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- Wild tasting alley — A maze of stalls serving wild, local ingredients you won’t usually find on a menu: kina, pāua, whitebait, venison and the occasional novelty grub. It’s part shock, part discovery — you get to taste West Coast terroir in tiny, adventurous portions and decide what you actually like.
- Cooking demos and showmanship — Chefs and local cooks turn bizarre ingredients into impressive plates while riffing with the crowd. It’s theatre as much as technique: fast-paced, hands-on demos that teach tricks for cooking wild foods and make the eccentric feel approachable.
- Māori and local kai culture — Strong connection to the sea and bush runs through the festival: traditional seafood, storytelling, and ingredient knowledge passed on by tangata whenua and local gatherers. That cultural
- Wild tasting alley — A maze of stalls serving wild, local ingredients you won’t usually find on a menu: kina, pāua, whitebait, venison and the occasional novelty grub. It’s part shock, part discovery — you get to taste West Coast terroir in tiny, adventurous portions and decide what you actually like.
- Cooking demos and showmanship — Chefs and local cooks turn bizarre ingredients into impressive plates while riffing with the crowd. It’s theatre as much as technique: fast-paced, hands-on demos that teach tricks for cooking wild foods and make the eccentric feel approachable.
- Māori and local kai culture — Strong connection to the sea and bush runs through the festival: traditional seafood, storytelling, and ingredient knowledge passed on by tangata whenua and local gatherers. That cultural grounding makes the festival more than novelty eating — it’s food tied to place and practice.
- Live music and the West Coast vibe — Laid-back, rowdy, and friendly: buskers, bands, and community performers keep the energy high while the rugged coastal backdrop reminds you this isn’t a city food fair. It’s communal, loud in a good way, and unapologetically local.
- Craft drinks, markets and local producers — Small-batch beers, ciders, and artisan stalls sit alongside the wild food stands, so you can pair something crisp with your plate and take home honest West Coast produce. It’s a proper market feel — producers proud of what they make, not polished chain stuff.
Spotted a mistake or missing something? Contact us.
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Best Backpacking
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past decade, I’ve backpacked through 80+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.