Food & Wine
Take a seat at
a local's table.
Instead of tourist group restaurants: places locals go, the neighbourhood supermarket, and a barbecue in the backyard. Korean and Asian meals are mixed in to keep everyone’s stomach happy.
Wine
You don't need to
know wine.
Each region grows different grapes best. Remember three names and the wine list gets easy. Your guide drives, so relax and taste at the wineries.
Marlborough · top of the South Island
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand’s signature white. Fresh notes of grapefruit, passionfruit and cut grass. Drink it chilled with mussels or seafood.
Central Otago · near Queenstown
Pinot Noir
One of the world’s southernmost wine regions. A light red with red-fruit notes like cherry and strawberry. Perfect with lamb.
Hawke’s Bay · North Island east coast
Syrah · Merlot blends
A sunny North Island red-wine region. Start here if you like fuller, heavier reds.
Waiheke Island, about 40 minutes by ferry from Auckland, also has a cluster of wineries. · Legal drinking age is 18; you may be asked for ID.
What you eat in farm country.
Lamb and beef
Mostly grass-fed on wide pastures. A rack of lamb needs nothing but salt and pepper. A regular at our barbecues.
Milk · cheese · ice cream
A dairy powerhouse, so the supermarket dairy aisle is huge. Be sure to try ‘hokey pokey’ — vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee pieces.
Cafés and local eateries
Breakfast is a flat white and brunch at a café; snacks are a bakery mince pie. Dinner is at local places your guide has tried himself.
What's good each season
We fit seasonal food into the itinerary for the month you travel.
Spring · Sep–Nov
Asparagus and spring greens. The markets turn green.
Summer · Dec–Feb
Cherries and berries from Central Otago (around Dec–Jan), and beach barbecues.
Autumn · Mar–May
Wineries at harvest time, kiwifruit and apples.
Winter · Jun–Aug
Winter seafood like Bluff oysters, plus hot pies and soups.
From the sea —
dig your own,
catch your own.
Green-lipped mussels, with their green-edged shells, are found only in New Zealand. Some days we dig for cockles at low tide and make dinner from fish caught off the wharf.
Good to know Recreational sea fishing needs no licence, but there are size and catch limits per species. Shellfish gathering also has daily limits and closed areas, so we only go where your guide has checked.
Balanced meals
When it gets rich,
there's Korean food too.
Auckland has plenty of Korean and Asian supermarkets and restaurants. We weave Korean and Asian meals between local food so your stomach stays happy all week.
Let us know about foods you can’t eat or allergies when you enquire.
Good to know at restaurants.
No tipping
Tax is included in prices and tips aren’t expected.
Water is free
Restaurants bring tap water by the bottle for free. No need to order bottled water.
Order at the counter
At cafés and casual places, you order and pay at the counter, take a number and sit down.
Dinner is early
Small-town kitchens close early, so we set dinner times in advance.