Unlucky bit of weather we are having… It is raining, which is not a strange phenomenon for the west coast of New Zealand. The warm dry air from Australia makes its way across the Tasman Sea picking up moisture, and then hits the Southern Alps, which cools the clouds and produces up to 45 feet of rain per year. Unfortunately, what we are experiencing today is a rather large front producing loads of rain across the whole of the southern island. So, the Trans-alpine train, which was picked up in Greymouth, was not projected to produce the greatest views. But, by this time in the trip I’ve seen many, many mountains, so the smoothness of the rail system is a welcome change from winding roads by bus. The "All Aboard" call meant saying goodbye to a new friend, which I'm sure will happen many times on this trip.
Surprise, coming out of the 18 km trans-alpine tunnel we were greeted with a mixed sky, which brightened to partly cloudy. This provided for some great viewing from the open vista car.
The one down side of the open car was my running trip total for “lost hats” now stands at two. My new hat hung in there for a good 45 minutes of wind drubbing and suddenly smack, it was gone. A gust caught the brim, launched it to the back wall on the other side of the open car for a brief hopeful glimpse and then whoosh a garment donation was made to the New Zealand alpine bush. (All you can do after loosing your new favorite hat is smile and take a picture to memorialize the moment.)
Today’s unique Kiwi experience was “Pete’s Possum Pies”. Yummy! I actually ate two. This deserves a bit of a preface. Possum in New Zealand is not the “rat-like” road kill creature of North America, but much more like a land borne Koala. This may not sound like much of an appetite inducing improvement, but the pies were tasty. The meat was dark and a little like lamb. (Nice photo of the pained first bite, before overcoming fear and letting the tastebuds take over. Another guy started one pie and needed a sudden exit half way through. The mind can be so limiting some times... haaa.)
I had a great ending to a really cool train ride through the mountains and down to Christchurch. Upon arrival to Christchurch train station, I ask a gentleman getting off the train with me if he knew which direction was the park? He didn’t know but said, “Maybe this guy up here will know.” It ends up that the other man was his friend picking him and a few other Australian travelers up from the train station. These happy go lucky Australians insisted on driving me to the YMCA backpackers from the train station. When getting out of the van at the “Y” I said to them, “Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.” To which the original man from the train said, “We thought you might. Have a great rest of your trip!” That kind of “road rules” generosity can’t help but make your day.
Christchurch is a remarkably easy city to walk and the evening sights reminded me a little of Europe complete with Cathedral square.
Kiwi Cuisine
• Apricots - Simply add dried apricots to anything and everything. Initially, this can be a big taste enhancer with a sweetness boost to most meals, however, even after a week or so it becomes a little tiring.
• Kiwi Fruit – Thus far not the tangy juicy variety digested in California. It appears that a smoother tasting variety is prized. When visiting the orchards between Queenstown and Wanaka there was even a yellow variety, which to my taste had none.
• Avocado – Surprisingly not green. Again, a very bland production without the typical depth of color. The texture was very smooth but very lacking the richness that produces good guacamole. Speaking of guacamole, in New Zealand it is an almost pure mixture of mayonnaise and avocado with the end product a runny drizzle of smooth consistency.
• Sandwich – Comprised almost extensively of bread, but accompanied by various condiment flavoring forms: seemingly always mayonnaise, protein applied to the same thickness as the mayonnaise, and possibly the most incredibly thinly sliced tomatoes, cheese, or lettuce. The sum total of the filling is not to exceed one half the thickness of one piece of bread.
• Pies – Erase any preconceived “Mrs. Smith” or “Marie Calendars” images. These are not of the large fruit variety but of the 4-inch diameter meat filled genera. (Ref. above) The quality is judged by the ingredient content and flavor. In general a meat pie filled with hearty seasoned chunks of protein, enveloped in a flakey crust would constitute culinary success. The opposite would be a pie cavity containing more air and starchy sauce filler than meat. The occasional and very tasty high quality pie keeps me coming back for more.
No comments:
Post a Comment