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Our next adventure started on Tranzalpine Train (departing daily from Christchurch to Greymouth) travelling from one coast of New Zealand to the other traversing the fields of Canterbury plains and farmlands followed by spectacular gorges and river valleys of Waimakariri river.
We devoured each and every picturesque landscape during the five-hour train voyage from Christchurch to Greymouth while savoring the Feijoa fruit juice (a very peculiar fruit grown abundantly in NZ).
On reaching Greymouth, we hired a car which was pre-booked - this is a very good option to explore NZ at one’s own pace and liking. We were meandering through the west coast and came to the small Ville of Hokitika (many towns, cities and suburbs in NZ has peculiar/tongue-twisting names like Meremere, Papatoetoe, Matamata, Ngaruawahia, Motatau, Omata, Kerikeri, so don’t be startled to come across such milestones throughout) these are all Maori names with no English substitutes, so good to see that the names of places were not changed barring the European influence.
Hokitika is famous for Rimu forest and granite cliffs and home to New Zealand’s finest jade. We definitely had to visit one of the jade factories/outlets and found ourselves in one of the biggest where we marveled at Nephrite jade products, ranging from hand-carved pendants, jade jewelry combined with gold or sterling silver fittings, beads, sculptures, ornaments and tumbled stone. Many of the hand-sculpted creations have a special meaning connected with hope, strength, growth and family bonds and it’s a Maori tradition to wear jade pendants. Because of the nature of the handwork involved, every piece regardless of its design or size was almost unique.
By the end of this spree we were all famished and wanted to savour something typically Kiwi so found ourselves in an open café terrace very much European but with a laid back ambience… we devoured kumara (sweet potato) entrée along with crayfish prawn salad watering it down with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wine… it was such a soothing combination and refreshing in the scorching heat.
New Zealand’s cuisine has been described as Pacific Rim, drawing inspiration from Europe, Asia and Polynesia; dishes that have a distinctly New Zealand style are lamb, pork and venison, salmon, crayfish (lobster), Bluff oysters, paua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (both are types of New Zealand shellfish), kumara (sweet potato), kiwifruit, tamarillo and pavlova, the national dessert. It is a haven for seafood lovers.
Its distinctiveness is more in the way New Zealanders eat, generally preferring as relaxed and unaffected as possible, in keeping with the laidback Kiwi psyche.
(To be continued)
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