Best Fish and Chips in a Small Town, Picton, New Zealand

Picton was one of the smallest port we had ever visited but it was more than quaint. When we looked outside our port window, we saw piles and piles of logs. These logs were stacked up high and there were plenty of them. 

A shuttle was provided to take us into town. The explanation of the logs were that these logs were going to be sent to China to be used to create toothpicks, chopsticks and matches. That was surprising to hear. 

After being dropped off, we walked along the shoreline until we found this bridge that spanned the marina. This was the Coathanger bridge. Originally built in 1907 as the Victoria Domain bridge, it was replaced in 1950 as the Coathanger bridge. 

The Picton marina was peaceful and really fun to walk through. It was hard to imagine the population was only 7,990 and with us visiting, the population was close to 10,000 for the day.

We kept walking along the shoreline, occasionally glancing into the water because the water was so clear. On one glance, I noticed something big. It was a stingray swimming near the surface. Now that's something you don't see every day.

At the end of the road, we noticed there was a trail in the hills. We looked at the trail map and found a short hike to the left. We decided to hike into the trees. It was a slight incline so we picked up walking sticks along the way. Cindy turned around to take a picture of me. I felt like Gandalf leading a pack of hobbits.

At the top of the hill, we were rewarded with a view of the ship and the ocean beyond. It was truly a good hike. 

After the hike, we ventured into town for some lunch. Some of us went for some green lipped mussels, a New Zealand specialty. We tried traditional fish and chips at M&M Takeaways but there was nothing traditional about the fish they use. 

Instead of cod, haddock, salmon and halibut that we were used to, we had warehou, shark and dory. I asked what a warehou and dory looked like and a local sitting by the wall pointed to a poster on the wall. It showed these fishes and I couldn't help but to comment that these fishes looked like what you would find in the deepest of oceans. The shark and warehou looked normal but the dory was like an anglerfish. Not like dory I know from Disney's Nemo cartoon.

warehou

dory

Cindy liked the shark the most. I like the warehou. I tried some of the dory that our friends had, but it was similar to the warehou. We found a spot near the wharf, opened my Bundaberg drink (which I absolutely love) and had our lunch with our new friends, Jim and Francis Gee.

Later, as we strolled by the restaurant that our friends, Brad and Theresa went to, we decided to try out some green lipped mussels too. They were served in a curry sauce and they were delicious.

Other things to try in New Zealand include pot pies and hokey pokey ice cream. Have you tried any of these? If so, please leave us a comment.