On a Nature & Nosh tour, food isn't just a thing tacked on at the end of a hike, it's actually three quite different experiences that each do their own job across the day. There's the 'meet the makers', when we sit down with the people who actually grow, make or bottle what ends up in your glass or on your plate. There's the fuelling, which keeps you walking happily and well from breakfast all the way through to the next ridge line. And then there's the evening, when the boots finally come off, the wine gets poured, and dinner becomes the new main event. We think all three deserve a proper introduction of their own.
Meet the Maker: the food experience you can't get from a menu
This is the part that tends to surprise people most, because 'Meet the Maker' isn't a meal so much as it is a visit, and along the way we pull in at the doors of the people who actually make the good stuff rather than just serving it to you.
On our Coastal Charm Taster, that means stopping in at a working artisan salt farm, where you'll see exactly how gourmet New Zealand sea salt is made before sitting down to a lunch that's cooked for you right there on the beach. A little further along the route, we call in at a boutique gin distillery for a tasting, the kind where someone explains exactly why their botanicals taste like the hillside you've just spent the morning walking over. We also visit a flourishing macadamia orchard and hear from the owners about their journey from start to brittle!
These are the stories and flavours of the region, told by the people who actually make them.
Breakfasts and gourmet packed lunches: fuel for the soul
Breakfast is built to set you up properly for the day ahead, hearty and fresh and paced so nobody's heading out on an empty stomach or riding a sugar crash by mid-morning. Lunch travels with you, by way of either a grazing-style spread or hearty and nutritious packed lunch. It's all made for you so all you really have to think about is the view in front of you.
Evening meals: where the day comes together
This is the part our sample lodge menu shows off best. Picture arriving after a day on the trail to a welcome platter already waiting for you, an antipasto grazing spread of local cheeses, chutney, deli meats, homemade bread and seasonal dips, alongside a selection of New Zealand wine, beer and non-alcoholic drinks, with absolutely no one rushing you to the table.
Then comes dinner. On night one, that might be roast shoulder of lamb with prune and almond stuffing balls, fresh mint sauce and rosemary roasted potatoes, served alongside a roast beetroot salad, all rounded off with a baked berry cheesecake that nobody has room for and everybody finishes anyway. Night two might bring pork belly with properly crisp crackling, sage and apple sauce, and a kaffir lime and coconut brûlée to close things out.
Every evening meal is paired with New Zealand wine, chosen to sit alongside what's actually on the plate. And yes, we're happy to cater for special dietary requirements where possible, so just let us know when you book.
Three experiences, one philosophy
Meet the Maker teaches you where the food actually comes from, breakfasts and packed lunches keep you moving through the day, and evening meals with wine in hand are where the day gets talked through and the next one gets planned. None of it is an afterthought bolted onto a walking tour, it's as much a part of the itinerary as the trail itself.
