Collecting Cockles

Beach covered in cockles at low tide

Our last day in Dunedin was a fine one, and we made the most of it by collecting cockles and heading out to Long Beach. Cockles, or clams as we call them in the US, are not part of my normal diet, but I'm always keen to try new things.







The path to the beach was lined with blackberries, which I haven't eaten off the vine since I was a kid. It was a great flashback to my childhood and worth every prick.



Long Beach was a bit chilly, though the kiwi of the group, Tarsh, ran into the ocean in her bikini. Dene, a Canadian guy, tried to follow, but he quickly came back shivering. I swear, kiwis have some sort of superhuman tolerance for cold, because they're always wearing shorts on brisk days when I'm wrapping myself up in extra layers.


The rock formations and caves on Long Beach are very neat. We saw some rock climbers, and Harry couldn't help scaling a few himself.





After our exploration, we headed back to Richard's house to cook up our haul. Tarsh whipped up a tasty cream sauce and pasta, and we enjoyed a bowl before heading to our next host's house in Milton. I've never been a fan of seafood, but there's something very satisfying about collecting food fresh from the source and serving it up shortly after.