Kaimoana
Yesterday as we were taking a walk along the Wellington waterfront towards Oriental Bay (having just climbed to the top of Mount Victoria and back down again – another post on this to come!), we spotted a couple of people with a plentiful box of kina next to the water. Intrigued, we sat down near them and began to chat. Could these amazing looking creatures – and a source of food, considered a delicacy by many Māori people – have been found in our local (working) harbour, a stone’s throw away from our own front door?
Sure enough, they had been! The very friendly guy who had waded out to find these intriguing specimens told us that the Wellington harbour is full of sea-life, and before I knew it, I was being offered some kina to try… I can report that this is an acquired taste, and personally, I wouldn’t rush back for more anytime soon! But it was an interesting experience, and it’s not every day that you get to eat something so fresh and local. We sat and chatted for a while, watching the kina-catcher’s brother snorkeling in the middle of the bay.
Our new friends can be seen at the water’s edge in the photo above; this small interaction stayed in my mind for the rest of the day, and I felt lucky to be back living in a country where I understand the language fully, and where this enables us to again have these kinds of random encounters with a friendly strangers, and to learn something in the process (we learnt, for example, about the best local spots to find mussels, and about the varied fish-species inhabiting the harbour). Whilst we loved living overseas, getting to know different cultures and to be challenged by the daily immersion in different languages and customs – and we would love to do so again – there is something comforting and pleasant about being back here as well. As the day went on, the beauty of the kina stayed in my mind too – this spiky sea urchin is certainly unique.
– CIA
Photos by CIA, Oriental Bay, Wellington, New Zealand, 24 November 2012. Kia ora to the friendly guy who shared this kaimoana with me and his knowledge with us on Saturday afternoon.
foldedcranes 
I’m really fascinated by this! I’ve very much enjoyed reading what you guys have had to say about your travels…but I’m really looking forward to seeing what about New Zealand you showcase. This very (to me!) exotic bit of marine life is a great example!!
I’m glad you linked to the info about it. My first thought was: how in the world do you eat that?? (That’s when I clicked on the link!) And my second was: I wonder what it tastes like. The link doesn’t really shed too much light on that (though from what it says, it does sound hard to describe.) Can you liken it to anything? Or is it just a totally unique taste?
Thanks for posting!
Hey Maggie,
It’s always lovely to hear from you – thank you so much for this very kind comment, we are heartened to hear that you have enjoyed reading of our European travel adventures/living abroad experiences over the last little while, and that you are now equally looking forward to hearing about our continued adventures back in Aotearoa! That makes us happy! So thanks for saying.
Cool that you found this post interesting – I can tell you that the taste of the kina was definitely ‘interesting’! Exceptionally salty, and very soft and squishy… unlike anything else I have ever eaten, so yes, a totally unique taste that I guess really has to be experienced… maybe when you make it to NZ one day you can try a kina yourself! 🙂
I so relate with what you write about missing to be able to have a random conversation while traveling or living abroad. It is what I missed in my last travels as well….
Even though you suck up a lot of the countries culture through experiencing it and talking to the few who speak English or Dutch (even fewer!), it is not the same…..