Snowballs excepted, we are trying our best to get into the Kiwi culture starting with food and drink. Meat pies are the answer to every meal that isn't a sit-down affair. They're everywhere and filled with everything from mince to lambs' fry, aka, liver. Taste and quality range from "Wow!" to "Bugger me, that's horrible!" You will find the former in the local bakery; the latter are massed produced in a factory and languish on garage food racks.
And what goes with a pie...beer, of course! Despite its reputation, Speights is the beer of the South Island. "What's their reputation?", you ask. It starts with a local saying, "Drink Speights, lose your mates!" "What's that mean?", you ask.Speights is known for its gaseous side effects...it appears to be true, too!
So, beware the man with pie and Speights in hand!