Postscript: New Experiences

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One way in which this trip differed greatly from our first visit to New Zealand was in the way we tried to immerse ourselves in the local feel. We talked to more Kiwis, ate and drank more of the local foods and drinks, tried to get away from the tourist spots to experience more of the everyday places. Here’s a list and some comments about the new things we experienced.

New Foods/Drinks
L&P, L&P Sweet As - respectively, the sugared and sugar-free versions of Lemon and Paeroa, a sweet drink that bills itself as “world famous in New Zealand”. Available at most places you’d buy soft drinks, it is refreshing and less sweet than soda. Occasionally I would order this at a café and be congratulated by the waiter on my good choice.
Rig - shark meat, it is surprisingly mild and flaky like whitefish
Spirulina - A strange intersection of healthy and tasty comes in this seaweed drink that tastes like a smoothie.
Pineapple juice - Not exclusive to New Zealand but available in every restaurant and café where you might only find orange/apple juice in the States.
Flat White coffee - A strong version of coffee with cream, kind of like a big espresso
Chai latte - Kiwis seem bemused at how this drink is sweeping the nation, I prefer their version with cinnamon sprinkled on top to the non-cinnamon version I drink in the U.S.
Anzac biscuits - I don’t know the story behind these (ANZAC stands for Australia/New Zealand Army Corps I believe), but they are available in every food store. They are a kind of coconut oatmeal cookie; eat one and you’re only mildly impressed. Eat a second and you won’t be able to stop until the bag is empty.
Vanilla Wine biscuits - Our go-to snack food in the car. Light and just sweet enough to cross the line from cracker to cookie.
Banana cake with chocolate frosting - The only way I ever saw banana cake prepared in NZ; it’s available in prepackaged form at convenience stores or fresh and full-sized at cafes and restaurants.
Crayfish (aka rock lobster) - Not NZ-specific but who else calls it crayfish?
Pavlova - Mmmm…meringue topped with fresh whipped cream and fruit.
Turkey cranberry & brie sandwiches - just one of the flavorful sandwiches we ate often (even available at petrol stations!)
Ginger beer - tastes vaguely like a cross between root beer and ginger ale
Apple & Blackcurrant juice - Rich drank many of these, taking pleasure in saying “curraaaaant” like a true Chicagoan. A delightful fruit juice you wouldn’t find much in the US
Te Whare Ra wine - Maybe it’s just that the wine tastes better when you’ve met Jason the owner/winemaker and he’s cute and charming. However, like Jason, this wine is not available in the U.S…you must go to New Zealand to enjoy it.
Venison - Just as tasty as beef when prepared right (and everywhere we went, it was.)
Bluenose - a whitefish I enjoyed quite a bit
Gaunard - another whitefish that delighted, although the kelp breading made it taste “fishier” than it actually is
Rocket is the Kiwi term for arugula - often you’ll see “rocket” as one of your salad ingredients on a menu
Coriander is cilantro - also a frequently-listed ingredient on menus
Entrees versus Mains - what we call “appetizers” in the U.S. are called “entrees” in NZ; what we call “entrees” are called “mains”. It actually makes more sense if you think about it.
Mince pie - Fatty and bad for you but delicious in small doses; these are small pies similar to pot pies in the U.S. but with a wider range of fillings and often eaten for breakfast
Scrolls - creamier, fruitier and fresher than most sweet rolls I’ve ever had
Cream donuts - donuts split in half filled with fresh whipped cream, who can resist?
Whitebait - A tiny fish often served in breakfast omelettes, I had it in timbale w/shrimp at Dorothy’s. Tastes like the sea and adds an interesting flavor.
Kumara - The sweet potato that the Maori brought with them to New Zealand, it’s less sweet than our yams and while I don’t like yams, I like kumara.
Cornbread - the one time we tried it, we didn’t get what we expected; it was more like wheat bread with some corn baked into it
Eggs - Gary ordered them “over easy” once and was given choices of fried, scrambled or poached. Not sure if this is universal or just that particular place we were eating.
Bacon - more like what we’d call Canadian bacon, it is big and meaty like ham.
Sandwiches were often much different than their U.S. counterparts. Meat sandwiches often had shredded cheese mixed into the mayonnaise and/or butter on the bread. One standout sandwich was made of egg salad, shredded cheese & roast beef - a delightful lunch treat we enjoyed on Mount Sunday.
Snapper - Available round the world but I’d never eaten it until here. Yum!
Seafood chowder - Once again, my first time and I loved it.
Lamb burger - Who knew? With feta cheese and hummus this is a Meditteranean-American delight.
Spaetzle - is strangely popular in NZ, could it be due to all the German tourists?
Bubble and Squeak - a semi-fried mixture of potato and other vegetables often served as a side dish
Beer Ice Cream - each regional beer brand seems to have an ice-cream version of itself available in local restaurants. Tastes like malted milk balls in ice cream form. Definite differences between light and dark varieties.
Hokey Pokey - an airy and whipped toffee candy with a texture like a crunchy meringue
Hokey Pokey Ice Cream - An ice cream that includes the chunks of Hokey Pokey that are left over after it it cut up, we tried this several times and loved it
Coromandel mussels - It’s kinda cool to drive past the beach where they are harvested, then 2 hours later be eating them in town. Made me feel more connected to the land, which is harder to achieve at home. Plus they came in a luscious Thai curry sauce.
American Hot Dogs - we never tried these although they are touted on many a snack shop sign. One day we’ll have to see which kind of American hot dog they most resemble.
Pizza - usually served with a good medium crust and topped with interesting combinations of meats, vegetables, fruits and cheeses. Kinda like California Pizza Kitchen but even more unusual.
Feijoa juice - a light, refreshing fruit juice along similar lines as mango.
Feijoa - a fruit that we didn’t get to try because it was out of season. Ben and Gary once ordered a feijoa tart but due to being out of season it was actually an apple tart with feijoa juice mixed in.
Fresh breads with olive oil and dukkah - As in Europe, most restaurants do not provide bread gratis as typically is done in the U.S. However, it is well worth ordering the bread platter as an entree - usually it comes with a variety of delicious breads served with olive oil plus one or two other scrumptious things to dip it into. We enjoyed dukkah in particular - it is an Egyptian creation, a dry spice and nut mixture. Dip your bread in some olive oil to moisten it, then dip it in dukkah - yum!

And of course, the processed junk food:
Pineapple Lumps - mmm…chewy pineapple-flavored marshmallow dipped in chocolate!
Oddfellows mints - big giant mints for when Altoids aren’t enough
Snickers with Hazelnut - This would NEVER sell in the States but it’s darned tasty. Plus its queer-friendly TV ad was a highlight of our first visit.
Whittaker's Peanut Slab - a chunk of chocolate filled to bursting with whole peanuts
Toffee Pops - another favorite during our car journeys, these are wafers with toffee dipped in chocolate

New Plants
Gorse - yellow flowered bushes, beautiful but actually considered a pest because they spread everywhere
Rimu - rainforest tree with sparse, high greenery atop bare branches
Pohutukawa - known as the Maori Christmas Tree or New Zealand Christmas Tree, blooms with red flowers in December
Rata - South Island tree, similar to pohutukawa
Flax - tree that grows on the coast, looks somewhat like birds of paradise
Foxglove/lupin - flowers in brilliant colors with beautiful structure, but also considered a pest
Manuka - tea tree, used for tea-making as well as honey from bees that pollinate it
Kidney fern - you saw one of these on the Rangitoto Island page
Silver fern - leaves are green on top, silver on bottom, a national emblem

Beasts Spotted (new and not)
Kea - green alpine parrots
Weka - flightless brown birds
Tui - a black bird with white patches and a mesmerizing song
Takahe - a large blue bird with a big orange beak
Fiordland crested penguins
Blue penguins
Yellow-eyed penguins
Dusky dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins
New Zealand fur seals
Rabbits, sheep, deer, cows, bulls, roadkilled possums, cats, dogs, ostrich
Jellyfish - seen floating in the water during our Interislander ferry ride
Krill - seen and ingested in abundance during our dolphin swim

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Photos

Two flush options
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