Something tells me that Snap wasnt’ singing about shellfish in their “clasic” 90s electro-pop song. but I amused myseld for quite some time singing my own version of the song…
We were up at 5:30 on the 25th to make sure that we were able to stop at the bakery prior to boarding the ferry to Wellington. Nothing says “good morning” like a caramel walnut swirl! Mmm… Comfy, dozy, mostly-sunny crossing put us in “Windy Welly” in time for a good wander that afternoon.
We decided to follow the arts/writer’s walk in the Lonely Planet guide, but quickly learned one thing: their current edition STINKS if you’re trying to follow the map. WOW. We eventually made our way to the first stop, using Rich’s new catchphrase: “It must be just around this corner”. How many corners can you go around before that phrase ceases to be accurate?
Our wander through Wellington included a great deal of time down at the waterfront, where I got a taste – literally – of local food. There was a man and a boy down at the waterfront chowing down with great enthusiasm on some spiky things that I assumed to be urchins. Having never seen anyone eat them raw (or cooked for that matter), I watched in fascination while I mustered up the courage to go talk to them about what they were doing. The guy was very happy to tell me that he was eating kina and offered me a taste. I’d watched him crack the shells with his knife, fish around and then slurp, so sharing seemed like a rather tricky prospect – and, indeed, it proved to be. He proffered the spiky thing in his hand and I reached in to fish a bit out. Here’s the problem: kina, when touched, tend to turn into a slimy, orangish-yellow goo. I managed to get a hunk of goo in my grasp and quickly slurped it up. Sound appetising? Wait till you try it raw. Think “salty bitterness” and you’re just about there. Yowza. I managed to keep a straight face and talk to him about how it tasted using positive adjectives. He explained that, when soaked, kina lose the salty taste and turn a creamy white and “taste just like dessert”. Not wanting to offend someone who had just shared what was clearly his favourite food with a complete stranger, I keep my thoughts to myself. No matter what you do to kina, I can’t see them ever tasting like dessert.
I noticed a large paua (abalone) shell sitting on the wall in front of him so, having never seen a live paua, asked if I could take a look. Paua have black meaty flesh, which is a little off-putting to look at, but fascinating all the same. He proceeded to hand me the shell, then told me to keep it. When we talked about how to prepare it (scrape it clean, slice it up, fry some onions, add the meat and some egg and eat them as fritters, or cook with onions and cream), he took the shell back, dislodged the meat, ripped off the roe sack, and handed it back to me in the shell. When I mentioned that we’d be taking it to a friend’s parents’ place for dinner, he dug out two more and sent them with me as well. I walked away, a little shellshocked by my good fortune, and then noticed a little problem: I was walking down the path with my hands full of shells and meat that were dripping dark gooey water. Hmm. Bag required.
Paua problems solved, we headed off the check out what else the city has to offer and learned that Wellington really does live up to its reputation as the “coolest little capital in the world”. We laughed at the gang of Pacific Islanders jumping off the platforms into the harbour, oohed when they staged a cannon of jumps all the way around the opening, lounged on the beanbags on the grass outside St John’s (a breezy pub housed in the old St John Ambulance building), checked out the sculptures the city has on offer down the waterfront and down the length of uber-trendy-in-a-vintage-sort-of-way Cuba St, and checked out the funky twisted wooden bridge by the harbour.
Late afternoon meant it was time to make our way to see May and Colin, the parents of my friend John (making this yet another stop on the HSW tour of NZ). I met May and Colin because of my first-ever maternity photo project when John’s wife, Ceri, allowed me to use her as my test subject while I was first getting started on a portfolio. Ceri and I worked together every 4-6 weeks throughout the second and third trimester of her pregnancy and then the first 3 months of Jamaelin’s life. May and Colin came to the UK for a visit, so we did some family photos one morning and had a good visit. When May invited us to come for dinner while we were in Wellington, I jumped at the chance to catch up with them after nearly 3 years and also see John’s family home. Arriving for a visit with wine, beer and paua was a first for me! May and Colin welcomed us with open arms and offered us a change to do laundry and have a real bed for the night. We spent the evening eating paua fritters, roast lamb, steamed pudding and having a grand old time chatting about family, travel, London, and NZ. We went to bed stuffed, happy, and feeling like absolute royalty.
Morning brought yet another new food experience: whitebait omelettes. NZ whitebait is much smaller than UK whitebait: about the size of two straight pins laid sibe-by-side, these little fish can’t be fried individually so are typically served in fritters or in egg. What a treat!
With Colin gone to work, May and John’s sister, Karen, sent us off on the road with a cooler full of frozen water bottles, cold food, clean clothes and full bellies. I don’t care what anyone else says, they’re pure class acts, those Edmondses. ;)
Grateful for: parents, antipasta paperbag lunches (perfect for wandering through a city!)
