For Christchurch Sake, Whitebait Heaven, Jade Capital & Puke Pub

November 12, 2011

The water & showers in NZ have been great, either hot w/plenty of pressure, but made for really short people or cold for drinking & tasting really good. Christchurch is contracting their earthquake zone, but the town is really pretty slow yet. We found out why we had a hard time getting a room last night-they had a festival that's been held for 149 years. I just wonder where all the people were hiding. Shops seem to close around 6PM each evening.

After riding the TranzScenic Alpine Rail back to Greymouth we stopped in Maggie's Kitchen for lunch. The owner graciously let us be his last customer for the day & we ordered the Wild Combo Special (see photo of plateful of food). Their whitebait patties (the thing that looks like scrambled eggs ) is really good plus we had green lipped mussels, turbot, calamari, kumara ( a sweet potato like veggie) & a fresh salad. Tracy & I split one plate for lunch. We told the owner we would mention his restaurant & he said one of the other cafe owner's keeps writing their own reviews so they look good in the guide books. I can't imagine they could be any better than Maggie's-whoever they are.

We picked up our car from a backpacker's lodge in Greymouth & headed for Hokitika, the Jade capital of NZ. Upon arriving we entered a Possum Store which sells everything possum, including soft fur gloves, hats & scarves. These are possums from Australia that were brought over to grow for their furs. They are not the sickly looking disgusting things we have in the US. After we'd had our fill of furs we headed for the Blown Glass store. Great glass objects are made locally & included many versions of kiwi, weka & penguins. Since our money was burning a hole in our pockets the Ruby Rock store beckoned. Ruby rock is only found in NZ. It is as hard as diamonds & more rare, but few people know about it. It contains reds, greens, blues & purples in various shades. The rocks are stunning, but Tracy could not find any that she liked well enough to take home. Vic breathed a sigh of relief. Next we hit about 10 jade stores, bought some gifts & Tracy did find several pieces that are now called hers. Vic's wallet is much lighter now. Back in the car we raced along the beautiful scenic by-ways, again hardly any traffic, towards our next destination-Puke Pub.

Just so you know Vic did not drink until he-well you know, he didn't get sick. Their menu included a Bambi burger, Road Kill Toasted sandwich & a Bunny Burger. There is saw dust as the floor in one room, a chain saw turned sideways holds up some liquor, furs & animal heads all over the walls, awards for winning the best food & wine matching in the annual NZ Wild Foods Festival & signs that say "No IDIOTS, No Service, No Exceptions" & "doubles serviced unless otherwise requested-know how much you are drinking". Unfortunately they were out of possum, which is supposed to taste sort of like lamb, chicken & wild hare so Vic left hungry & sober. BTW it's pronounced poo-kay. Across the road & closed for the day so we missed our cultural experience, was the Bushman's Museum-containing various possum exhibits & a giant replica of a sandfly hanging on the front of the building. Back on the road again we finally made our way to Franz Joseph Glacier where we had dinner & settled in for the night.