Pasifika Festival

That's me just back from the Pasifika Festival - it was brilliant. The costumes and dancing were fantastic, and the food was yummy! There were tonnes of craft and traditional dress stalls around, but apparently you can buy them much cheaper elsewhere, so I didn't make any purchases. I started off in Tuvalu where I wandered down to the main stage to see some dancing and singing by the islanders, apparently it was their 'welcome' dance. I managed to get a picture and to catch the end of it on video.

I then went and bought a pineapple ice-cream from Samoa, which is a whole pineapple hollowed out with the fruit mixed in vanilla ice cream and put back in the pineapple shell for you to eat. I would have taken a picture but it was melting too fast! On the way round the park there were lots of Pukeko (a New Zealand swamp hen), apparently these have become quite a pest, but in my opinion they're still less pesky than seagulls or pigeons.

Next stop was the Cook Islands where there was more dancing and singing. The drummers were brilliant, and the costumes were amazing. This definitely makes me want to visit! I managed to catch a quick snippet of video, but my phone battery was dying so didn't want to use it all here. 

After watching this I popped along to Fiji and bought a whitebait fritter. This is an omelette with whitebait (little tiny fish) mixed in. Apparently it is quite the delicacy and whitebait is probably the most costly fish on the market because its only available seasonally. I was a little disappointed it didn't taste fishier, but I would buy it again. On the same stall they were cooking mussels, prawns and scallops in front of customers. The man in front of me bought a seafood bonanza, which consisted of 10 mussels, 5 king scallops, and 5 king prawns. I HAD to get a picture of it, and managed to do so just before the prawns went in. 

Just before I left I was given a frangipani flower from one of the Tongan stall holders. These are the ones used to make the traditional Pacific island leis. I was also informed that in Pacific island culture if you wear it above the right ear, it says you are seeking a relationship, and if put above the left it means that you are taken. I put mine in my ponytail... I thought it best to keep them guessing!

I had a brilliant time and is a definite must-do again next year.