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Visitors to New Zealand are presented with many opportunities to experience Maori culture first-hand. The best-known of these is the thermal region of Rotorua in the North Island, where tourists can experience Maori kai (food) cooked on hot stones underground as part of a traditional hangi. They can also enjoy a Maori powhiri (welcome ceremony), visit local marae (meeting grounds), listen to kapa haka (traditional performances of song and dance) and relax in the popular thermal pools. Maori culture has been passed on from generation to generation through music, carvings, art, storytelling and reciting genealogies (whakapapa). The strength and beauty of Maori art is evident in architectural carving and interior designs of marae, and in ornate whakairo (carvings) in wood, bone or pounamu (greenstone or jade) for pendants and other taonga (treasures). Carving and weaving skills arose from the practical requirements of traditional Maori lifestyle. Fibre for clothing, ropes and other uses was created by weaving flax and other natural fibres. Hard New Zealand pounamu (greenstone or jade) was originally made into weapons and carving implements. Native wood was carved into spiritual objects that adorned Maori meeting houses (wharenui) and canoes. The modern outlet for the creation of such traditional objects comes through artworks, many of which are highly sought after in the art world.
The marriage between the Maori and European traditions in New Zealand has led to some unique cultural events. Rotorua’s Opera in the Pa is an example of the way in which Maori and Pakeha (European) influences have given rise to a fresh Pacific culture. Maori and Polynesian voices sing the operatic works of Verdi, Puccini and Mozart at the sacred Rotowhio marae, against a backdrop of bush and geysers. Annual events, such as Pasifika in Auckland, display New Zealand’s cultural diversity, of which Maori is the foundation. The festival has been running since 1993 and features traditional arts, music, entertainment and food of the 250,000 Pacific Island people who call Auckland home.
Other popular events are held throughout to country to celebrate a wide variety of wines and food. From the ocean, from the rivers, from the fertile plains and high country pastures, the wine varieties, the seafood, game, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish fresh-caught and fresh-grown in this beautiful land are simply unsurpassed.
The Bluff Oyster and Southland Seafood Festival is an annual event held in May. The Bluff oyster, a local delicacy, is eagerly anticipated by New Zealanders each year. Bluff is at the southern-most tip of the South Island, a region not known for its temperate climes, but where many a tourist braves the temperatures to catch the view across the wild seas of Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. The Bluff oyster season runs from March to August and there is a quota system that prevents over-harvesting of this valuable shellfish. The Bluff oyster can be eaten raw or cooked. It is unique to New Zealand and not exported as the local market takes the full quota.
New Zealand produces a bountiful basket of fruit, vegetables, cereals, cut flowers and seeds, which contribute NZ$1.3 billion to the country’s income each year. Kiwifruit (also known by its export name Zespri) is the country’s icon, but the fruit and vegetable range spans pip fruit, summer fruit, berry fruit, citrus fruit, avocadoes, persimmons, feijoa, tamarillos, macadamia nuts and vegetables including potatoes, onions, carrots, squash and asparagus. Zespri kiwifruit are green on the inside and hairy on the outside, but a recent development is that of Zespri gold, a hairless yellow variety – a tropical tasting fruit with hints of melon, peach, pineapple and mango.
The Marlborough Sounds is the green-lipped mussel capital of the world. As well as mussel farms, there are Pacific oyster and salmon farms. It is also possible to dive for scallops and paua. Marlborough is a famous wine region with more than 35 wineries. The area successfully combines aquaculture and viticulture. Green-lipped mussels are said to have health benefits as well as being delicious fresh, cooked or marinated.
New Zealand has the world’s largest farmed deer industry, comprising slightly more than half the total farmed deer population globally. Venison is growing in popularity on the local market, largely due to its extremely low fat content, making it a healthy choice in red meat. Sophisticated New Zealand farming techniques mean deer roam and graze naturally in the open air, free from stresses that can toughen muscles and develop the strong, gamey flavour associated with venison of days gone by. In New Zealand there is no use of steroids, hormones or artificial growth stimulants in deer. The feeding of meat and bone meal feeds to deer is also illegal. New Zealand-farmed venison – marketed as cervena – is very tender and mild in flavour, but because of its low-fat content needs to be cooked correctly to ensure it doesn’t dry out. An innovative specialist venison operation is Venmark, run by Jacqui and Piers Hunt, pioneer New Zealand deer farmers who began their business in 1977. The Hunts operate a restaurant specialising in the preparation of venison cuisine at 65B Hautapu Street, Taihape.
A specialty mushroom industry in New Zealand supplies varieties like shitake, enokitake, oyster and woodear. New Zealand is also successfully cultivating the exotic black truffle with prices wholesaling at NZ$3000 a kg. Meadow Mushrooms is one of the two largest producers of fresh mushrooms and mushroom products in Australasia. The company specialises in brown buttons (Swiss browns), brown flats (Portabellos) and white buttons.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
