Showing posts with label Tramping Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tramping Food. Show all posts

Monday 29 April 2019

Tramping Food: Go Native: 24 hour ration packs and sundries

Go Native: all in one food packs


There is a new outdoor food company in the market in New Zealand, the brand is called Go Native. Go Native sell a number of items, they have both 24 hour rations and assorted pre packed retort meals. The mains are in thermo stabilised retort pouches so they can be reheated in a pot of hot water or by using one of the Backcountry Flameless Ration Heaters.

The Go Native Vegetable Curry being served...

So far there are only three 24 hour rations available, hopefully this number will be added to as time goes on. They also sell a range of retort pouch main meals which I will discus below...

One of the Go Native retort pouch meals


The advantage of this type of meal is taste....they taste a lot better than freeze dried meals which lose a lot of their flavor in processing. The downside is weight...because they are 'wet' meals they are heavier, still at 700 odd gms for 24 hours worth of food the weight is not excessive. 

Go Native: Beef Casserole

First up is the Beef Casserole, this is the main in this 24 hour ration and is accompanied with items for both breakfast and lunch. 
Go Native 24 hour ration pack: Beef Casserole

As you can see these packs provide food for all three daily meals, including two snacks for during the day.  All three varieties of ration pack have muesli with milk powder, coffee, sugar and creamer (a milk substitute).

For lunch they all have tuna and crackers and a fruit bar and jerky style steak bar for snacks as and when required. They also have sachets of salt and pepper, tea, creamer and sugar.


Go Native 24 hour ration pack:contents of the Beef Casserole

The real difference is in the main meals: they each contain the stated main meal (Beef Casserole, Italiano Chicken or Vegetable Curry) and a suitable side dish (potato's or rice). 
Side view of the Go Native 24 hour ration packs...all have the same dimensions
The 24 hour rations weigh approximately 700gms each and are in a pack roughly the size of a A4 sheet of paper. The bags are waterproof and made of tear resistant plastic so you could just chuck a couple of these in your pack and away you go.

I have had one of these beef meals and the beef casserole was very nice....a well seasoned sauce with big chunks of beef and vegetables. I would certainly eat it again...

Go Native Chicken Italiano


The only difference with the Chicken Italiano meal is the main...this one is chicken not beef but all the other contents are exactly the same. Again, these weigh approximately 700gms and the dimensions of the meals are exactly the same as the beef and vegetable curry (vegetarian or vegan???? I'm not sure about that..) meals.

Go Native 24 hour ration pack:Chicken Italiano


You get mashed potato as the side dish with the chicken stew this is probably a fair choice as rice would not suit a European inspired main meal. 
Go Native 24 hour ration pack: contents of the Chicken Italiano

I have yet to eat one of these Chicken mains so I cannot yet provide feed back on the quality of the product. 

Go Native: Vegetable Curry 

There is a vegetarian option in this range which has a west Asian inspired vegetable curry as the main meal (with a side of rice to accompany it). Ive had one of these curries and it was really nice..good level of spice, creamy and nice big chunks of vegetable. 


Go Native 24 hour ration pack:Vegetable Curry

Again all of the other contents are exactly the same: muesli for breakfast and crackers and tuna for lunch. 
Contents of the Go Native 24 hour ration pack: Vegetable Curry

My main problem with these 24 hour rations are two fold: Firstly, I don't think they would provide enough nutrition for your average tramper, they would need a degree of assistance to provide all the calories you need. Secondly the monotony of the same breakfast and lunch items would quickly get boring. I love muesli and tuna and crackers but eating them every day would really irritate me and I'm sure you as well. 

Miscellaneous menu food items

Go Native also make a series of other main meals in the retort pouches without all the accompanying items you get in the 24 hour ration packs. So far they have Butter Chicken, Chilli Con Carne, Spaghetti Bologanese and Vegetable Curry. 


Go Native MRE: Chilli con Carne

Go Native MRE: Butter Chicken









Its possible that they intend adding these to the 24 hour range at some future point although they are perfectly useful as they are. Using these you could make your own 24 hour ration with suitable store brought items or you could buy one of the pre-packed rations and add this as your main.



Go Native MRE: Spaghetti Bolognese



Go Native MRE: Vegetable Curry
  
You would need a side dish to go with these as they are the sauce/main meal only and have no potato/rice/noodles to go with them. This is not a problem in my opinion. There are commercially produced heat in the bag versions of rice and pasta and also freeze dried and air dried potato flakes in most supermarkets.


Diamond make these pre-cooked and packaged boil in bag pasta varieties


Go Native also make the muesli bars included in the ration packs, I have seen them at outdoor shops but also many local supermarkets. You can buy them in various quantities from singles to packs of 40, so far they have only one flavour: Raspberry and Apple.

A Go Native Raspberry Apple Bar


Hey....they look like New Zealand Army Ration Packs..


Yes, they do look like a New Zealand Army Ration Pack (...or Operational Ration Pack...as they are known!) with that brown packaging. I don't know if they are one of the ration pack suppliers to the New Zealand military or maybe they just buy some of their items from a supplier who does.



NZ Operational Ration Pack

As you can see the military believe you need to give troops in the field a lot more variety and calories to remain operationally fit. Beside the retort main meals (two per pack) you get things like chocolate, two minute noodles, biscuits, vegemite, condensed milk, canned cheese, jam, peanut butter and a lot more drinks.


The contents of a New Zealand Operational Ration Pack

Army life is hard at times but not much more difficult than a 6-7 hour tramp.....way to much food!!! When I was in the NZ Army we would strip these down to the bare minimum and loose about half the contents. 


Sunday 20 May 2018

Arthurs Pass Township: food resupply options in the village

Resupplying in Arthur's Pass, Arthur's Pass National Park, South Island


I do a lot of tramping in Arthurs Pass National Park and normally take all my food with me. However if you found yourself in the Park one of the places you could buy food is in Arthur's Pass Township.



Arthurs Pass Store and Cafe, Arthurs Pass Village

On a recent visit to the area I went into the only two places that sell grocery items and took some photos to show you what you can expect to find there.

The Arthurs Pass township 


Arthurs Pass is a small township perched in the depths of the Southern Alps. The regular population of the township is less than 30 people: mostly railway workers, cafe workers, Police, DOC staff and roading contractors.

Sign at the Arthurs Pass railway station

The town only exists because it is one of  the crossing points over the Southern Alps.  Both SH73 and the Trans Alpine rail link between Christchurch and the West Coast of the South Island pass through the township. It is also the nexus for Arthurs Pass National Park and all the wonderful short and multi day tramps located there. 

Map: Arthurs Pass township

Because the town is so small it has very little infrastructure: there are a number of accommodation providers, two cafes, a DOC visitor centre and a railway station. That's it really....because of this one of the cafes also acts as the general store for the area.



Arthurs Pass township: view west towards the Pass and the West Coast of the South Island

Arthurs Pass township: view east towards the DOC centre and Canterbury

 The Arthur's Pass Cafe Store

The Arthurs Pass Cafe Store is located right in the centre of the Arthurs Pass township...it is easily the most prominent and easy to spot building in the village. The main part of the building is seating for the cafe section of the store. The store is also the home of the only petrol bowser in the village.

The Arthurs Pass Cafe Store, SH 73, Arthurs Pass Village

The Arthur's Pass store carries a small but comprehensive grocery selection to supply both visitors and the locals who live and work in the area. It is located at the rear of the store, back beyond the cafe section of the building and consists of a number of shelves and a couple of coolers with chilled and frozen goods in them.



Arthurs Pass Store:grocery section at the rear of the cafe

Arthurs Pass Store: inside the store and cafe: note the menu board

There is a very limited selection of frozen meats which would be suitable for tramping supplies. For example they had single steaks and packets of four sausages in a variety of flavours as well as bacon, cold meats and a selection of dairy products.

Arthurs Pass Store: small bags of frozen meat products, gluten free bread

Arthurs Pass Store: milk, cheese, butter, cream, bacon and cold meats
I've taken some close up shots of the grocery shelves so you can see exactly what they have in the shop. I was mentally building a multi day menu in my mind as I took these shots...you could easily buy enough food to see you through for 3-10 days from the goods they have on offer. 

Wither you could carry 10 days food is another matter...


Arthurs Pass Store: groceries shelf I


Arthurs Pass Store:grocery shelf II


Arthurs Pass Store: groceries shelf  III

The General Store is primarily a cafe and tearooms so they have both menu and cabinet items for sale. There is a wide selection of sandwiches, pies, cookies and cakes as well as fruit and various beverages. You can see the menu on the blackboard in the photo below, the range is limited but they sell cooked breakfasts as well as a number of burgers, hot chips and toasted sandwiches.


Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: the food cabinets

There is also a selection of snack items arranged around the main counter so make sure you have a look at what they have available including jerky, chocolate, meal bars and candies.

Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: jerky products

Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: sweets and chocolate supplies

The store has a limited supply of clothing items including socks, merino tops, t-shirts and fleece and merino hats, scarves and gloves. They also sell lightweight rain jackets and baseball caps.



Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: limited supplies of clothing

There is a small off license at the Arthurs Pass store, they sell a limited selection of beers, ciders wine and large spirits bottles. The prices were comparable to what you would pay in Christchurch so $50-$60 for a large bottle of spirits and $12-$25 for a bottle of wine.

As always you must be 18 years of age or older to buy these products and I would imagine they WILL ask for ID to prove this. Apart from the bars at the Wobbly Kea and the Bealey Hotel (10 kms away) this is the only place to buy alcohol in the township. 



Arthurs Pass Cafe Store: Spirits and wine selection in their off license

Arthurs Pass DOC Visitor Centre

The other place which sells a very limited array of resupply items is the Department of Conservation visitor centre in Arthur's Pass. They mainly have a selection of Backcountry Freeze dried meals but also have jerky products, gas cannisters and Em's Snack Bars.

DOC Arthurs Pass Visitor Centre, Arthurs Pass Township, South Island, New Zealand

Arthurs Pass DOC Centre: inside the centre

The shop inside the DOC Visitor Centre in Arthurs Pass


The store has some clothing items including socks, merino tops, t-shirts and fleece and merino hats, scarves and gloves. They also sell lightweight rain jackets and baseball caps. 

Arthurs Pass DOC Centre:the small selection of resupply items

As you are going to visit the centre to check the weather for the next leg of the trail you might as well stop and stock up on a few items. Note that the DOC Visitor centre is the only place selling gas cannisters in the township, otherwise you are going to Hokitika or Christchurch as they are the next closest towns that sell these items. 

Eating at the Wobbly Kea


The only other place to eat in Arthurs Pass is at the Wobbly Kea Cafe and Bar. It is located directly across the road from the Cafe Store in the centre of Arthur's Pass Township.

The wobbly kea cafe and bar, Arthurs Pass Village, Arthurs Pass National Park

The cafe is also a bar so if you are looking for a drink this is where you will need to go, hours are 9 am to 5pm over the winter, 8-8pm during the summer season. The Wobbly Kea serves cooked breakfasts, and lunch/dinner items in the style of bar food so pizza's, burgers, fries, dressed pies and toasted sandwiches. They also have a small cabinet selection including cakes and biscuits.

Wobbly Kea Cafe and Bar: the inside of the cafe

Online treasure trove about Arthurs Pass


There is a very comprehensive page covering information for trampers on the Arthurs Pass.com website. You should have a look as it is filled with fantastic information about the tramping in the park as well as more general information about Arthurs Pass.

Good information for TA trekkers at ArthursPass.com


I hope to see you out there some time...


Tuesday 20 March 2018

Tramping food resupply point: St Arnaud General Store: Nelson Lakes NP


Resupplying in St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes NP, South Island.....

One of the places you will need to resupply fuel and tramping food while on the Te Araroa Trail is at the beginning/end of the Richmond Ranges and the start/finish of Nelson Lakes National Park.

This is at the settlement of St Arnaud on SH 63 close to Lake Rotoiti.

Entering St Arnaud from the Blenheim end of SH63, general store on the right


St Arnaud is located between the Richmond's and Nelson Lakes National Park. It is roughly 7-10 days in both directions to the next resupply point. If you decide to forgo a drop box, then your only resupply option here is the St Arnaud General Store. 


St Arnaud near Nelson Lakes National Park

The St Arnauld General Store

I was up in St Arnaud recently tramping the Travers-Sabine Circuit. While there I stopped off at the St Arnaud General Store to buy a sandwich and drink, and thought it might be interesting to discuss it as a possible TA resupply point.

St Arnaud is a small settlement on SH 63 half way between Murchison and Blenheim. There are less than 50 permanent residents but it is often busy as it is the gateway to Nelson Lakes National Park. 


The St Arnaud General Store, cafe and petrol station

There is only one store in St Arnaud, the General Store on the main highway through the settlement. Calling this a store is a misnomer as it is basically a small grocery selection attached to the local NPD petrol station.  

The St Arnauld General Store

A place to resupply tramping food...

 The grocery selection is limited but you can certainly buy enough supplies here to get you through to either Havelock (drop box at Pelorous Bridge...), Hanmer (off the trail) or Arthur's Pass (with a drop box at the Boyle Outdoor Education Centre...). 

I heard that the price were expensive, but a quick peruse of the shelves showed that they were only marginally more expensive than in a larger town. 


St Arnaud General Store: chiller and bread selection

The cafe attached to the store has a decent selection of cakes, slices, pies and sandwiches/rolls which can provide you with treats and lunches for the first day at least. They also do coffee and light meals if that is something you are interested in. 


St Arnaud General Store: the inside of the store

The store had methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) and a limited selection of screw type gas canisters for sale. There were very few of them so it might be best to contact them before you arrive to see if they have any available. 

St Arnaud General Store: toiletries and hardware

All the usual suspects are present: bread, rice, noodles, pasta meals, mashed potatoes, soup, canned tuna, cereals, Nuttela, peanut butter, dried fruit, crackers, milk and milk powder, sugar, tea/coffee etc. etc. They have a limited supply of pre-packaged meats in a chiller including ham, bacon and salami.

I didn't spot any freeze dried meals, tortillas/wraps or anything similar in the shop.

St Arnaud General Store: general food groceries

The store also sells alcohol: they have wine, beer, RTD's and a selection of spirits for you to choose from. As always you need to be 18 years old to buy alcohol in New Zealand. 

The St Arnaud General Store sells alcohol....

I love that they have my favourite beer Kronenbourg (Vitamin K) in stock..must be all the tourists from France/Germany who drive the demand...


RTD and beer selection at the St Arnaud General Store and...Kronenbourg!!!!

There is a small selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, enough to restock for the next section of the trail. I saw apples, oranges, bananas, onions, corn cobs, potatoes, garlic, capsicum, carrots, parsnips and tomatoes. 

Fruit and vegetable chiller at the St Arnaud General Store

So...not a supermarket but at least a possible resupply option as you pas through.

Incidentally, if you are catching the Nelson Lakes Shuttle to the Mt Robert car park (if doing the side trip to Angelus Hut) the shuttle collects you from the kiosk in front of the General Store. That's why I was visiting the store in the first place.

 Bookings are essential and best made several days before your day of travel, it only cost me $30 as there is a regular scheduled trip to that destination each day during the summer months.