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NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
What to eat in the Chatham Islands: A seafood lover's guide
Irish pub The Craic had me at hello, blue cod. Pan-fried and fresh with chunky chips and a tasty tartare. In fact, it had me so bad that I went back and had exactly the same for lunch the next day, before heading to the wharf to board our beautiful home away from home for a week, Ponant's Le Laperouse. And we were off to the Chatham Islands, where the best blue cod comes from (so they say...) Owenga, on the main island, Rekohu, was our first landing. Bouncing over the waves it was hard not to think of the bounty that lay beneath. As well as cod, the Chathams are renowned for their big crayfish, kina and pāua. But they are also a favourite meeting place for great white sharks, so best to concentrate on not falling overboard. After a bit of a paddle when exiting the Zodiac, I was hiking through farmland with gritty, damp feet. Crayfish season was, sadly, all but finished, and the paddocks were full of pots. The treescape was a mix of megaherbs, like the famous Chatham Island forget-me-nots and coastal trees sculpted by the wind; larger trees on the islands include the karaka, which was brought to the Chathams by the Moriori, who called it kopi. They ate the flesh of the berries and used the (poisonous) kernels to make a kind of flour. A couple of, thankfully friendly, four-legged locals followed us up to a gorgeous windswept beach when I saw something that I, at least, had never seen before. Amid the clumps of seaweed were pāua shells, hundreds of them, polished on both sides. I've still not been able to ascertain whether this 'phenomenon' is caused by natural abrasion by the sea, or a lack of barnacles, or indeed if it is a phenomenon. But I was pretty impressed. Another local, two-legged this time, stopped to chat and just casually dropped in that at low tide off the rocks here there were pools the kids fished in that were 'absolutely loaded' with crays, cod and pāua. 'I guess we take it for granted...' Our second landing at the Chathams was on Pitt Island/Rangiauria. Our guide was an off-islander farmer who went there for work and fell in love with the place, and with a local. There was a lot of pride evident when she told us that her (primary school-age) children would never starve; they could cook, garden, fish, hunt and forage. As well as being able to mend their own vehicles. This useless mainlander trudged on with a dodgy hip past more megaherbs — one of the more interesting being the Chathams' giant puha. (While the Chathams have the 'ordinary' puha, there's also a much bigger version, though not actually of the same genus. But they called it puha, so you might expect it was similarly eaten.) Once in danger of being eradicated by the wild sheep and pigs that inhabit the islands, which obviously found it delicious, this coastal plant is now making a big comeback. Wild pork and giant puha. Yum. Wild sheep? The only experience I have had close to that was on the Marquesas, where, as part of a mainly delicious feast, where I fell in love with octopus, they also cooked us some feral goat, a great favourite there. No. Sorry. Eau des armpit. The wild sheep hunted on Pitt, however, are descended from Saxon merinos taken to the islands in the 1800s. And merino meat is now trending as a delicious thing to eat, so I must put aside my prejudice. The woolly Pitt Island sheep we got closest to, however, were in a paddock next to the island's only accommodation, Flowerpot Bay Lodge. Feeling a tad cheaty, as we had only (hip, remember) attempted the 'short' walk option, we were welcomed to this comfortable retreat with a scrumptious morning tea. Fritters made with the local paua were served on home-baked bread. A delicious slice accompanied by coffee on the deck, looking out to the private gardens and the sea. Many visitors to the Chathams choose to spend at least a few days on Pitt Island, and the lodge is a gorgeous place, cosy on the inside, yet and wild on the outside — perched as it is on the corner of New Zealand's easternmost outpost, the first place in the world to see the rising sun. It has a storied history, occupying the site of the original homestead, settled all the way back in 1843. The lounge is lined with photos from the past and a vast selection of books containing all you need to know about the islands. What a remarkable place to stay. Back on the ship, the pāua feast continued, with guest chef Norka Mella Munoz of Wharekauhau Estate demonstrating her own recipe for fritters. Norka, on board as part of Ponant's partnership with Relais & Chateaux, explained that she prefers to make hers without flour, for a lighter and tastier version. Norka's petite frame was later seen wielding an enormous mallet to yet more pāua into submission for a tataki that featured in a special epicurean feast with other New Zealand specialties such as gin-cured Ora King Salmon and venison. The small taste of the magnificent larder that is the Chathams left me wanting much more, and I was excited to discover I could order 'Chatham Blue', snap-frozen and shipped directly from the islands — it's every bit as nice as the fish I had in Dunedin. They do crayfish tails and pāua pies too... Hmmmm.... The writer was a guest of Ponant.
TTG
07-05-2025
- Business
- TTG
Ponant boss promises agents ‘exclusive' port access ahead of UK focus
Ponant has promised agents access to 'exclusive' ports if they book one of its sailings, after partnering with a luxury expedition line earlier this year. The French cruise operator acquired a majority stake in Aqua Expeditions in January 2025, marking a key milestone in its journey towards cracking the UK market. It says that the small ship company, which specialises in river and expedition cruises, will enhance its ability to reach more remote destinations – a cornerstone of Ponant's USP. 'Aqua Expeditions will allow us to bring our guests to protected, lesser-explored places, such as the Galapagos,' Herve Gastinel, chief executive officer at Ponant Explorations Group, told TTG Luxury on board the Le Laperouse last week. 'For me, our destinations have to be exclusive. They have to be untouched, where tourists do not usually go.' With over 130 destinations in its portfolio, Ponant already offers a wide range of options for the roughly 80,000 passengers it hosts every year. 'For me, our destinations have to be exclusive. They have to be untouched, where tourists do not usually go' The line's fleet of 13 vessels sail everywhere from Italy to Sri Lanka, as well as the US, Canada and Australia. Most recently, it became the first cruise line to offer a 'trans-arctic voyage' on its Le Commandant Charcot, an ice breaker named after the French polar scientist Jean-Baptiste Charcot. Itineraries are constantly being updated and revised, with Ponant's destination team always on the lookout for unique port stops, Gastinel said. Untapped ports Perhaps proving the point, Gastinel spoke to TTG Luxury against the backdrop of a little-visited port on the French Riviera during Le Laperouse's first ever Seminar at Sea fam trip to have invited UK agents onboard. The ship was anchored a few hundred metres' off the coast of Menton, a quiet town with strict regulations for cruise ships; vessels more than 30 metres in length are prohibited from docking and must rely on tender boats instead. There are also only 10 available stops per year, half of which are reserved for Ponant. Ponant believes Aqua Expeditions' range of destination offerings will bring a great advantage to its own expertise in operating in unique and remote places, particularly when it comes to the world's rivers. The company operates three river ships, including Aqua Mekong in Asia and Aqua Nera and Aria Amazon in South America, priding itself on docking overnight in remote ports. 'The future is slow luxury,' said Gastinel. 'Guests want to take the time to discover the place. Ticking a box isn't satisfactory.' Quality over quantity underpins its stance on destinations, which are just as important to its clientele as the ship itself. 'The future is slow luxury. Guests want to take the time to discover the place'
