New Zealand's seafood industry is thriving and several factors contribute to its plentiful ocean bounty. The country is sparsely populated (beach fronts are often home to cows and sheep) which enables the proliferation and maturation of seafood. Also, New Zealand is a relatively new country and many pains and regulations have been put in place to ensure that the environments are fertile and the industry remains sustainable.
The combination of abundant seafood and lax daily allowances make a free meal for a backpacker just a beach away. Today we went to White's Bay (30 minutes from our hostel in Spring Creek) to collect New Zealand's famous green lipped mussels. As you approach the rocky outcropping you notice tiny black shells covering the rocks like snake scales, I can only assume those are baby mussels. Closer toward the water line is where the bigger ones reside, there are literally hundreds of thousands all wedged together, some on top of others like crusty banana bunches. Most of them are as big as your hand.
So, how hard can it be to collect some motionless shelled creatures from along the beach on a beautiful sunny day? Ha! First of all, going at low tide is imperative as mussels choose to make their homes along the most dauntingly sharp and steep rocks they can “find”. Secondly, the tiny hairs that attach themselves are more like cement than delicate fibrous strands. Thirdly, crabs and other tiny creatures inhabit the same jagged rocks and have no qualms about scuttling across your hands. Lastly, it is foolish to think that low tide is synonymous with no tide.
Equipped with sandals, a plastic bag and my cutest beach outfit I perilously wedged myself and my sandaled toes between razor sharp rocks just above tide line, bracing myself against the rocks I bent down as far as I could to reach the submerged mussels. It was then that I quickly re-acquainted myself with the crashing waves, then the rocks, then the crabs. I couldn't help thinking that just down the road I could catch myself a kilo of mussels for $2.99. Laughing, soaked and raw fingered I headed home with my mussel posse and three full bags to eat ourselves into a crustacean coma.
I SAY WORTH IT!
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