Gallivanting around New Zealand

We visit New Zealand every couple of years, to catch up with family and friends and enjoy the country's rather quirky ambiance. We arrived back in Canberra last night after almost two weeks touring around NZ. You can read about my impressions from last time here, but here's what jumped out at us this time ...

– retro food RULES. I don't know if this is because New Zealand tried modern cuisine then dumped it in favour of old-fashioned stuff, or if the Kiwis have never noticed the rest of the world has moved on. No matter. The kumara chips:

mini mince pies (known as 'savouries'), custard squares, yo-yos, afghans, neenish tarts, gingernuts and lolly cake ...

are all excellent!

– the tiny town of Oamaru (population about 13,000) is surprisingly charming

– school kids still wear disgustingly ugly roman sandals (and I even saw one adult wearing them – UGH!)

– NZ drivers can be pretty dodgy

– our favourite Wellington eatery, Caffe Mode, hasn't disappeared – yaaaay!

– Wellington's new suburban trains are cute as a button, and the Coastal Pacific train between Christchurch and Picton is fun.

More musings – and NZ-inspired recipes – to come in future posts, I suspect ...

Street sign across the road from the Beehive. How cute is that?