Hakuna Matata

I am so exhausted from this weekend. But if I don't write this post now I won't get to it, so I will carry on. Just for you, loyal readers. Just for you.

THIS WEEKEND was pretty amazing. After classes on Friday, we (Sasha, John, Sam, and I) headed off to the west coast for the annual Wild Food Festival. This takes place just south of Greymouth, in a sort of dinky little town callled Hokitika. There's only one highway to get there, and it travels through Arthur's Pass, so the drive was completely gorgeous. We arrived in Hokitika without a hitch and managed to find our campsite with relative ease (we stopped at a convenient store to double check...and conveniently get some ice cream). We assumed we would drive up to a hut or something and someone would give us a site number or direct us. But oh, were we wrong. Some kid put wristbands on all of us and told us to park anywhere. Um...anywhere? Before us was a giant grass field with a bajillion tents and cars everywhere. Just a bit daunting. But we found a homey looking spot, assembled our tent (my first time!) and began to settle in.

This gives you an idea of the magnitude of our campsite, but it really can't be captured in a photo how huge it was. I felt like I was at the Quidditch World Cup. (photo courtesy of Sasha)

John and I were very triumphant after (during?) our tent assembly. (photo courtesy of Sam Sam)

We'd heard some history about this festival, but we didn't really know what we were in for. Turns out it was completely insane. Everyone at the campsite was around our age, and they were all running around, partying and mingling. SO many people had music blaring, and everyone was clearly there to have a good time. Friday night was quite loud, so we all took a sleeping aid to help knock us out. My first night sleeping in a tent went smoothly, although I can't say my neck thanked me for it in the morning. We woke up relatively early and headed to a cute little cafe for breakfast. They had some of the best food I've had in New Zealand so far, and really good hot chocolate. It was good to eat some real food before going to the festival and filling our bellies with "food" that should probably never be consumed.

There were a TON of booths, and we sort of did a lap to get the lay of the land before trying anything. They had some normal food, like fish and chips and stuff, but most of it was really flippin' weird. Things I ate/drank:
-Rhubarb champagne (delicious)
-Wild boar sausage (gamey but pretty good)
-Fried shark (very fishy but alright)
-Kangaroo burger (really good, sort of tasted like turkey)
-A shot of moonshine (SO strong, tasted like Listerine or nail polish remover or something)
-ANNNNNND....a chocolate covered huhu grub (repulsive)

The whole point of this thing is basically to sell icky bugs and crap to drunk people (almost everyone was all day, it was nuts). We were sober, however, so the grub was a bit rough. The chocolate saved me, because that's all I could taste, but the texture was soooo nasty. It was like a cross between a gusher and chicken fat. Yummy, right? They also offered live grasshoppers, various types of testicles, heart, eyeballs, etc. We opted out of those things, but I'm proud of myself for trying the grub. Go big or go home!

This is exactly how I felt...

...which is probably why I looked like this before taking the plunge. 

(photos courtesy of Sam Sam again!)

The group of us that braved the Huhu grubs. (Me, John, Elise). Elise went for the BBQ variety, which I actually think served her well because it was crunchy instead of...whatever mine was.

The other funny thing about the festival is that it has a theme every year, and people are encouraged to come in costume. This year's theme was "Hunters and Gatherers," so we were expecting to see lots of camo, animal print, leaves, earthy colors, etc. There was some of this, but for the most part people just dressed in completely random costumes, and most looked like idiots. My personal favorites were a group of Pikachus, Barack Obama (he drank beer through his mask, classic), Bananas in Pajamas, Smurfs, and Power Rangers. I don't think I've ever had more fun people watching in my entire life.

We took sun naps and people watched after awhile...gotta let that grub settle, you know.

Bananas in Pajamas! (photos courtesy of Sam)

We left the festival full, happy, and tired. Little did we know that there was a rager of a party waiting for us back at our campsite. Some people had brought giant speakers in their van, so they set them up and had a giant dance party. It was actually pretty fun, and we had a few drinks with some friends and socialized for awhile. But luckily for us, everyone else had been drinking all day, so they all pretty much passed out by midnight. So we were able to get a fairly good night's rest.

This morning we got up nice and early to beat the crowd! Plus, at the car rental place I happened to pick up a Hokitika brochure and we found a picture of a blue gorge, so we decided to head out to try and find it. It turned out to be one of my favorite things about the weekend. The Hokitika Gorge has some of the most naturally turquoise water in the world, and it's a really interesting combination of beach, rock, and forest. It was so beautiful, and we arrived about twenty minutes before a large group of tourists, so we were able to really enjoy it before it got too crowded.

Our first glimpse of the blue...so amazing! It's pretty much exactly how I pictured the Mermaid Lagoon in Peter Pan to look.

I like rocks. And climbing them. 

The gang in Neverland (basically)!

We made it home around 5:45 this evening and were very glad to return to our nice warm beds and showers! All in all though, it was an incredible weekend, with just the perfect amount of spontaneity (I mean, I ate a grub after all!)

Fun Facts/Updates:

-I am officially going to Australia at the end of May!! I just booked my flights today and I am SO excited. I'm meeting my Aunt Susan there and then we will travel back to Christchurch together, where we will meet up with my parents! I am so lucky and thankful, and I can't wait to spend some time with my family in paradise! Also hold a koala. That will be happening.

-People here say "no worries" or "that's alright" instead of "you're welcome." So like at a restaurant, when they bring you your food and you say "thank you," they respond with "that's alright." It sort of makes me feel bad, but I guess that's because at home that would be a natural response to "I'm sorry." Interesting how things make you feel when they're used in a totally different way.

-If you hadn't noticed from the photos, I did not in fact dress up for Wild Foods. I did, however, find a majestic dolphin t-shirt at the Salvation Army,cut it into a tank top and proceed to wear it all weekend. It's pretty much my favorite article of clothing now.

-I'm still getting better at cooking. Last week I made homemade alfredo sauce with chicken, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, basil, oregano, and mushrooms. It was scrumptious if I do say so myself. I am not joking when I say that I attribute my success to years of watching the Food Network.

Time to sleep in my nice, warm, not on the ground bed.
Cheers!