Peel Forest to Lake Tekapo

01 Dec

Made it to Peel Forest just before the rain! But I'm pretty sure I hurt my knee during one of my falls because it hurts when I bend it. I really don't want to bike to Lake Tekapo. 

Update:

Well, my knee is over-compressed or something and it really hurts when I'm biking. The people I stayed with were nice enough to drive me to the nearest "large" town where I'm catching a bus straight to Queenstown, bypassing all my other stops (good-bye money). Hopefully I can bike around the Queenstown area and perhaps go hiking!

Breakfast:

Earl grey tea, mashed banana w/coffee, dried goji berries, dried apricots & dried ginger topped w/peanuts

Samples at Bull Rush Chocolates, Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand:

Sweet-dark chocolate, mango manuka, great Kiwi breakfast truffle

"Sweet-dark chocolate" is really just regular approximately 50% cacao chocolate. Rather than labelling the chocolate with the cocoa percentage, Kiwis like to actually describe the taste. Manuka is a tree common in New Zealand, very popular for its honey. This chocolate gets its manuka flavour by smoking the nuts in manuka wood though, which created this savoury smokey flavour. The attendant told me that it was a love or hate flavour, and I happen to be one of the lovers. The mango adds a sweet tartness to the slightly bittersweet chocolate, while the smoked nuts create an extra savoury depth and give a great textural contrast. The great Kiwi breakfast truffle is white chocolate rolled in Weet-bix and coverd in additional chocolate layers. It was very sweet and the Weet-bix was really only there for textural depth.

Samples at Barker's, Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand:

NZ lime w/elderflower juice

Quite refreshing but actually tasted a bit too fake. 

Orange & barley w/passion fruit juice

I really liked this one! Refreshing and light. I don't know what barley tastes like in liquid form, but the juice was sweet, subtley floral and citrusy. 

NZ boysenberry jam

Tasted like berry jam.

Mandarin & ginger marmalade

The ginger flavour was very strong. 

Beetroot chutney

Tart and slightly on the savoury side, but could definitely be used in a sweet dish as well.

Snack on the bus:

Mango manuka chocolate, almond & cashew paste truffle

The attendant gave me one for free because "it was scratched". So kind of her! She also recommended the nut paste truffle after I told her I loved marzipan. And wow, I could eat that all day! The nut paste already had chocolate mixed in with it, but it wasn't very sweet and the textures were amazing. Adding cashews to marzipan is a definite must.

Snack in Lake Tekapo stop:

Apple

Got to stop here for fifteen minutes! Gorgeous scenary, but one of those places where you can either spend all day in a spa or be adventurous outdoors, neither of which was really an option with my knee.

Snack from Run 77 Cafe and General Store, Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand:

Chocolate chip cookie

This was a really good cookie!

Snack from Merino County Cafe, Omarama, South Island, New Zealand:

Apricot ice cream, boysenberry ice cream

Two flavours that you can find almost anywhere in NZ! Really enjoyed the apricot, but the boysenberry tasted like jam. 

Snack from Jones Fruit Stall, Cromwell, South Island, New Zealand:

Chocolate covered almonds

This place is just a huge tourist trap, but their products really are very fresh. I wasn't a fan of the chocolate to almond ratio.

Dinner from Turkish Kebab, Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand:

Mixed vegetarian platter: falafel & stuffed grapevine leaves w/rice, salad, tabbouleh, hummus & sauces

Met a new friend and we went to eat dinner together. We were enjoying our meal at the "beach" until birds started coming. Then I freaked out and totally embarrassed myself so we had to leave. The food was pretty good, although I could taste the packaged-ness of the falafel and stuffed grapevine leaves.

Dessert at Patagonia Chocolates, Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand:

Macadamia dark chocolate ice cream, fig & pistachio ice cream

So good! Creamy, rich and decadent with intense flavouring. The dark chocolate flavour was very potent, completely overshadowing the macadamia nut's, but the nut pieces added the crunchy texture. This ice cream flavour did get a bit overwhelming toward the end though, but I suspect that if you really love chocolate, it should be fine. I liked the fig & pistachio one, although the fig flavour was very subtle. This flavour was more like sweet pistachio. 

Methven to Peel Forest

30 Nov

Found out that there's a wind storm happening, with winds expected to go up to around 140km/hour. Thank goodness for Steven, the man that picked me up yesterday. I was biking, 75km in with 25km left, when the wind got really bad. I actually got semi-thrown off, which is when Steven drove by and offered me a ride. I was pretty much in tears (a couple hours of sleep and a long, windy bike ride is not fun) and was so grateful. I swear, this whole cycling and backpacking trip has just made me feel like there's not enough ways I can fully express all my gratitude. Anyway, depending on the wind I might be biking to Peel Forest or staying in Methven for another day. 

Breakfast:

Mocha, mango soy yogurt, strawberries

Snack on the road:

Dried (not crystallised) ginger, dried apricots

Snack on the road:

Rest of the prune & raisin bread

Dinner:

Rose & vanilla tea, mixed greens w/dried goji berries, peanuts, banana

Snack:

Rose & vanilla tea, peanuts 

Snack:

Dried apricots, dried goji berries

Hello New Zealand!

29 Nov

I'm now in Christchurch, NZ and will be biking 100km to Methven in a few hours. Not looking forward to this at all. I just want to sleep for five days. 

Breakfast:

Piece of prune & raisin bread 

Snack from number eight kiwi cafe, Christchurch Airport, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand:

Cappuccino w/ginger cookie (2)

Snack:

Orange Gatorade, baby bananas (3)

Much needed. The wind here is crazy!!! I nearly had the bike fall while I was still on it and a car was passing by! I thought I left the winds in Melbourne. 

Snack:

Strawberries, mixed greens salad w/creamy pb avocado sauce, berry soy yogurt

Yum. No blender so I hand-mixed the creamy sauce. Normally there's some spices and a bit of almond milk too, but it actually tastes pretty good as just blended avocado and pb! I also really like this soy yogurt; it's not sweet like most soy yogurts and it has the same consistency as regular yogurts!

Snack:

Green tea w/lemon & honey, spiced cookie 

Good-bye, Sydney!

28 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm also pretty sure that today is my parents' anniversary, but I might be off by a day. 

I'll be biking 100km tomorrow in NZ, so I'm not really looking forward to leaving. 

Breakfast (provided by the hostel):

Toasted pb & mixed greens sandwich on a sesame roll

Coffee pb bread pudding, 1/4 mango, Asian pear slices

Snack (from Flour + Stone, W , Sydney, Australia: 

Ginger nut cookie 

Don't know why this is called ginger nut because there's no nuts in here. Should be called ginger chocolate or something. It is very gingery though; I loved the spice kick! 

Lunch:

Rest of the summer salmon rolls, mango, Barlett pear

Must finish all the fruit I bought before my flight. WHY DID I GO CRAZY AT THE MARKET?!? I don't have the stomach space for mutant fruit!

Snack:

Asian pear

So good! Attempted to finish my mixed greens, mango and pears but couldn't. Luckily, my new friend was still staying in Sydney so I gave them to her. 

Handful of mixed greens

Tried to finish but couldn't. Also gave them to my friend.

Snack on the way to the airport:

Honey macadamia nuts, honey cashews

Sydney

27 Nov

I don't like Sydney. There are too many aggressive birds here. However, they have kale! Is it weird if Sydney gets points mostly because there's kale in markets here?

Breakfast (provided by the hostel):

Toasted sesame roll w/pb, cornflakes & mixed greens, tea

They provided the carbs and pb, I added the greens. Looks gross, but tasted good! 

Snack:

Pb, cornflakes & mixed greens sandwich on a sesame roll

Snack:

Pb & mixed greens sandwich on prunes & raisin bread

Snack from Purple Cow in Market City Plaza, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia:

Green tea & original frozen yogurt w/mixed berries

Wanted frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, which now makes me wary as much as I love it. For some reason, yogurt gives me less of a stomachache and less pukey. This yogurt wasn't as tart as I would have liked, but kudos to the green tea actually tasting like green tea instead of green sugar.

Snack from a nut & fruit stand in Paddy's Market, Haymarkef, Sydney, Australia:

Dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts

I love dark chocolate macadamia nuts. I used to beg my parents to buy me those Hawaiian chocolate macadamia nuts every year when I saw them in markets. These are so much better because I prefer this ratio and the nuts are roasted.

Snack from another nuts & fruit stand in Paddy's Market, Haymarkef, Sydney, Australia:

Honey cashews, honey macadamia nuts

So good! I had a couple because the sugar got overwhelming. Saving these for  my trip to the airport. 

Snack:

Summer salmon rolls, Asian pear (didn't finish), Barlett pear, mangoes (didn't finish)

Too much fruit. The Asian pear was so good though; that particular kind is my favourite type of pear! If you haven't tried a Asian pear yet, you're missing out. Super juicy and crunchy, with the perfect amount of sweetness. It's like sipping your first drop of water after a long trek through the desert - the sweet juice just glides down your parched throat like a nectar of the gods. Wonderful stuff this pear.

Hello, Sydney!

26 Nov

So tired. Late night delayed flight into Sydney  = sleep deprived. I got in when I should have been asleep for over several hours so I was wired. 

Late night chilling in McDonald's, Sydney, Australia:

Coffee, apple pie, garden salad

(I can't believe I'm in McDonald's. At least the booth is comfy and there's a ton of fellow airport stragglers. Ugh. Can't leave until dawn. I really don't know if I can stay awake for that long. On a brighter note, there's free wi-fi and the apple pie tastes like the same ones I had way back then! Except the pastry here is less flakey and soft and more fried.)

Snack:

Milk lingonberry chocolate

Snack from 7-11, Glebe, Sydney, Australia:

Krispy Kreme glazed donut, black coffee

Snack:

Dark blueberry chocolate

Snack from Le Petit Tarte Cafe, Glebe, Sydney, Australia:

Soy cappuccino

Soy cappuccino 

The guy here is so nice! And he gets a lot of regulars because I saw five people come in while I was deciding and he automatically labelled several cups of coffee with their specific orders. 

Snack from La Banette Bakery, Glebe, Sydney, Australia:

Custard muffin

Custard muffin

The lady gave this to me for free! Can't believe this would have been $3. Nothing really special though.

Almond croissant (ate a corner)

(Strangest almond croissant ever. It's covered in a thin layer of cake and has a custard-esque filling as opposed to marzipan. I don't know how I feel about it, but I prefer my traditional almond croissants.)

Prune & raisin bread (broke off a piece)

Prune & raisin bread (broke off a piece)

Pretty good! Slightly over-baked, but I like the bitter baked plum and sweet raisin contrast. The texture is also spot-on, with a crusty, crisp exterior and soft, chewy interior. I think I like this bakery's bread a lot better than their pastries.

Snack (bought from a supermarket):

"Summer roll": raw salmon w/avocado, carrots, cucumbers & mixed greens wrapped in rice paper (ate four)

(Like a sashimi salad. Yum. Ate this at a local park because I felt like having a picnic. But then the kids started throwing pieces of bread closer to where I sat and I freaked out. I hate how many birds there are here!!! NOT MY IDEA OF FUN.)

Snack:

Finished the rest of the almond croissant

(Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the cake/shortbread layer on top or custard-esque filling.)

Good-bye Adelaide!

I'm going to miss this place. Wish I could stay for another day, but I'm off to Sydney!

Early breakfast:

Mashed banana w/coffee

Snack from The Eat Clean Organic Kitchen, Adelaide, Australia:

Green Machine smoothie: avocado, mint, banana, spirulina, kiwi, honey, kale
(I substituted the spinach kale. First place that I've seen with kale besides this one place in Central Market. I could drink green smoothies all day! Yum. Hah, such a Californian thing to say.)

Snack from GenkiRoll in the 77 Food Court at Rundle Mall, Adelaide, Australia:

Salmon & avocado roll, pumpkin & sesame roll

(The pumpkin roll was so good! New favourite. Perhaps it's also because both rolls were freshly made, but I think these two are the best I've had since arriving to Australia. I also walked around five different food courts before deciding on these rolls. For one mall, there is a lot of food options.)

Snack at IKEA - Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia:

Coffee, rhubarb tart

(Rhubarb tarts are a thing here. Not bad, but I wish the filling to crust ratio had been better.)

Smoked salmon wrap

(That's paper in the picture; the actual wrap was more like pliable pita bread. Very soft and thin. I quite enjoyed it.)

Mixed greens salad w/tomato, capsicum, corn & beetroot

(I really like how they have beetroot here! I didn't get the meatballs, but I liked how the servers put a Swedish flag on each serving. Cute.)

Snack at IKEA - Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia:

Peach gummies, watermelon gummy, strawberry gummy

(The IKEA here has a candy bar! More reasons to love Adelaide. I had to really resist. Surprisingly, the gummies were pretty good!)

Chocolate covered almonds, orange milk chocolate, dark chocolate blueberry squares, milk chocolate lingonberry squares

(The chocolates were also surprisingly good! Flavourful. I only had one of each blueberry and lingonberry square but ate all the rest. There are bits of blueberries an lingonberries in each respective square! I actually really like those chocolates. Hopefully the IKEA in Melbourne or Palo Alto sells these.)