurants, but they can be found. There’s a Mexican restaurant in Rotorua and another in central Auckland opposite the Sky Tower. KFC, McDonalds and Burger King taste pretty much like home, but pizza has lost something in the translation. Every try canned spaghetti on pizza? Me neither. There’s a Denny’s behind the large cinema in Manukau City– near the Auckland airport. In Auckland 1 I talked about finding a place to settle in for your first day.

There are delis, bakeries and espresso cafes in any town. A Kiwi favorite is meat pie, a flaky, high calorie meatpie. Beware unless you brought elastic pants. A pie-cart is a traveling kitchen in a caravan with a flip down side. Enjoy fish and chips, anything fattening and fried, or a raspberry bun– a hotdog bun covered with raspberry frosting. If you’re looking for a snack, try a milkbar– a mom and pop store that sells ice cream, milkshakes, magazines and newspapers. Supper is a late night snack– not dinner. Tea can be a tea or coffee break or the evening meal. The first time we were invited to tea, we ate a sandwich since we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Big mistake. It was a full course meal ending with fruit and cream. English buffets are often loaded with mutton, cream, and fancy pastries. You’ll find venison– very tasty venison– on the menu in upscale restaurants. Pav or Pavlova is the national dessert. Aussies claim they, not the Kiwis, invented this concoction of meringue, whipped cream, strawberries and passion fruit. I can’t see what all the fuss is about.

Wedding Pavlova

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Photo By:

Distopian

Dream Girl

A private hotel usually has a more homelike atmosphere and serves food but not alcohol. Some private hotels will let you bring your own wine and charge a corkage fee. Just ask ahead. Beer and wine are sold in supermarkets. Try Cheep Liquor or Liquorland for hard liquor. A licensed hotel is a hotel with a liquor license. In rural areas, if you’re looking to relax, meet the locals, and enjoy a few beers, find the hotel. A booze barn is a large open room for drinking– not a friendly neighborhood tavern. A boozer is just another name for a bar that’s usually part of a hotel. Most licensed hotels have not only a bar, but a liquor store.

Hangi

in

The Bay of Islands

You’ll want to try a traditional New Zealand hangi at least once during your visit. Stones are placed in a lighted fire pit. Then lamb, pork or chicken, and kamara and vegges wrapped in muslin are wedged into wire frames and lowered over the hot stones. The meal gets more than a dash of water– they use buckets. This steaming pile is covered with fresh dirt. Your hangi takes a while to cook, so there’s time for a long happy hour. Enjoy hangi along with Maori singing and dancing at Rotorua (NI). During an RV rally in the Bay of Plenty, we had hangi with chicken and wild pig. East Cape is known for its wild pig hunting. (If you’re a REAL pig hunter, you don’t use a gun– you chase them down with a knife.)

It’s said Kiwis love rugby, racing and beer. Beer is often served in jugs– pitchers. Kiwis don’t like foamy beer– if you pay for a full glass of beer, you should get a full glass of beer. There’s several regional brands available. Move on to the next town down the road and try a new one. You probably can’t keep up with a Kiwi beer drinker. If you give it a good try, you might get pissed– not the same as pissed off, which means the same as it does in the states.

And yes, Alcoholics Anonymous is in New Zealand. But, AA refers to their Automobile Association. If you’re a member of AAA in the US, bring your card. All privileges are reciprocal. You’ll get discounts on motels and entertainment and best of all free maps not available to the public that show the back roads. You’ll need these if you skip the tour guide and fancy food and head into the wop-wops for the New Zealand beyond the tourist trail.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand