It is already tomorrow in New Zealand, but no one is preparing turkey leftovers. Well, there COULD be someone eating a turkey, but if you aren’t an expatriate American there on business filming a hobbit movie or something like that, and you are not there because you are married to someone from New Zealand, you probably are not celebrating Thanksgiving. It did make me wonder, however, exactly what DO they eat in New Zealand? What would have been the meal if the Pilgrims had landed there instead of in the United States? It is a long shot, but you never know…they could have decided to go the other way, sailed around Africa, and down under.
Apparently, many shellfish are consumed, such as abalone, which I have heard of, and many others, such as pipis, which I have never heard of. Pork, lobster, and lamb are also part of the menu. That seems like pretty standard fare that I could probably handle…except I won’t eat lamb.
What starts to get dicey are the other delicacies that have been concocted and apparently are national favorites. Ginger beer is native. Also, you may or may not want to try Vegemite Quiche (um…yuck?), banana sandwiches, or Afghan biscuits (which have wheat or corn flakes in it).
If I were a travel writer, I think I would do two things: invite an Elvis impersonator from New Zealand to eat a banana sandwich with me and talk about our conversation, what he could teach me about the sandwiches and what native sites we see during our visit. Then, I would randomly find other Americans and also folks from Canada and Mexico “off the street” so to speak and act like Vegemite Quiche is the best thing ever. In fact, I am going to say that a popular American Restaurant Chain is going to be putting them on the menu. When they taste what it is really like, they will probably be upset with me. I would tell them that Vegemite is the World’s Greatest Source of Vitamin E to see if that would change their cold hearts. That would make for a good story.
That is only a fantasy, unless I won a free trip to New Zealand as I am a lot short on cash. I would also go and find out what exactly Kiwis prefer. It is the native bird, you know. Maybe it would teach people that if they ate what the kiwis ate, they wouldn’t have trouble with night blindness. If you didn’t know it, Kiwis are nocturnal. By the way, they are darn adorable. At least I think so.
Air New Zealand and Larry the Travel Guy are giving away two free trips to New Zealand, with flights from Los Angeles! I don’t live near there, but I think I could certainly figure that part out and make it happen. On Larry’s site, there are some great videos of New Zealand travels and all sorts of great information to prepare you for the trip. Even if you don’t win, I will bet that the info will certainly make you want to put it on your “To Do” list.
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