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New Zealand Part 1 Scroll down page
Christchurch Blues Brews and BBQs click here..
Blenhiem Blues Brews and BBQs click here
NZ brewing info packed site realbeer.co.nz Click here
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Capt'n Ants goes all Maori...... For a start off the Plane was delayed due to adverse weather conditions....it took 2hrs for it to defrost before taking off for Kualar Lumpur.....
A brief stop over in Kualar Lumpur before continuing the journey to NZ was very surreal.....Roller coaster roads with construction vehicals either side ....bugger all cars on the roads but massive Billboard hoardings selling to everyone but no-one.....:)
Eventually I arrived in Auckland international airport safe and sound.......stepped off the plane......found the train station and left my bags with the station master......then found a nearby Pub.... :) The Strand Tavern was situated arround the corner underneath a rail bridge..........being summer in NZ the cook was on leave over crimbo so a bacon sandwich illuded me.... ah well, a liquid lunch it was then......:) There were several tipples on offer all for $3.20 that's about a pound in our money....happy hour all day, great! I had been given a short list of pubs I should seek out whilst I was in Auckland by Luke of realbeer.co.nz....so I asked the locals for their thoughts on them...and feeling flush...I got them a round in......:) They perused the list and asked how long I'd got in Auckland before the train to Wellington.......erm...about 5hrs or so..... "Okay it's saturday afternoon and we've got bugger all else to do bro'.....lets go"......and they proceeded to give me a tour of Auckland and it's pubs...
They bundled me into the car and dropped me off at the Station just in time for me to grab my bags, check in, find my seat, get a bite to eat and fall asleep.......
Having got settled in at Welly and done the usual site seeing I was taken out for a New years Race meet....where I won the bet on the first and then lost on the rest.....
Mmmm! scratchings.... A few days later I started my learning of Wellington's Pubs and beers.....The first being the Loaded Hog. A theme pub which used to have it's own brewery locally.....it is apparently being sent to Australia due to lack of interest here in Wellington. The parent company is an Auckland firm which according to locals handicaped it from the start......there is a bit of a rift between Auckland and the rest of the country....anyone from Auckland is called a J.A.F.A. ...not a seedless orange but 'Just Another Fucking Aucklander..'
Having had a handle on the balcony we left for pastures new...... The New Zealand cricket team were playing at the Stadium in Wellington so I popped along to lend support...seeing as they had lost the previous one day match against Zimbabwe....Unfortunatley the only beer on offer was from Dominion Breweries a bog standard mass produced NZ brew.....ah well it whet mi whistle....
New Zealand won the one day match....but lost the next one after giving away their advantage thus losing the series. To make matters worse The Windies, who were going through a bad patch these past few years, beat Zimbabwe the following week placing NZ at the bottom of the international cricketing world's heap...... :) Wellington is the capital of NZ and the parliment is called the BeeHive due to it's architecture.......a short walk from it is a pub called The Backbencher. The building is filled with characatures of Kiwi palimentarians both past and present.....the present Premier is a lady dressed in shining armour and a recently voted in MP is depicted in dredlocks and smoking a reef...
The range of beers on offer was extensive and, as is the NZ way, carbonated and chilled. Most ales in NZ are realy just lagers though more lager-bier than Carlsberg export.
Perusing the lunchtime menu I noticed two low cost items, one being potato wedges the other potato skins......now in the UK potato skins are crisped up and either have melted cheese on them and are found only in American diners so I left them alone.....the potato wedges sounded alot better. When the dishes arrived I was pleased with the generous portion of thickly chopped potato that sat on the plate and the great dollop of sour cream that sat on top......but then I saw someone elses order f or potato skins arrive and unlike the US style they looked exactly the same as the wedges.....except for the potato pieces had still got their skins on......DOH! cheap meal solution number 1 just turned into 2. Convertion into pounds for a handle $4 and a plate full of potato wedges $4 = $8 = about £2.80. Incidently a bag of Fish and chips from any NZ Chip Shop is $3 that's about a pound.... and they throw in extra fish or potato fritters just for the hell of it :) Kiwis relationship towards drinking is altogether different than ours.....for a start the cafe seems to be the focal point when meeting for a chat over a drink, leaving the pub as a glorified dining experience...Kiwis put their bellies before their beer....for places that are more bar than diner go to places that call themselves Sports bars or Taverns. Though having said this most places do turn into drinking dens gone 10.30pm. This is not to say they don't like to drink....as the range of beers on offer is usually five or six different ones on tap plus a full range of bottled beers and alco-pop varieties. For some reason bottles of Old Speckeld Hen are always stocked...god knows why.....though I'm sure I'll find out in the near future..:)
Wellington's beer-scape is always renewing itself with many bars opening and closing each year.....this years newest place is called Leuven and is in the style of a Bavarian bar selling Continental bier complete with water filled sinks behind the bar and spattulas for paddling the froth from your glass. New Zealanders are more concerned these days with style rather than content....as when you buy a drink you get a glass or handle of the size and shape that the vendor decides and not government weights and measures. A pint/handle therefore is not a set amount like in the UK....it's a drink, take it or leave it.
NZ's Capital has many fine places to drink and dine it has to be said, most have patios or balconies for you to sit out on and ponder life as it wanders by.......The Malthouse is a teriffic place which holds a vast array of thirst quenching tipples for you to try. I Sat out on the varanda with a plate of wedges and a handle of Macs dark early evening the other weekend and very enjoyable it was too....inside a stag party dressed up as Mexicans were just warming up with shooters of midori etc...
There isn't anything more enjoyable than sitting down with a glass of beer enjoying sport on the tv....unless of course you of can get up and play whilst still within easy reach of your glass...... This can be done when you are in one of Wellington's many pool halls. Large fast tables and plenty of them lend these places a cosy matey feel where you could happily spend many a happy hour knocking your balls down holes :) The Ox where I spent a couple of hours cueing up a few rounds was filled with people of many cultures coming together over the game of pool. A couple of notes for you though.....Spots (numbers 1 to 7)are called unders and stripes (9 to 15) are called overs. In the NZ there are no fouls just the simple rule that if you crap up your break ends, if your opponent sinks the white you restart behind balk or within the 'D' and play down the table....and if you balls up on the 8 ball you lose! The latest NZ produced Film is called 'STICKS' and has just had its premier in town.......as you've probabley guessed it is all about Wellington's pool culture etc......and by all reports is a very exciting watch....one for you to take a look at Mr Harding?
A new place in Wellington I stumbled upon was clad all in silver and very shiny on the out side...but inside all dark and hardly any beer except in trendy bottles at $6 a pop! so I about turned soon as.....
Made tracks up town to the Fat Lady's Arms...a western themed bar with a dance floor with a mezzanine games area..... upon entering we were stamped/branded on the hand with the word FATS in washable dye. This presumabley is because until a year ago no one under the age of 20 was allowed to consume alcohol in NZ...the stamp therefore telling the barstaff you've been vetted by the door staff. Wednesday night is student night.........2 for 2 bucks etc.....
Left the Fat Lady's embrace and wandered back down town finishing the evening at a bar whose dance floor was pumping out old 80's and 90's material great fun..... I don't know what time I got home but most bars in the centre of Wellington close at 3pm... Next morning I awoke and staggered through town and followed my nose to the 24hr burger bar for breakfast.... Here's a little cultural aside.......when is a burger not a burger? when it's a bun. I say this in all sincerety as I made the mistake of asking for a bacon and egg burger but without the burger......you know? Thinking she'd get the joke and give me a bacon and egg butty......but no, not in NZ. She just looked at me strange and said "I could place the bacon and egg on a tray for you....is that ok?" Looking perplexed I tried to rectify the situation by asking for bacon and egg in a bap......this just confused things even more......so I finally asked for bacon and egg inside a bun. There you go a burger isn't the burger it's the bun!
Well best be orf and catch the tide......all aboard.....splice the mains'l.....make ready and cast off those big heavy ropes.....set sail for the open seas and mind the sand bar......catch you laters land lubbers!........ I'm off to the poop deck Christchurch Blues Brews and BBQs click here.. Blenhiem Blues Brews and BBQs click here NZ brewing info packed site realbeer.co.nz Click here Capt'n Ant email : captnant@upforit.allhere.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
Archived Seaside Rock....October 2k.....November 2k.....December 2k.....Crimbo/Boxing Day.....New Zealand...
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