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Published: January 8th 2008
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Sans Souci Inn
No worries here Golden Bay
The Takaka area of Golden Bay is an earth-loving and artsy conglomeration of small towns. On December 29th we arrived at the
Sans Souci (No Worries) Inn in Pohara. This was were we started to unwind and really enjoy the people and wine that surrounded us. Sans Souci was hand built by Reto and Vera, who immigrated from Switzerland. They erected this amazing Mediterranean eco-friendly inn that contains everything from rooftop gardens to composting toilets to a beautiful chef's kitchen that even included the chef, Reto, who prepared amazing dinners in the evening that were perfectly paired with Vera's desserts.
When we arrived in Takaka, we tried our first helping of Fish and Chips and strolled around town. It didn't take very long to realize that people were extremely casual and relaxed. The barefooted locals and children drank coffee and ate ice cream at the cafe, and the art galleries closed at 5 pm on the dot if not earlier.
The following day we went to the
Bencarri Nature Park where we fed all sorts of animals including the tame
Anatoki eels. The petting zoo had all sorts of farm animals including emus, alpacas, and llamas. The alpacas ate the most carefully out
of our hands while the emus attacked the food, so we decided to throw the food inside of their pen to see how fast they can run. After we taught a goose to catch food in mid-air, were amazed by the size of a true Texas Longhorn, and pet the baby bunnies, we were off to feed the Anatoki eels that have been fed at this location since 1914. We picked up medicine cups of meat and sticks from the cafe counter and walked 10 minutes along the river to a rocky area along the water. As we approached, we could see about 20 thick black eels lingering near the shore. We squatted on the rocks, tried to convince the cat to leave, and fed the eels. They are like baby birds that hold their mouths open in hope that someone puts food in it. You put a little meat on the end of the stick and hold it above the water and an eel emerges clumsily from the water with its mouth open. You slide the stick into its mouth and the eel drops back into the water taking the food with it. They were much larger than we
Farm
Fuzzy friend had imagined but that didn't stop us from petting them just like the rest of the animals.
While in town the day before, we had been eying up the movie theater and decided that this was a perfect time to go. So, we purchased tickets for the 4:00 showing of Stardust and entered the theater. Rather than having standard movie theater seats, the theater was filled with couches and hoards of shoeless and parentless 8 to 11 year olds that asked what all the old people were doing there shortly after we walked in. They were a treat to have at the movie. Just about the time they settled down, the movie stopped and it was time for intermission. So, they filled up on more sugary snacks and continued their antics throughout the rest of the movie. Even though the kids were less than quite, they added a whole new dimension to the couch-filled theater that still observes intermission.
The following day we headed further up the coast toward the Farewell Spit to try the infamous mussels at the Mussel Inn. Along the way we stopped at the
Pupu Springs. These springs are sacred grounds to the Maori people
and are the clearest fresh water source in the world. The pictures look like the top of the water is covered by algae, but really that is the bottom of spring.
After our short walk to around the springs, we arrived at
The Mussel Inn. As soon as Erin entered the building and looked at the menu, she knew it was a bad idea to order mussels for dinner and that she would go bed hungry. But Steve was very insistent, and she finally gave in because she knew that she would never live it down if he didn't at least try them. So, we ordered mussels and nachos. The mussels were served in a buckets that held 15 to 20
New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels with lemon. We contemplated how to eat them for a couple of minutes and eager Steven dove right in. He removed the first on from its shell and popped it in his mouth. He looked at Erin and said, "These are amazing! You have to try one!" Erin carefully removed one from the shell, looked at it (bad idea), and put it in her mouth. She squished it around and experienced how complex the texture was. Then, she started
Thoughts on mussels
Mussels make Steven ill gagging. She didn't want to spit it out because she knew it would look worse than when it went in. So, she choked it down and cleansed her pallet with beer and nachos. Steve ate about 8 more and went to get another drink. When he arrived back at the table, he was turning green and admitted that he couldn't eat any more and that they were not good. He was so excited to try them he had convinced himself that they tasted good when they were not.
We have no doubt that they mussels were prepared correctly and that they are good, if you like them. We don't think we are able to appreciate them given our mid-west upbringing. We decided that this would be our last mussel tasting experience. Erin went to bed hungry since Steve ate all the nachos. (They weren't very good either, and she doesn't eat something if it doesn't taste good.) Even though the meal was a bust, Erin couldn't possibly be angry with Steve because she knew she was right all along, her point was now proven (Steve should always listen to Erin when it comes to food decisions), and it was
Thoughts on mussels
Erin thinks mussels are ishy an experience that they will never forget. We later learned that the green stuff on the inside was not herbs. It is what is know as the beard, and it attaches the mussel to the rock, and you are not suppose to eat it. oops.
On the way back to San Souci, we were stopped for random breathalyser test. This was a strange experience because the cop was just standing in the middle of the road stopping every vehicle that passed him. Unlike in the USA, he didn't need a cause to stop someone. This was just part of his day. Steve was going to blow into the machine, but the cop asked for our name and address instead. We were caught off guard and didn't know the address of where we were staying, and we didn't think that our home address was relevant. Why would the cop want to know that we live in Eden Prairie? The cop could tell we were flustered and confused, and we had an accent. So, he welcomed us to New Zealand and sent us on our way. After talking to some locals, we found out that he was preparing for the next
couple weeks when the tourism season picks up and people are celebrating the holidays.
Golden Bay got its name by the gold sand beaches that practically line the entire coast. Before the clouds would roll in in the afternoon, we would drive to a beach and bask in the sun. Even though it wasn't warm, they were beautiful and this was the first time that we got to experience the tide coming in. We would stand on an area of sand and a couple seconds later our feet would be under water and all the warm water that filled the tide pools was washed out to sea. One of the best parts of traveling to New Zealand in late November and early December is that we missed the high tourism season, so everything was relatively uncrowded including the beaches.
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Nan
non-member comment
Mussels
I agree ... listening to Erin when it comes to questions about food is an excellent idea! Wish I could see Pupu Springs someday -- it looks like it's an unbelievably beautiful spot! :-)