December 7, 2023
Given that Wendy’s Platter was my first approach to writing my thoughts, it is a little surprising that I haven’t been waxing on about the food. Yes, I mentioned the prawns, but that was more experiential than culinary. So looking back at the photos of our last few days, it occurred to me that food seemed to be the theme.
Napier in the Hawke’s Bay area is located in the middle of the east coast of the North Island and is one of New Zealand’s many wine regions. It boasts world class chardonnays and cabernets, syrahs, and merlots. I don’t disagree. We visited two different wineries…one was just a cellar but the young sommelier or sommelier-wannabe was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Although the site was in the middle of farm country, the site was just a warehouse. Still we were encouraged to take in the olive growers down the street where we stocked up for future picnics.
Local cow and sheep cheeses, quince paste at the bottom, some “drunken” figs…dried and soaked in something yummy!
The Mission Estate Winery was established in 1851 by, you guessed it, some missionaries who had brought some muscat grapes with them. It has the feel of an estate with a turn of the century building that housed a restaurant, tasting room, and guest facilities. It is definitely a favored wedding reception venue. The restaurant offered one of our favorite lunches…a bread and cheese plate with all local cheeses, olives, quince paste, local honey, etc. The only thing that could have made it better was a loaf of my sourdough bread.
L: Making up for the expensive and well worth it cheese and wine experience at Mission Estate Winery by having fish and chips. R: Another cheap meal at our Airbnb…leftovers from the wine and cheese plate plus an omelette in the making. Note the laundry ready to go in the washing machine. Nick felt quite at home.
Realizing that our food budget was getting out of hand, we fell back to a New Zealand standard…fish and chips. There are take away (take out) fish and chip shops, often mixed Chinese options, in every block of a town or city. They are cheap! We ordered two pieces of fish with a full order of “chips” (fries). Total cost was about $7 total for the two of us. If it weren’t for the grease-guilt that accompanies the tasty dish, we would live on it. But it is great to have a quick, easy and cheap alternative.
From Napier we headed down State Highway 2 towards New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. Not wanting to miss a beat we stopped at the Pukaha National Wildlife Center. Saving birds on the way to extinction is their goal through providing a safe habitat, eradicating imported predators (stoats, house cats, rats, mice, possums etc), and creating a safe breeding program. They hatch and care for the national bird, the kiwi. Unfortunately, the kiwis at the facility were very shy that day and we left without seeing them.
The eels were another story. The freshwater eels travel the rivers and have found a sweet vacation spot in the stream that runs through the sanctuary. Eel is not endangered and is often caught for food. The preserve has an educational program where they feed the eels once a day while they give a short program about the eels in New Zealand. The eels were huge and quite lively!
The kakas come from all over to get their free meal. Note the kaka that is flying in. The insides of his wings are quite red.
One of the birds on the critical list is the kaka, a large parrot that is plain brown until it flies. The underwings have bright red feathers that were favored by the Maoris for their ceremonial cloaks. The changing landscape with the addition of more population has decreased their numbers. However, like the eels, the wild kaka know they will get fed once a day and come for the free meal. It is referred to as the kaka circus, as the parrots have a sense of humor and are very loud!
The wandering weta, back from Nevada, made by Weta. Although wetas are often as large as a gerbil, this one is slightly bigger.
At the bird sanctuary we caught sight of a local insect, the weta…this one was huge and hidden in the forest of the sanctuary. That particular insect, created in metal by Weta, was sent over to Burning Man in Nevada and then back to guard the sanctuary.
We arrived at our Airbnb in Wellington and decided we needed a “chill” night. We broke out the leftovers from our wine and cheese lunch, had appetizers, and a cheese omelette. The price was right.
L: A quick pic and me and Nick. R: No wait…this is the pic of me and Nick…The three of us were having a moment.
We had one full day in Wellington and on the suggestion of the Torok’s went to Weta Cave, which is the New Zealand equivalent of George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic. Weta was started 25 years ago by a young, very creative couple. What started as art projects were picked up, then turned in to the company that did all of the set design and creation for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the The Hobbit and now plenty more TV shows and blockbuster movies to its credits. Although they didn’t allow photos inside, we managed to catch a few photos outside. It is a must see to understand that the average age of the employees is 22! There were a few old farts, but my feeling was that there they were around because they could talk the talk.
L: Weta Cave: the cave of creativity. R: Weta has a full time swordsmith and apprentice. We got to actually hold some!
The Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand, is a massive, new, FREE, museum with natural history, cultural history, science, etc.
Nick is considering calamari. We thought Cory could probably finish it off. Actually, this is the largest giant squid ever caught. Even Cory would have trouble finishing it. This is the Te Papa Museum.
We happened on the “Gallipoli-The Scale of Our War” exhibit which followed the stories of eight New Zealanders who found themselves fighting in World War I far from home. The exhibit was stunning and stirring. Weta Caves, the company we had just toured that morning, had created the eight soldiers at 250% scale in differing situations from a machine gunner to a nurse to a chaplain, etc. The detail: each hair, each stitch, the tears in the eyes, the worry, the exhaustion, the dirt, the blood, was captured by the amazing Weta staff. The museum staff put together a very impelling narrative.
One of the soldiers created by Weta for the “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” exhibit. Nick is standing right next to the figure. It is not a trompe de l’oeil.
The food of the last few days filled not only our bellies, but also our thoughts.
L: So much food in Wellington. I looked up and saw these restaurants: Babylon Kebobs, BurgerFuel, St. Pierre’s Sushi, and Bento Bowl. So much food. So little time. Middle: Nick busied himself with beer as I did a flight of flavored gins: burnt rosemary, naval grapefruit, and blood orange. Enjoyed them all but went back for the burnt rosemary…wonderful flavor and smell. R: Off on the ferry for the South Island. I am actually writing this from the ferry which is a 3 1/2 hour ride. We should arrive in about 30 minutes!
~Wendy & Nick