Throughout New Zealand’s summertime, if you’re a traveller visiting parts unknown or known, you might well have the chance to enjoy a classic New Zealand picnic. Summer picnics, “a meal taken outdoors, as part of an excursion, ideally in scenic surroundings”…. originally, a meal where every diner contributed a little something. Picnicking may not have been a kiwi invention. Nonetheless it is a hallmark of the New Zealand summer lifestyle that many kiwis and travellers embrace.
And, undoubtedly, a picnic is often the ideal dining occasion on New Zealand summer road trips. It’s the chance to enjoy some simple truly good food, in some of the best locations you can imagine, all here around lovely New Zealand.
A hallmark of summer, tasting New Zealand’s finest
With many of New Zealand’s outstanding food producers at their busiest through the summer season, there’s ample opportunity to collect all manner of delicious provisions on the go. All for enjoying on a blanket or table in the sunshine somewhere nearby. Use your road trip companion, the New Zealand food travel guide app (you can download here), to find what’s nearby. It’s an ideal situation… finding a couple of good ingredients and a loaf of bread…..
While relaxing with that fantastic food, there’s also a moment to be thankful for all the effort of those clever and hardworking food producers. Their busy-ness levels often rise toward the end of every year as the festive holiday travel season looms large, and continues right through the heady summer days and nights. For our relaxation, others are working hard!
Places of stories
It’s the special thing with picnicking - there’s even more than the food… The country is brimming with beautiful accessible locations that provide the ideal opportunity for these simple stunning meals, and all of these gorgeous spots have their own story to tell.
A beautiful view belying the scene of New Zealand’s most notorious maritime disaster…. A serene beach, the original home of one of New Zealand’s most recognised artists…. An inland beach, a significant historical landing site for Māori in waka (canoes) travelling to trade…. A lake, hiding the sacred ornament of the daughter of an ancient Māori chief…. Coastal waters burgeoning with seabirds, an area of recognised international significance for this remarkable birdlife…. Large lakes, the calderas of enormous volcanoes of centuries past… Grounds for special monuments, memorials to early New Zealand pioneers…
So an ideal opportunity to relax, eat some of the country’s finest, and get a sense of place. Moments to imagine the events of times past at that very spot. At The FoodPath NZ we like to celebrate the special New Zealandness of the spots we find, picnic spots included (also on the app!).
Finishing it up with…
Celebrating New Zealand’s coffee and dairy culture, a picnic is often wrapped up with a coffee from a nearby coffee caravan, or an ice cream to go from a stop on the way back to home base. So look out for more soon from us on a New Zealand gelato trail - an excellent New Zealand made ice cream is the perfect end (or middle… or start…) to a summer’s day
And for more…
To find more on The FoodPath NZ’s handpicked eateries, food producers and picnic spots, for our collection of spot on New Zealand food moments to check out on your next road trip, download our New Zealand Food Trail Guides app here.