Third in a series.
Tomorrow we are heading down to Oamaru, our last stop before we fly back to the States. We are currently in Christchurch, the third largest city in New Zealand with just under 370,000 people. In order to get here, we took a three-hour ferry ride from Wellington to the South Island.
It was my first time on a boat of that scale. There were 10 stories and the ferry carried countless cars, including our instrument truck. My explorations on the ferry revealed a small cinema, a playground, and ridiculously delicious ice cream. More specifically, I found a tiny, pricey jewel: Rush Munro’s Hokey Pokey ice cream. Developed right here in New Zealand, this simple but mouthwatering ice cream consists of vanilla with bits of honeycomb toffee.
That is only one of the many treats that my orchestra mates and I have discovered during our trip. Although breakfast and dinner are always provided, we are let loose to find lunch on our own each day. This gives us enough freedom to eat all kinds of food.
Related Article
More Youth Orchestra Blogs
One of our best finds is Burgerfuel, a burger joint located centrally in New Zealand. These burgers, though hovering at the $10 mark, are, simply put, delicious. The best. If you think In-N-Out are unbeatable in taste, you have yet to indulge in a thick beef patty, bacon, cheese, avocado, and other unmatchable goodies. If you think Five Guys has large burgers, you have yet to hold these massive things. Mere words will not serve this burger chain justice.
Some days we aren’t so lucky, though. I’ve had my fair share of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and McDonalds. These fast food chains are everywhere, even in the most desolate towns that we drive by. The little cafés and restaurants are often a gamble, but I’ve tasted some delicious meat pies, sizzling beef, and gelato in my food adventures from Auckland down to Christchurch. Some days I wish I could stomach multiple lunches just so I could taste everything.
Our 11 days here have been too short for us to digest much, but have merely allowed us to taste a bit from each part of the country. And I’ll tell you, from what I’ve seen, New Zealand is pretty darn delicious.