I joined my host and her energy engineering class for a weekend in Cass, about 2 hours west of Christchurch. The University of Canterbury owns a "sweet as" field station, where we stayed. While the students performed an energy audit of the facility, the rest of us worked a bit, socialized, hiked, etc. We even got to the Bealy Pub to watch the All Blacks vs. Wallabies rugby game, which was being played in Christchurch. Go All Blacks!
The most interesting part of the weekend was being submerged in Kiwi food. It was like being at camp... You ate what you were served. Here's a sample menu:
Breakfast- Canned spaghetti on toast or canned fruit (peaches or pears) on cornflakes
Morning Tea- Muffins and tea/coffee/milo
Lunch- Pumpkin soup with a roll and chicken pie
Afternoon tea- Biscuits (cookies), fruit and tea/coffee/milo
Tea*- Shepherd's pie with chips (french fries) topped with gravy
Dessert- Sticky date pudding with custard and cream (just after dinner)
Supper*- Scones and tea/coffee (a couple hours after dinner)
Add all that up! That's a lot of food. Sometimes you just had to politely pass. I'm pretty sure the average Kiwi doesn't eat that much. I came home and ate steamed broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.
*By the way, some NZ lingo you should know:
Cuppa = Tea
Tea = Dinner
Supper = After dinner coffee & dessert
Awesome "flying saucer." Heading west out of Christchurch.
Cass field station.
Me, in conversation with Sid on the top of the mountain while he was taking pictures.
Looking towards the top of the mountain we scrambled up.
At the top with Ron, a Kiwi and the trip organizer, and Stephanie, a German professor.
Eating my chicken pie, topped with tomato sauce. I just trusted the Kiwi boys behind me. They said it would be good. And it actually was. Much better than the vension pie I had in Greymouth.
Sunday brought a big storm. Driving back to Christchurch.
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