M is for Movies: Mayfair Theatre, Kaikoura

Booked for Trumbo.

The Mayfair  Theatre is a community owned and run, Art Deco 1930's gem here in Kaikoura, which still has its authentic pink and black paintwork. We have booked to see Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren in Trumbo. I have been 'collecting' the Oscar nominees before the awards evening, to date I have seen The Revenant and Joy. 

F is for Flax and Fur Seals: tramping the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway

We have made Kaikoura, a small South Island East Coast town, our base for the next few days. During the RWC in 2011 we had spent a night here and the setting was quite beautiful, snow-capped mountains rising straight out the sea and I was excited to come back and potter along the vibey West End like last time.

This time the weather has obscured the mountains in a shroud of low hanging clouds, its been grey and drizzly and feels so different, maybe returning is not always a good thing! However - this is a mecca for going out to sea for seabirds, which is the main reason for being here.

The sea was lumpy today so we put off going out sea birding with Albatross Encounters until tomorrow, also the light was not good for photography either, so I am holding thumbs for a better opportunity tomorrow. Ah, the vagaries of the weather.

So we pulled on walking clothes instead and set out along the foreshore road in front of our Motel to tramp the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway. The walkway surprised and delighted, it is a scenic and wildlife attraction.  Even though the weather was grey, the rain held back and we had wonderful seascapes, particularly from the cliff path section of the walk.

The heroes of the walk were the New Zealand Fur Seals along Point Kean and the huge New Zealand flaxes, which are actually lilies, all along the coastal path. I have been noticing these plants with their ungainly flowers and pods wherever we have been. Its an ancient hardy plant, I read one of the oldest in New Zealand, they are past their summer best now and the pods are twisting and drooping forming quite awkward forms.

Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway

F is for Ferry: Interislander to South Island

Selfie with a difference!

 We are on the move again.

We joined a packed ferry to cross Cook Strait to Picton from Wellington.

I kept a bird watch on the deck, saw a couple of Mollymawks and was most excited to identify a new seabird - there were a number of Buller's Shearwaters, with their distinctive 'm' marking on the back. First new bird for this visit to New Zealand.

We are now in Kaikoura, one of the hotspots in New Zealand for seabird encounters. So we have booked with Albatross Encounters to go out to sea tomorrow and I am hoping that the lumpiness of the current conditions will improve a little.

Off hiking now along the Kaikoura Peninsula.

O is for Oriental Bay Beach: summer day in Wellington

A stretch of man-made beach along Oriental Bay comes alive on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon in Wellington.

We walked from Ngaio to the beach to get some walking under our belt and the gang joined the crowd on the beach to have a swim.

Lovely to see a community at peace and able to enjoy a public space harmoniously.

F is for Foodie Treats: the tastes of New Zealand

• Green-lipped Muscles:

We had a pot full for New Years Eve. 

They are a New Zealand specialty not to be found anywhere else in the world. They are large, fatty and quite delicious, with a dark green shell and a green lip of course! 

Will look out for them again during our South Island trip.

• Fish and Chips:

We have been treated to excellent fish and chips on our travels, blue warehou mostly is the catch of the day, firm and white fleshy fish and very tasty.

Yesterday, coming down from our tramping along the Southern Walkway, Shawni introduced us to one of their favourites, the Mt Vic Chippery, a quaint shop in Mount Victoria who have a lunch special for $10 which was a win, having just done some strenuous walking.

• Pies and Tomato Relish as well as Bacon and Egg Pies.

Fred has always loved pies, especially steak and kidney pies, and New Zealand has not disappointed. A new taste for me was a butter chicken pie recommended by Craig and very yummy indeed. Some of the cafes we frequented also prepared a local favourite, a bacon and egg slice/pie, a good breakfast option with a mug of coffee. Pies are served with a relish and often homemade too.

Pies have been a staple on the holiday.

• New Zealand Lollies, otherwise known as sweets and chocolates:

Whittakers, huge thick slabs of delicious chocolate especially the Hokey Pokey, which is a sponge toffee filling. Shawni put the special peanut slab into Fred’s stocking for Christmas.

The Jaffa, a little round hard coated orange flavoured candy with a chocolate centre, great for while watching movies or TV.

• Coffee: all day and everywhere 

Flat whites, cappuccinos, lattes, regular, large, have in or take out.

I have so enjoyed each coffee stop, with or with out a treat, but always a pleasure.

Pick up the newspaper, find a sudoku. 

Life is better for a good cup of coffee.

• New Zealand Cookies – Afgans, Anzacs and Gingernuts

Afghans – chocolate-coated cornflake biscuits rather like a single Romany Cream. 

I am on the lookout now for the Anzacs. I enjoyed this article from Stuff.co.nz about the competition between Australia and New Zealand for the ownership of these biscuits - a matter of national pride:

"As a patriotic nibble, Anzac biscuits are second to none. But for years New Zealand has had a better claim to the original recipe and name.

Now Australia might be able to take back the biscuit, or at least a few crumbs of national pride, after the discovery of a recipe published in a Melbourne newspaper in 1921.

Australian and New Zealand troops on Gallipoli in 1915 probably ate nothing resembling today's Anzac biscuit, that delicious combination of rolled oats, golden syrup, sugar, flour, desiccated coconut and melted butter. (They had to make do with the dreaded hard-tack "tiles" in their ration-packs.)

Until now, the first Australian-published recipe for a recognisable Anzac biscuit was credited to a 1923 edition of Mrs H W Shaw's Six Hundred Tested Recipes.

However, by picking through the National Library of Australia's Trove website - which contains digitised records of many Australian newspapers - AAP has found Melbourne's Argus newspaper printed a recipe for Anzac biscuits on July 6, 1921.

The recipe, supplied by a reader identified as "Caulfield" reads:

"Two breakfast-cupfuls John Bull oats, half-cupful sugar, one scant cupful plain flour, half-cupful melted butter. Mix one tablespoonful of golden syrup, 2 tablespoonfuls boiling water, and one teaspoonful of soda till they froth; then add the melted butter. Mix in dry ingredients, and drop in spoonfuls on a floured tray. Bake in a slow oven."

The recipe has the right name, ingredients and method to stake a claim as the earliest recorded true Anzac Biscuit recipe. (Desiccated coconut does not seem to have been included in any version until 1927.)

However, Dr Helen Leach, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Otago and the recognised authority on the Anzac biscuit, sounds a sobering note.

She points to a remarkably similar recipe - for Anzac Crispies - that was published in New Zealand in 1919 in the eighth edition of the St Andrew's Cookery Book.

Its ingredient quantities are double those of the newly-found Australian recipe, which makes Leach think "they're clearly related".

"I would say that yours may not be a copy of mine, but they may have the same ancestor."

Bought some Anzac biscuits, will try then with tea tonight

• L&P (Lemon and Paeroa):

A sweet, uncoloured soft drink made by combining lemon juice with carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa. 

We had to pop past and take a photo of the giant 7 meter, 1.3m diameter L&P bottle, which did not impress Fred! 

The comical pretentious advertising slogan "World Famous in New Zealand" has become a popular saying here.

• Ice cream: 

Any and all flavours have been delicious.

We have been choosing Salted Caramel whenever we can.

A special memory from our 2011 RWC trip was ice-cream from Kaffee Eis, along Oriental Bay. 

So Shawni and I popped in after one of our long walks and bought cones, sat on a bench along the promenade and watched the world go by while enjoying our choices - my tiramisu was delicious - and another - who would have thought moment.

• Kiwi fruit:

No surprise and quite delicious for breakfast with natural yoghurt.

• Kumara:

Large orange coloured sweet potatoes, yummy as a chip, a mash, roasted and even mashed.

• Classic Kiwi Onion Soup Dip:

This tasty but rich dip is a kiwi classic at parties. Made with reduced cream, onion soup and vinegar. Craig whipped one up for us last night with the braai, and against expectations we all finished the bowl full in no time with carrot stacks and nachos.

"Kiwis love it, expats miss it and the rest of the world is just missing out."

Supermarkets group packets of onion soup and tins of reduced cream together on the shelves so locals can make their favourite dip.

Ingredients

Makes: 1 cup

         250g reduced cream

         32g sachet onion soup mix

         1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine reduced cream, onion soup and vinegar until well mixed. 

Cover and allow to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. 

Serve with chips and crudities.

S is for St. Gerards: a monastery floating above Oriental Bay, Wellington

St Gerard's Church and Monastery, on the cliff above Oriental Bay in Wellington

We had a glimpse of the unique lifestyle of the monastery and the church that looms from it's cliffside over Oriental Bay - St Gerard's built in 1908 for the Redemptorists, who first arrived in New Zealand in 1883 and required a base from which they could travel and inspire Catholics to find a deeper faith.

I rang the bell and one of the priests, who hails from India, came to the door and was happy to show us around the historic building. We went into the church with its fine stained glass windows, into the residential side of the building which houses about 20 people, missionaries, priests and monks, sat quietly in their private chapel and popped into the library.
Its an old building, careworn and sparse but dignified, fiercely cold in winter, with a library that must have one of the best settings in town with its bay window and the views across Wellington.

A visit to St. Gerard's, a Wellington landmark.

M is for Mt Victoria: tramping the Southern Walkway in Wellington

A perfect day with crystal clear skies.

Wellington sparkles on a perfect summer day, there is a clarity of light which is wondrous and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.

We had such a day.

We walked the harbour; watching boats, swimmers, paddle boarders, sunbathers, runners and people taking in the joy of a good day; past Oriental Bay and then up onto the start of the Southern Walkway. Immediately the gradient tightens, with many switchbacks, steep wooden steps and inclines that got me gasping for air. The vistas across the bay and the city are worth each steep rise.

Eventually we were up and out of the houses, into the forest and eventually onto Mt Vic and the 360 degree views of greater Wellington. Too marvellous, a great walk.

Southern Walkway to the Mt Vic Lookout, sea, city, forests and interesting homes.

V is for Vouchers: my Entertainment gift

Clipping vouchers in Wellington

My Christmas gift from Shawni and Craig was a wonderful parcel full of special treats.

I have been having loads of fun with one of the gifts, a book of vouchers called the  Entertainment Guide for Wellington and Manawatu.  These vouchers are redeemable against all sorts of outings and entertainment  - movies, cable car ride, swimming pools, retail, sport, cafes, restaurants etc.

Yesterday I spent time at the Freyberg Swimming Pool doing some lane swimming, thanks to my voucher. When its time for lunch we look at options from the book, so today we headed off to the charming little Cafe du Parc in Khandallah that was built as a tearoom in the 1920's and we rather like the 25% off our  bills too.

And of course I am listing where I have used the vouchers and the savings too. This gift appeals to the lister and planner in me. There are hundreds, so I am going to be kept busy these 2 months!

Postscript: So I tracked all the vouchers, nature reserves, ferries, cable cars, tourist tickets for caves and glow worms, movies, museums, swimming pools, coffees, breakies, lunches, dinners, take-aways, coffee roasters, bakeries, chocolatiers, pies, photo printing, cosmetics,... was an amazing part of the visit. 
And.... 
The savings ended up over $860. Fun gift, all Fred wants to is what we spent  - who cares!

W is for Weather: 'it's geographical suddenness'

Coming down the state highway 1 yesterday the weather report looked very ominous - Severe Weather Warning! Northwest gales expected with gusts of 140km/h in exposed places.

Goodness me. But we were sheltered here in Ngaio, it was windy but not to the extent that I expected having read the forecast.

Then today. The clouds were blown away, we had a glorious big blue sky, windy but not that it stopped Shawni and I spending the late afternoon doing a 2 hour walk.

We promenaded along the Wellington Harbour, past Te Papa Museum, then along and past Oriental Bay, both the beaches were packed with sunbathers and even swimmers, before turning around and heading for ice creams at Kaffee Eis, another favourite Wellington memory of mine from 2011.

Late afternoon promenade along the Wellington foreshore.

On a return visit today for fish and chips and ginger beer at Mac's Brewbar, along the Wellington Harbour, I saw this extract from the writing of a renowned Wellington resident and I was struck by her words on the weather here in this beautiful city:

"in the presence of its geographical suddenness, the brilliance of its light, the ambiguities - and sometimes the trials - of its weather"

I am learning the geographical suddenness, the weather changes can feel instant and rather surprising too.

J is for Jerseys: The Wool Company

Excited with our special purchases.

Four years ago Fred and I landed in Auckland to spend 2 months in New Zealand following the RWC 2011.

We collected our camper van and started to make our way to Wellington to watch the Springbok's opening game.

After the first day we realised that we were ill equipped for the cold, even though it was spring. So our first shopping spree was at The Wool Company, in Utiku along the State Highway 1, and they stock gorgeous wool clothing.

I have loved my black mohair and possum jersey coat purchase ever since.

So today I returned and had one of those 'who would have thought moments', here I was again, this time with Shawni, both of us shopping for the same jersey, this time I bought one in navy and she in black.

Even in the New Zealand summer, the jerseys will come in handy.

C is for Cave Weta: another strange New Zealand endemic

Seeing our first Cave Weta

Wow, such super long antennae!.
As we entered Aranui Cave in a chamber called the Butcher Shop, because the formations look like carcasses hanging from the ceiling, our guide showed us the Cave Wetas, suspended among the stalactites on their thin spindly legs.
Another weirdly wonderful New Zealand endemic.

A is for Aranui Cave: stalactite and stalagmite wonderland

En route from the Coromandel Peninsula back home to Wellington, we stopped over at Waitomo, which means water that flows through a hole in the ground, a key tourism spot on the North Island.

There is a wonderful expression here in New Zealand - "World Famous in New Zealand" - and as Craig says, he had not heard of either the Glowworm caves or the limestone wonders of Aranui Cave before researching the road trip.

Bus loads of tourists did suggest that  Waitomo is indeed on the tourist circuit!

So we booked both tours.

Last night the glowworms created a wonderful spectacle as we floated silently beneath their green glows, thousands of them, with their fine webs waving in the light breeze waiting to trap an insect carried in by the river.

This morning we returned to the area, all rather bleary eyed after a rough night in a motel that was noisy, trains passing the rooms, and joined the tour through Aranui Cave.

The largest stalactite, 400 000 years old!

The collection of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, shawls and decorative formations were very beautiful.

Colours are leached into the formations and add another dimension, from ice white to a deep chocolate brown, however I love them with a clean, waxy, pearly white look.

We all felt that the cave was a magical, mystical place and  we were refreshed and energised after the visit and ready for the journey back to Wellington.

Chocolate fountain?

S is for Silver Fern: endemic and emblematic

A bushwalk up to the Aranui Cave this morning was a treat, our guide pointing out fascinating plants, leaves that were used to send messages and of course the most important of all ferns here in New Zealand, the silver fern.

Extract from the Zealandia website:

"The Silver Fern is the most distinct and easily recognised New Zealand tree fern, especially when viewed from underneath. The underside of the fronds and the stems of the fronds near the trunk are a distinctive silver-white, giving the fern its name. It grows to a height of 10 m or more and has a thick trunk up to 45cm in diameter. The base of the trunk is a mass of old fibrous aerial roots while the upper part of the trunk is covered in the bases and stalks of old fronds.

The fern fronds are a bright green on the upper surface and reach lengths of up to 4m, arching out in a circular, somewhat flattened, crown. Young silver ferns are green on the underside and it can take the plant several years for the silvery-white colour to develop."

The silver underside of the Silver Fern

Shawni approaching the entrance to Aranui Cave