Hokitika is a small township in the West Coast region of the South Island, the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand. It is an important ecotourism center and a major tourist stop on the West Coast’s main highway route. Hokitika is also known for its wild food festival that has been held every year since 1990.
The Hokitika Wildfoods Festival was founded in 1990 by a local woman named Claire Bryant. The first festival coincided with the 125th anniversary of the founding of Hokitika. The event was a great success so locals decided to make it an annual affair celebrating the wild foods of the West Coast. Over the years, it has become one of New Zealand’s most iconic events.
Every year the festival showcases an assortment of creative and sometimes plain crazy foods. Attendees have the unique opportunity to try chicken feet, colostrum cheesecake, grasshoppers, possum, earthworms, lambs testicles known as mountain oysters, gorse flower wine, duck heads, fish eyes, pork blood casserole, baby octopus, and more. New foods are introduced every year. The infamous stallion protein shots containing horse semen are one of the festival’s specialties.
For those who are not ready to sample wide treats there is a variety of exciting gourmet options including quality seafood, venison, gourmet sausages, smoked salmon, marinated tuna, traditional Maori specialties and various international cuisines.
Along with food tastings, the Hotikika Wildfoods Festival offers lots of entertainment for visitors of all ages, including kids. There are fairground rides, a bouncy castle, balloon twisting, face painting, street performers, live music, and more. The festival has something for everyone!
