The morning of May 29 was cold and breezy, but overall it looked like a good weather window. We were the only ones leaving from Tauranga that day, but other boats were jumping off from Marsden Point (outside of Whangarei) and Opua, including the ill-fated Nina headed for Australia. Those other boats had the advantage of being a day or two north of us, but we had the advantage of being east of them, and those of us heading to Fiji would not be arriving very far apart.
During the morning we made final preparations and got checked out with customs, who actually came to our boat. It was about 12:30 when Rich fired up the engine and we were about ready to go. Rich asked if I was hungry, and I said I was. We both looked up at Phil’s restaurant perched just above our slip. Maybe if we went and had lunch, the gusty winds would die down. At least we could leave on a full stomach! With that, Rich turned off the engine and we marched right up to the restaurant for seafood chowder. What a treat! After another round of good-byes, we were back on the boat. Oh how we’ll miss everyone here.
After dressing up in layers of long underwear, jeans, T shirts, sweat shirts, hats, gloves and foulies, we were set. People came down to see us off, but I was too nervous to enjoy it. It took everything I had to focus on the tasks at hand. The current was running and was a bit of an adventure getting out of our slip. Tony from the marina was standing by to assist in his dinghy and give helpful advice. Once we maneuvered out of the slip, Rich had to go fast to keep the boat moving forward. Legacy kind of headed down the fairway sideways, but Rich kept her in the middle, then made a skillful high speed exit through the S-curve to the main channel.
We were still riding the fast current but now had a lot more room. It was quite an adventure passing the Mount at an involuntary 9.5 knots amid impressive (and slightly scary) swirling currents. We soon shot out through the harbor entrance and into the open ocean. The wind was gusting but all our layers kept us warm, and we’ve found that when we’re warm and dry, we feel much more calm. We actually felt good and excited about heading north into warmer temperatures. We knew our immediate future held some squally weather and choppy seas, but the GRIBS predicted it would get really lovely in about 3 days. –Cyndi
All bundled up as we began our passage.Current vs wind equals very churned up water as we neared the harbor entrance.Going fast, not that we had any choice as we were riding a fast current.Looking back at the Mount after exiting the harbor.
We’re just completing the final, small tasks before heading out onto the big ocean again – bound for Fiji this time. We’re getting weather routing advice from Bob McDavitt and he says it’s a go. Here’s an image he sent us showing what we can expect by way of winds (red wind feathers) and currents (small arrows) along our planned route.
Our route.
Wish us luck! We’ll try to post along the way. -Rich
OK, I hope not totally our last meal – just our last meal at a restaurant in Tauranga before we take off tomorrow to sail up to Fiji. The weather for the passage is looking good, the boat projects have come together, and it’s getting COLD here! That’s why lunch by the fire. We couldn’t get the table any closer! It’s time to head north before it gets any colder.
Lunch at Phil’s Place
Phil’s Place is our favorite restaurant in Tauranga, and we’re lucky ’cause it’s right at our marina. The food, atmosphere and service are all great. We’re going to miss this while we’re away, but we’ll be back. -Rich
“No fair New Zealand!” was a phrase we’ve uttered many times as we’d arrive at yet another place of staggering beauty. “Save some pretty for other countries!” we’d demand. Sometimes just driving along, we’d say, “Stop it; stop it this instant! We can’t take any more!” A person can only take so much scenic beauty before their eyes need a rest! Sometimes the nonstop beauty gets so overwhelming it’s like being assaulted by feathers.
New Zealand is definitely nature’s combination plate, encompassing vegetation and terrain from around the world. We used to joke: What plants does New Zealand have? All of them! New Zealand is like a combination of everyplace, yet it looks like no place else. What’s amazing is the unusual combinations of plants and landscape never look strange or haphazard–they always work.
If I were to make up a legend about the creation of New Zealand, I’d say God finished the rest of the Earth first and ended up with leftover bits from everywhere. He then combined these bits to create the final masterwork that is New Zealand. Of course such a masterwork needs to be properly lit, so a sky was created with special clouds that would filter the sunlight into a soft warm light and create shadows on the landscape for drama. Aotearoa is the Maori word for New Zealand and means “the land of the long white cloud.” It’s very fitting.
It may be apparent by now that we have fallen in love with this beautiful country. The warm and wonderful people, the amazing food and wine, and the laid-back lifestyle would be reason enough to make this place worth visiting. The astonishing beauty of the landscape is quite a bonus.
By now we’d spent six months here, but there was so much to see both by land and by sea that we felt we’d barely scratched the surface. We’d pretty much seen only the north half of the north island, and there was never a question that we’d come back to see more of this fantastic country. New Zealand felt like a second home to us and we looked forward to returning for the December ’13 – May ’14 cruising season.
Below is a gallery of random pictures from our time here, in no particular order. They aren’t from our best pictures; they are the final leftovers that never even made the last-chance galleries. But all together this strange combination of pictures makes a fitting collage for the season. As always click to enlarge and scroll. –Cyndi
After six months in New Zealand, I can make some observations about modern New Zealand cuisine. Guidebooks consistently describe it as “Pacific Rim fusion,” combining the flavors of Asia and Polynesia with classic British fare. Well, I’m not sure I ever saw this exactly. What I did see is Kiwis appreciate good food from many cultures; so if you’re in a city you can generally find what you’re in the mood for: Indian, Italian, French, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indonesian, Mexican, Korean, American, and Middle-Eastern, along with basic seafood, steak, sandwiches, salads and burgers. That said, here are some food-related things that stood out to us as distinctly Kiwi.
1. Kiwis love their fish and chips. No matter where you go or how small the town, you can always find a fish and chips “takeaway” (take-out), and most restaurants have fish and chips on the menu.
(Our previous fish and chips post is here.)
Meat Pies in a Glass Case
2. Kiwis also love their meat pies, and these can always be found in the glass cases of cafes, bakeries and many gas stations. It took me a long time to not to feel let down when I realized a sign saying “fresh pies” didn’t refer to warm fruit pie with ice cream. Basically meat pies have a meat and gravy filling completely encased by crust and meant to be eaten out of hand. Fancier versions have vegetables–picture a small handheld chicken pot pie–and might require cutlery.
More meat pies.
3. New Zealand has a wide variety of shellfish and seafood, and seafood chowder is a staple here. Surprisingly, I don’t think I ever saw clam chowder even though they have an abundance of clams. Chowder is usually a mixture of seafood.
4. Kiwis have a unique way of making their burgers, adding a slice or two of beet and an egg. (Our post about it here.) The combination is really delicious, but I wish they’d make their beef patties thinner. Restaurant burgers are so thick that it’s a challenge to figure out how you’re going to eat it. The beef often has a meat-loafy quality to it, too. I don’t know if it’s the way they grind it or if they mix things in, but it took us a long time to find a good burger place that, along with the thick patties, serves a thinner patty, too. (Thank you Burger Fuel!)
5. Kiwis love pizza and it’s easy to find here, along with some very good Italian food. We were thrilled and very surprised to even find a chain (Sal’s) that sells authentic New York pizza (we’ve eaten lots of pizza in New York so we know). Now, if only someone would do Chicago-style pizza.
A basic wood-fired pizza.A vegetarian pizza Kiwi style (if I remember correctly this one had pumpkin and sweet potato).Classic New York pizza at Sal’s in Auckland.
6. There’s an abundance of Asian food here, but it’s a little different in some ways from the US. While there’s plenty of Chinese restaurants, there’s a surprising lack of takeout Chinese food. Instead, the take-out Asian food places tend to be Thai. It’s high time someone introduced New Zealand to Panda Express! I have no doubt it would be a huge hit here.
A Japanese cafe in Kerikeri.
Conversely, someone needs to introduce more Indonesian and Malaysian food to the US. It’s much more common in New Zealand and really good.
Malaysian and Indonesian food are delicious and reasonably easy to find in New Zealand.
7. Thankfully, Kiwis are embracing Mexican food. The good news is there are some fabulous Mexican restaurants with the type of food you’d find in Mexico City. The bad news is they tend to be expensive by the time you add up the main dishes, chips and guacamole, margaritas, etc. There’s one restaurant in Auckland much like the casual and cheap American chain Chipotle, and it seems to be expanding.
Mexicali is very much like Chipotle in the US.Classic margaritas and guacamole at a Mexican restaurant.
We haven’t yet seen anything like El Torito, which I’d definitely call American Mexican food, but we have seen Tex-Mex.
8. The pub is alive and well here. There were British pubs and Irish pubs, but the best pubs were the Belgian ones. There are a lot of great beers in the world, but the Belgians, without a doubt, make the best. No contest. Their food is very good, too.
Tauranga’s local Irish pub is a popular place.
9. New Zealand has all the fruits and veggies we have in the US, but what’s interesting is what they favor. While American salads are based on iceberg or green leafy lettuces, the Kiwis prefer rocket (aka arugula). I never thought I cared for arugula much, but maybe I didn’t give it a fair chance because here I love it. You’ll also see a lot of pumpkin in both salads and cooked dishes. It’s not the same as our American pumpkin but more like a large squash. Other favorites include beet, which shows up on burgers, sandwiches and salads, and kumara (sweet potato) which is in many cooked dishes. Of course the regular potato is widely used, too.
Two of New Zealand’s favorite veggies on this pizza: rocket and pumpkin.
10. Aioli, basically garlic mayonnaise, is the condiment of choice in New Zealand. Of course there’s generally tomato sauce (ketchup in the US) on the table. And they have mustard. But aioli is generally the condiment for burgers, sandwiches, etc. Another frequently seen condiment is peri-peri sauce, a spicy Portuguese chili sauce that’s very tasty.
11. The farmer’s market is very popular here, just like in America. And there’s always an artisan bread maker at any given market where you can buy some fabulous bread. Overall in America we have a greater variety and quality of bread in our supermarkets. If you want the best bread in New Zealand, you need to go to a farmer’s market or a bakery.
Buying bread at the farmer’s market in Mount Maunganui.A bounty of produce at a farmer’s market stand in Mount Maunganui.
12. As far as bakery goods, the British heritage really shows in the scones that are abundant here. Some are savory, and some are sweet, and you can sometimes find a place that serves them with jam and Devonshire cream (a thick buttery whipped cream meant to be served with scones).
Muffins are also very popular, as are croissants. Afghan cookies usually sit in a jar on the counter. (Afgahns post) And the cronut (croissant and donut combined) craze has spread to New Zealand. Not many bakeries make them, and when they do they sell out early. Like in America, I think that their periodic unavailability makes people want them more.
Yummy goodies at a local bakery.A delicious raisin scone for breakfast.
13. The breakfasts here are excellent, particularly if you like poached eggs. Kiwis seem to specialize in making poached eggs–they are consistently perfect. What seems to be a bit of an art in America seems effortless for Kiwis as it’s their basic egg preparation. I don’t know what their secret is, maybe it’s something about the chickens that makes them lay these wonderfully poachable eggs.
A frequent breakfast side dish here is creamed mushrooms, which are fabulous. My favorite breakfast here is poached eggs on toast with a side of creamed mushrooms.
My favorite Kiwi breakfast: poached eggs on toast and a side of creamed mushrooms.
And let’s not forget the coffee, which I’ve already done a post about here.
A long black with the hot water on the side.
14. Finally, for dessert, there’s generally cake, bread pudding, ice cream, brownies and the like. While there are fruit crumbles and crisps and deep-dish fruit desserts, the classic American wedge of fruit pie seems rare. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough–I’ll have to investigate this further next season. Early in the summer pavlova is abundant as it’s the classic Christmas and summer dessert.
Pavlova (berries and cooked meringue with whipped cream) and cappuccino for dessert.
15. Of course I should mention Maori food, the cuisine of the native Polynesian New Zealanders. Their big feasts are cooked in an earth oven, and Maori hangi are popular tourist happenings in places like Rotorua. I’d compare them to a Hawaiian luau as they often include a cultural dance show. I have not yet dragged Rich to one of these, but I went years ago and very much enjoyed it.
16. I’ll mention here something unique about the typical cafe layout: they always have a big glass case filled with various dishes like salads, casseroles, sandwiches, baked goods, etc.
Generally you go to the counter and get a menu, and it’s a good idea to take a look in the glass case as those items are generally not included on the menu. (I’ve more than once had the annoying experience of finishing a meal and going to pay afterwards only to spot something I would have preferred sitting in the glass case.)
A very typical selection of the sorts of foods cafes and restaurants sell from the counter.This is the general look of a New Zealand cafe, with the menu written above the counter and items also sold out of the glass cases.
After you have a seat, a wait person will bring your water glasses and a big glass bottle of cold water for the table. If you drink it all during your meal, they’ll refill it. I love this tradition as it saves having to frantically wave at the staff for another glass of water, which so often happens in water-stingy California.
Ah, a refreshing bottle of cold water.Often times the glass water bottles are beautiful and would probably be considered a collectable in the US.
Also unique is you go to the counter to pay after your meal. This is also nice in that you aren’t stuck waiting for someone to pick up your check or bring back your change. These little traditions make life so much nicer for both the customer and the wait staff.
In all, there’s lots of great food in New Zealand, but there are a few things we really miss from America. Here’s our list:
a. Cheeseburgers. Not just any cheeseburgers–after all, we can get pretty good ones in New Zealand–but a top-notch burger from a place like Five Guys, Hodad’s (in San Diego), Burger City Grill (in Los Angeles), or Rainbow Oaks (a restaurant just outside of Fallbrook). For that matter, a burger from In-n-Out would be pretty good, too.
b. Southern California Mexican Food, the cheap but delicious kind. Things like a carne asada burrito from Loma Bonita, beans and rice from Las Quatro Milpas, tacos from Tito’s, and green chili quesadillas from El Taco come to mind. We also wouldn’t mind a Rubio’s fish taco.
c. Good Sub Sandwiches. Not the kind from Subway, but the kind that come from a good deli. Like Sorrento’s in San Pedro, or any deli in New York. For that matter, we’d love a great cheesesteak, too. You can get steak and cheese sandwiches in New Zealand, but they tend to be restaurant items to be eaten with a knife and fork. It’s not the same.
d. A Good Milkshake. Again milkshakes are easy to find in New Zealand but are most often like flavored milk – unless you order a thickshake, but even then it’s usually not much thicker. A top-notch, really ice-creamy milkshake from a place like Burger City Grill is unmatched here. Oddly the best shake we’ve had in the South Pacific is the coffee frappuccino at The Aquarium restaurant in Vava’u, Tonga. It’s thick, ice-creamy, and delicious.
e. Panda Express. Half rice, half chow mein, and two main dishes in a Styrofoam container. Add hot sauce and a large iced tea. Damn that was good.
f. Iced Tea. I always assumed that was everywhere in the world. I was wrong. It seems to be an American thing. (I’m not counting that god-awful, overly-sweetened stuff sold in bottles.)
g. Good Brie or Camembert. New Zealand makes a lot of adequate hard cheese and excellent goat cheese, but unless you go to the weekly French market in Auckland (where they sell cheese actually made in France), you cannot find good runny cheese. It’s not that brie and camembert aren’t widely available–they are. The problem is that while they’re soft, they’re not spreadable. Somehow Australia has mastered decent brie and camembert; so I don’t know what the issue is with New Zealand. If you’re a cheesemaker and happen to read this, please consider practicing your craft in New Zealand. They have the cows/goats/sheep, and they have the sweet grass. They need you.
Excuse me while I go book a ticket back to the US. Just kidding, but I will say when we do go back to visit the US, we will be eating. A lot.–Cyndi
