sallyhammond.com.au

SCALLOPS AND URCHINS, ALIVE, ALIVE-O

A tiny North Island New Zealand town triples its population every year when it hosts a festival in celebration of a tiny bivalve.

This spiny mass in a bucket seems to have the locals excited. I move closer and stifle a shudder. The sign says whole kina but someone is hacking off the tops of these sea urchins and serving out their creamy innards with a spoon into plastic pots. It’s a Kiwi thing, obviously. Fact is only Maori people can collect this semi-rare delicacy.

And while the queue grows, the funny thing is, this isn’t what the festival is all about. I am at the annual Whitianga (pronounced FIT-ianga, WH should be said as if it is an F in New Zealand) Scallop Festival. Or should that be Whestival?  I attended last year, but this annual fixture is on again in a couple of weeks time, from 26th - 30th August 2009. 

Whitianga on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island is on the delightfully scenic Coromandel Peninsula in the Bay of Plenty area, visited by James Cook as he passed through in 1769. He said he was tracking the transit of Mercury. My guess is he was mesmerised by the beauty of the place. And the seafood. Well, would you blame him for forgetting the planets and kicking back with a platter of scallops and a cold drink, admiring the view?

 

We learn how to open them – mind those fingers! – and later taste them too. They are magnificent!

And for those that like a few carbs with their seafood, the paella tent is a focal point too.

There are certainly plenty of people here, the organisers expect around 10,000 each year and it often sells out ahead of time. And – you guessed it – there are  plenty of scallops to go round. A hundred thousand of them is the conservative estimate. But how do you stop at just ten?

 

 

 

 

 

 
It’s also an excellent chance to sample the local wines. Hmmmm! How about a wine tour tomorrow?

Not only scallops of course, the various restaurants and producers set up their mobile kitchens and stands and serve tastes and meals of everything from fish and chips, mussels and oysters – to well, more scallops!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.scallopfestival.co.nz
www.whitianga.co.nz

 

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