Provided
Mt Fyffe Distillery owner Justine Schroder says there is “so much more to Kaikoura than our amazing whales.”
Two local Kaikōura businesses are teaming up to attract international tourists to the coastal city.
South Pacific Helicopters and Mt Fyffe Distillery are offering a new gin experience before the border reopens to fully vaccinated travelers from visa-exempt countries next month.
They will take guests on a 30-minute scenic flight over the Kaikōura Peninsula and the Seaward Kaikōura Range before landing on Mount Fyffe, where guests can try Justine Schroder’s award-winning gin. They will also receive a 375ml bottle of Woolshed Gin or Shearwater Gin to take home.
“When everyone is fighting for tourist money, we want to offer something really unique and we don’t want to go back to the status quo of what we were doing before Covid,” said the managing director of South Pacific Helicopters, Daniel Stevenson.
READ MORE:
* Just ‘doing our part’: Heritage-listed Christchurch hotel goes green
* Weekly Travel Deals: Helicopter Tequila Distillery Tour
“Visitors increasingly want personal experiences where they can meet local owners and operators and learn why we do what we do.”
Schroder said the business is all about thinking outside the box.
“There is so much more to Kaikōura than our amazing whales,” she said.
South Pacific Helicopters director of marketing and partnerships Krissy Griggs said international visitors make up 90% of Kaikōura’s tourism trade.
Provided
The Stevenson family run South Pacific Helicopters and partner with a local gin distillery in an effort to provide a vital boost to Kaikōura tourism.
“We launched South Pacific Helicopters in 2016 just before the Kaikōura earthquake and have been in survival mode since Covid.
“This new premium offering is about doing something different to attract international tourists and help revitalize a tourism industry that has been hit hard.”
Spoil your mom
Mother’s Day is just over two weeks away (Sunday, May 8), and Stranges Lane Soul Quarter Restaurant is offering a special three-course lunch for Mom’s special day.
It’s $65 for all three courses and a glass of Sartori Rosé Prosecco.
Soul Quarter
Christchurch restaurant Soul Quarter is offering a special three-course Mother’s Day lunch that includes smoked potato gnocchi as a vegan option.
Vegan, gluten-free and other dietary options are available. The vegan menu includes a tomato tarte tatin with vegan mozzarella, smoked potato gnocchi with eggplant caviar and an avocado and chocolate mousse.
Book by calling 03 261 6171 or by booking via the restaurant’s website.
The city’s newest wine bar will open soon
Christchurch heritage New Regent St will welcome its latest hospitality venture in early May: Downstairs Wine Bar.
CHRIS SKELTON / Stuff
Emma Mettrick, co-owner of Twenty Seven Steps, is delighted with the opening of her new wine bar, Downstairs.
The bar will be located just below Twenty Seven Steps and promises to offer 40 drinks, draft beer and snacks, as well as restaurant favorites like duck liver parfait.
After opening delays due to Covid-19, commerce and consent issues, owner Emma Metrrick was ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the natural timing for opening would fall as Cantabrians became more relaxed about touring their venues preferred hosts.
“We had some delays with Twenty Seven Steps six years ago, and it ended up saving us.”
A chef, general manager and bar manager had already been hired, but there were still a few vacancies for wait staff.
Provided
The Welcome Chinese Vegetarian Cafe serves excellent food.
Fundraising events
Two of the Christchurch Vegan Society’s annual fundraising events are back in the coming months and tickets for both are available now.
The first is a vegan buffet lunch at the Welcome Chinese Vegetarian Cafe starting at noon on Sunday, May 15.
Proceeds are used to help the company run events like the Vegan Expo and continue its Vegan Angels program, which provides plant-based meal kits and baked goods to local vegans and vegetarians when needed, and offers pick-ups. groceries for people needing to self-isolate due to Covid or other illness.
The Welcome cafe is also recovering from months of roadwork outside its doors. The cafe, open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, offers dozens of Chinese-style vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Then, on June 26, a vegan fundraiser for Cat Rescue – a local charity focused on reducing the population of stray cats using the trap, neuter and return method.
Think mini sandwiches, cupcakes and scones – and all plant-based.
Tickets for both events are available on the society’s website, www.veganchristchurch.org.nz
Do you have a food or drink story to share? Email [email protected]
