Bed and Breakfast Accommodation in united states

Ask An Aussie

Ask an Aussie who first whipped up the delightfully fluffy dish and they’ll tell you that the pavlova was invented by a countryman. Ask a Kiwi, and they’ll swear up and down that the pav was invented by a Kiwi and is as much a part of New Zealand’s culture as the Buzzy Bee, a cold Steinlager or the All Blacks.

Regardless of its roots (research points to New Zealand as a better bet on place of origin), this meringue-based dish is believed to have been created to honour the ballerina Anna Pavlova during one of her tours to New Zealand and Australia in the 1920s.

An extremely popular dish, the pavlova plays an important part in the national cuisine of both New Zealand and Australia, and is frequently served during celebratory or holiday meals. Christmas lunch and summer celebrations aren’t the same without a lovely pav – topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruits such as strawberries and kiwifruit – to please a partygoer’s sweet tooth.

National Icon Status

In 1999, New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, celebrated its first birthday with the creation of the world's largest pavlova and named the monstrous (45-metre long) treat ‘Pavzilla’. Not to be outdone though, students at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawke’s Bay created the 64-metre ‘Pavkong’ in 2005. Talk about a national icon!

All in all, if you’re in New Zealand and you enjoy getting into the culture and ‘living like a local’, the best way is to grab a fork and dig in to the iconic Kiwi pavlova. Travelling never tasted sweeter!

Inspiring Cuisine

New Zealand's cuisine draws inspiration from Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, Polynesian and other Pacific Rim cuisines. In a time of ‘fusion’ cuisines, New Zealand does this blending of influences so well that mouth-watering flavours are just as easily found in top restaurants in big cities as they are in quaint local cafés nationwide.

Distinctly New Zealand dishes are those in which the meal itself is as Kiwi as the land on which it is grown or harvested. New Zealand lamb is world-class, as is kai moana (seafood). Amazing dishes crafted from salmon, crayfish (lobster), Bluff oysters, paua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (both are types of New Zealand shellfish) are perfection on the palate.

Locally grown fruits and vegetables such as New Zealand’s own sweet potato – the kumara – enhance New Zealand’s reputation as a destination for ‘foodies’.

Traditional Flavours

For a true taste of New Zealand, the traditional Maori hangi (pronounced hung-ee) is an essential culinary and cultural experience.

A hangi is an earth oven, a hole in the ground lined with heated stones and covered with cloths previously soaked in water to create steam. The food (chicken, pork, lamb, potatoes, kumara and other vegetables) is placed in baskets on top of the rocks and covered with more soaked cloths. The pit is then filled with earth and left to steam for several hours.

The end result is food cooked to perfection – tender and bursting with amazing flavours. If you’d like to try a hangi for yourself, the best place to go is Rotorua (in the North Island) where hangi food is available for visitors.

Wildfoods Festival

For the daring travellers among us, heading to the Hokitika Widlfoods Festival is an experience of a lifetime. It is here that unusual foods and the list of things to try seems endless.

Held every year in Hokitika, this festival aims to celebrate New Zealand's wild foods. Kiwis and international visitors alike come from far and near annually to take part in, and take a bite out of, this amazing festival.

While most of us consider ourselves adventurous, the food on display can be extreme. Everything from sheep's eyes to bug larvae, wild goat, worm sushi, pesto ice-cream, fried grasshoppers and venison tongue are fair game on the menu.

And, if eating wild food isn't your thing, there’s entertainment and stage performances galore to keep you entertained while at the festival.

Bon appétit!

Wine and Food Festivals

Wine and food festivals are held annually in Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Martinborough, Nelson, Canterbury and Queenstown.

These unique festivals bring a range of different wines and food together, highlighting how well wine can complement all sorts of different New Zealand foods.

These events are a good way to have a fun day out with the family. As well as wonderful New Zealand cuisine and wine, there are plenty of playground areas for children and musical entertainment.

Dine Among the Vines

New Zealand has become a world player in the wine industry in the last few decades. With amazing reds, whites and roses on hand, travellers interested in quaffing fine wines alongside their locally produced meals are spoiled for choice when it comes to deciding on a wine.

Most New Zealand vineyards run restaurants as well. With world-class fare using the best local seasonal produce, vineyard restaurants are popular with tourists and locals alike, providing the opportunity to sample top New Zealand food alongside award-winning New Zealand wines.

So book ahead, or play it all by ear. Either way, make sure you savour some fine New Zealand wines while visiting amazing vineyards – there’s nothing else in the world quite like it!

Easygoing Kiwis

The country's dynamic culture has European, Maori, Pacific and Asian influences and its people, (better known as Kiwis), are easygoing, laid-back and friendly. The wild natural beauty of New Zealand is also reflected in its people – they’re adaptable, self-sufficient and have an affinity for wild landscapes and the sea.

A major attraction for visitors to New Zealand is the short distance between starkly differing landscapes. Sparsely populated, Northland is mostly rolling farmland fringed with spectacular bays and beaches.

Travelling down-country to the Taupo/Ruapehu District in the centre of the North Island, you will see memorable snowy mountains, sparkling rivers leading into a mighty lake and thermal outlets with steaming water. Rotorua's massive craters, boiling mud pools, gushing geysers and unspoiled native forests have enchanted visitors from around the world for more than 160 years.

The South Island’s West Coast boasts the Southern Alps, luxuriant rainforest and a breathtaking coast. Packed in between the imposing peaks and wild Tasman Sea are bizarre landscapes of limestone, granite and glacial ice, tranquil lakes, rushing rivers, subtropical and temperate rainforest and rare birds and plants.

Near the south of the South Island, surrounded by majestic mountains and enjoying the stunning weather of four distinct seasons is Queenstown, one of New Zealand's premier holiday destinations. The immense Fiordland National Park takes in the whole southwest corner of New Zealand and contains the awe-inspiring Milford Sound. The thick forest is virtually untouched by humans.

If it's modern-city sophistication and excitement you're looking for, you'll find it in New Zealand's four main centres: Auckland (the largest city) and Wellington (the capital) in the North Island and Christchurch and Dunedin in the South Island.

The eclectic mix of culture, theatre, art, fashion, and world-class attractions provides an array of cosmopolitan experiences. Travellers of all types, tastes and temptations will find something to suit their fancy here. So pack your bags, and get discovering!

Adventure

You’re standing on the edge, ready to jump. Your heart is pounding so hard you’re sure the guy strapping you into your harness can hear it thumping as clear as day. You count down and – JUMP! Talk about a rush.

New Zealand has thrills on tap for all ages and aspirations. For some, the four-wheel drive trip into an old gold mine on the West Coast or the ride to the gannet colony in Hawke's Bay will be the adventure highlight of their stay in New Zealand. Other travellers, looking to push their limits, dare to bungy jump over the mighty Skippers Canyon, heli-ski in the south, or raft the rapids on the Kaituna River. Whatever pushes your button for an adrenalin rush, you’ll find it here.

Information centres and publications offer details of how to book, and New Zealand’s own adventure sector has a national body that works to develop the highest standards of quality while engaging in adventure experiences. Safety, comfort and fun – the hardest part is deciding which experience to book!

Food and Wine

New Zealand produces some of the world's tastiest fresh food. There are many restaurants featuring cuisines from a wide variety of countries across the world – think Mediterranean, Asian, Pacific, and more.

Using the abundant fresh meats, fish and other seafood, vegetables and fruit in a creative manner, Kiwi and international chefs alike delight in tempting the taste buds of their customers.

With an abundance of excellent wines locally grown and shipped internationally (to high praise and now setting the standard for fine wines), eating and drinking is more than a pleasure in New Zealand. Sit back, relax, and take it all in. New Zealand is set to impress.