Your May 2023 Mobile Newsletter

May 2023

Kia ora!

This past month, the signs of autumn have started to show: cool mornings and evenings, the changing color of the leaves, and feeling the need to pull on a jumper instead of going without it. Depending on where you are across the motu (island, country), the weather has been an expected and invigorating mix of sunshine, clouds, and some rain. Personally, we also had our first set of international visitors from the wintry northwest regions in the US. Grateful to feast their eyes on a more colourful landscape than the white and brown one they had come from, we filled their holiday visit with much time out of doors, a welcome change from their cold and snowy winter.

Another activity we naturally did a lot with our visiting family revolved around food: cooking, eating, and enjoying each other’s company around the dining table. Because we all eat plant-based/vegan, we’re quite used to making our own food and exchanging ideas on what to cook and where to shop. Hence, this was one of the inspirations for this newsletter’s main topic: how to source food in Aotearoa New Zealand. While you generally can’t go wrong when it comes to getting food – i.e. go to a store, buy something – the nuances are still quite different from country to country. Hopefully this is a helpful intro or refresher to those moving here.

As always, feel free to reach out if there is a particular topic you’d like to hear more about. We’re here to help.

Elizabeth
Newsletter Editor

Sourcing Your Food in New Zealand

No matter where you come from, food is a common element that anyone can relate to. Whether you approach eating because you have to or eating because you want to, figuring out how to acquire food is a mainstay of life. Even so, there are going to be variations to sourcing food from country to country. While this is an inexhaustible list, it will get you started in understanding the nuances you’ll likely come across in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Less “one-stop-shop”, more “treasure hunt”

Coming from a very rural setting in the US, we had gotten used to buying almost anything we could want – including food, fresh or preserved – during our every-other-week trip to the “big city” to shop at stores like Costco or Walmart or even online via Amazon. While New Zealand can now boast of having their very own Costco in Auckland there really aren’t any shopping equivalents that have a department store/grocery/clothing/furniture/pharmacy/and more all rolled into one.

Early on, we realized we had to go to multiple places to find the items we wanted. While your feelings about having to bother with food as a “scavenger hunt” can range from slight bewilderment to an annoyance at first, it’s something you get used to and is simply a way of life here. As Americans, we knew it would be hard to kick the big-box-store habit. To be honest, knowing that shopping at multiple small businesses means more money is going directly into the communities they’re in (versus a single huge multinational corporation) has made it easier for us to get used to the switch – a thought I’d recommend for you to keep in mind if you find yourself getting frustrated.

Buying in-person and online

While the pandemic has definitely impacted food sourcing habits towards more online shopping, it can be common to source your food from both online and in-person options. If you approach food more as functional, you’ll find the most usual staples in person. Now, do keep in mind that food distribution in New Zealand can be a challenge: it’s a country that is (relatively) sparsely populated, and long and skinny with tight curvy roads outside of the main cities. Because of this, sometimes you have to venture online to find items beyond the basics that you might want.

Even though shopping online might be a turn-off for some (more logins and passwords to remember *grumble*), you’ll find that most of these internet stores are also small businesses – which means, when you buy from them, you’ll be directly impacting the families who own them as well as the communities to which they belong. Having been former small business owners ourselves, we definitely have a bias towards supporting “mom-n-pop” shops, whether locally or online!

More environmentally-friendly + less options

One thing we instantly noticed after arriving in Aotearoa is the implementation of more environmentally-friendly shopping concepts. Compared to the country you’re coming from, some differences you may come across are: finding more biodegradable packaging and disposable items, seeing an emphasis on recycling in cities, and using your own reusable bags (or possibly pay a small fee for stocked paper bags) at chain stores since they no longer supply plastic ones.

With New Zealand being a relatively small country surrounded by great expanses of water and different food regulations, generally speaking there are less food options here (i.e. instead of having 10+ different brands of pasta sauce available at a supermarket, you may only come across a handful of them). While there are imported items, they will often cost more if you can find them to begin with. Don’t get discouraged though – as a plant-based family that is used to cooking with a unique and wide range of herbs, spices, and ingredients, we’re quite satisfied with what we can find here and, with some adjustment, you can be, too.

Where and how to actually source food: a starting list

Supermarkets. This article is a good introduction to the main six supermarkets in Aotearoa. A downside to these six stores? They’re owned by only two parent companies = there’s less competition in the main food marketplace.

Speciality food stores. Looking for an Asian grocer? Indian food store? Mediterranean market? European foods? South African shop? International food store? Something else? Search online and make sure to add “New Zealand” or “NZ” to the search bar. If there isn’t an in-person store in your location, you’ll likely find an online store that delivers. Note: where you live on the motu (island, country) will make a difference in delivery cost – more rural, more fees.

Local fruit and veg shops. While you can find a lot of fruits and vegetables at the main supermarket chains, a lot of people shop at a local fruit and vegetable shop for fresh ingredients because there is often more variety and better prices. To find them, go to Google Maps and type in your location as well as “fruit and veg shop”. FYI: you really can’t judge a shop by its Google ratings or the number of reviews – it’s better to check them out in person (our favourite has only a single review!).

Buy direct from growers. There are so many options for this! You can find your closest farmers markets, online farm shop/co-op, or “U-Pick” farm by searching online. (We’ve even come across an excellent plant-based farmers’ market in Auckland that we loved.) Sometimes you’ll also see roadside vendors around town or hear of them by word of mouth – we’ve gotten fresh asparagus and fab avocados from our local guy when we remember to check him out.

Grow your own food. If you’ve heard of the rumour that it’s illegal to grow your own food in New Zealand, please know that it is completely untrue. Whether you only have a couple of pots to work with or a lifestyle section you live on, growing your own fruits and vegetables is quite a normal endeavour for many who have the time and space to do so.

Ready-made vs homemade. You can find plenty of ready-made or made-to-order foods – there are always options at supermarkets, restaurants, fast food chains, cafes, or takeaway eateries (mmm hot chips aka fries). There are also plenty of people who make their food from scratch, like ourselves. In the end, whichever way you lean will likely depend on your lifestyle, budget, and time.

Related topics:

As the article name suggests, this is a well written “Ultimate Guide to New Zealand Supermarkets & Grocery Stores

Still want to use Amazon? There’s actually workaround to this by using a package forwarding company

High food costs are a hot topic in New Zealand. Catch up on some of the recent discussions regarding this here and here.

Kauri Trees, Aotearoa’s Ancient Conifer Giants

The kauri tree (pronunciation found here is a unique member of the flora family in Aotearoa New Zealand. While there are various other Agathis species throughout Southeast Asia and Oceania, only one specific species, Agathis australis lives here. Not only do these coniferous trees live a long time (2,000 years old or more) and are the largest trees by timber volume in New Zealand and second-largest in the world (only the American redwoods are known to be bigger by volume), kauri trees can be traced back to the age of the dinosaurs.

These ancient giants only grow in the northern half of the north island. Before European colonization, there used to be more than 1 million hectares (almost 3 million acres) of these trees – today, it’s estimated there are only about 7,500 hectares (about 18,000 acres) of uncut kauri forest left. As you can imagine, nowadays they are a protected and revered species.

We’ve paid homage to our largest local Waikato tree, the Hakarimata kauri (pictured above, approximately 1,000 years old), a few times already by hiking its Kauri Loop Track . To see these trees up close is almost a mystical experience and leaves us in awe – it’s even fascinating to be standing in a young kauri tree grove with all of their very straight trunks reaching toward the sky in unison. If you’re in the Waikato region and are reasonably fit to go up and down the many stairs found on the track, it’s a lovely day hike. (Even though the DOC website says it takes 40 minutes to do, I’d recommend setting aside 1-2 hours to fully experience the track.)

If you get the chance to visit Northland, you can visit Tāne Mahuta up close and personal there, the largest known living kauri tree in the country. It’s very accessible on an easy 5-minute one-way track. We’re looking forward to seeing it for ourselves in the near future!

Want to read more?

The Department of Conservation (commonly called “Doc”) has a good website

Learn more about kauri trees on Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Local Lingo: Tramping & Tracks

Broadly speaking, tramping refers to hiking, although there is a feeling of the former being more than a typical day hike. While there can be divided discourse on the depth of their interchangeability, especially since tramping is distinctly a unique New Zealand term, people will generally know what you mean if you use either word.

Additionally, whether it’s a day walk or tramping, these activities are done on tracks, which refers to an outdoor trail.

“Hey are you keen to go tramping this holiday?”

“Yeah, are you thinking of a local track or somewhere else?