This past weekend I was reminded of the joys of camping, and the costs of traveling. Shannon and I joined up with two other teachers from Paparoa Street School (Lucy and Megan) for two nights in Hokitika for the Wildfoods Festival. The festival attracts about 20,000 people, and you can check out their official website at www.wildfoods.co.nz.
Hokitika is on the west coast, opposite of Christchurch, and the drive was VERY scenic. It took us about 3.5 hours to go coast-to-coast, but we're not dealing with Albertan roads here...lots of twists and turns, especially through Arthur's Pass. Megan's little Echo pulled through and we got there safe and sound, and had a semi-successful go at setting up our tents.
Saturday was the festival opening and we were pretty keen to get there early and check things out. We were entertained by a variety of festival-goers in costume (team costumes were popular) and live music (including Romney Getty from Canada!) as we perused the cuisine at 95 different tables.
A variety of dodgey foods were up for sale, including absurdities such as cows udders, lamb tails, crocodile, kangaroo, crickets, smoked eel, Ugly Duck burgers, Viagra slushies, huhu grubs (fresh out of the wood, and BBQ'd), possum pie, haggis, shark, spicy intestines, mountain oysters (think Prairie Oysters, but remember we're in the land of sheep), and all sorts of giant bugs and worms (including chocolate worm truffles and worm sushi!). Basically, it was like paying to be on Fear Factor.
Huhu grubs
The festival also had some really appetizing options, such as organic strawberries with ice cream, waffles, chicken souvlaki, venison (including native Red Deer!), wild bull curry (VERY tasty!), authentic bratwurst, a variety of wines, homemade fudge, scallops, crayfish (lobster), mussels, prawns, and other yummy options. Whitebait patties are delicious once you get over the fact that you are eating the whole fish, eyeballs included! I also really liked the ostrich pie, and the Black Forest Waffle Hut prepared a mean wildberry waffle.
Perogy KebabAnd, imagine my delight at spotting a table with perogies! I spotted the sign for "Le Petit Perogie, Eh!" and felt a little bit of Canada calling me. The guy behind the table was from Okotoks, go figure -- and he gave us a 2-for-1 deal so Shannon and I had a good fill of perogies covered in onions and sour cream. Don't worry, grandma, they weren't nearly as good as yours!
Camping was fun -- but we could have stayed at the Ritz-Carlton for the price we paid for a piece of the muddy farmland we occupied for two nights. It was $40/person for two nights, but the showers were hot. Thank goodness my deputy principal lent me a warm sleeping bag because I think I'm losing my Canadian cold threshold.
The weekend was a success and it was a delight to take in the food, entertainment, and company of friends. I'll hold off on tenting for a while (until I forget what a pain it is to pack up a dewy tent early in the morning).
Next weekend is Invercargill...otherwise known as the window to the end of the world.
Thanks for reading,
L.
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