* # Left my hometown of Huntly, # headin' out in the cold... From the sunny north to the wild south, New Zealand is overflowing with breathtaking backdrops, heavenly harvests and a whole lot of fabulous foodies. So jump on board with us as we hang out with the locals, wrangle some wildlife and feast our way around this magnificent country. Come on, Toppy. We got people to meet and food to eat. Yee-hah! # Nga iwi e. # I'm just a local farmhand... This week, we're digging deep on Waiheke Island with a couple whose love for each other, the kumara and feeding the masses knows no bounds. And then we're hanging out with a bunch of amazing kids in Nelson, where gardening and cooking is all just part of the school day. But first up, we're gettin' fruity in Albany. Here's a handful of Auckland's 350-strong Community Fruit Harvesting volunteers. The brainchild of Di Celliers, this community group gathers unwanted fruit from orchards, roadsides and backyards and gives it away to those in need. But they don't stop there. Nicola Cronin is an expert preserver, and last year, she and her team of 80 volunteers preserved over 7000 bottles of fruit, chutneys and jams. Today, we're at the Windmill Orchard in Coatesville, just north of Auckland, gathering fruit that would otherwise just go to waste. Hey, girls. Hard at work, eh? Hi. Lovely to meet you. And you. Out community-harvesting, eh? Yes, we are. And we're picking pears today. And we've also got apples that we can pick. So delicious. For free? For free, yep. And they go straight to the food banks. And Nicola does some of the preserving for us as well. So you're the sort of bottom end? It's not an expression I would use, no! (LAUGHTER) But yes, we try to get the fruit out fresh. Sometimes, we just have too much. We can make it into jams or bottled fruit. No wastage, eh? No, we try not to. We try not to. - I'm ready to volunteer. - (LAUGHTER) What are we gonna do? Well, we've got apples to pick. Yeah. Let's go off and bottle some pears. Righty-oh. OK, this way. I'll go off and get boxes. Righty-oh. That sounds good. What's your name, darling? I'm Patricia. What's your job? I coordinate the centre of the city. That's a pretty big area, Auckland. Yes, but it's fun. A little old lady like you. Oh, come on! I'm not that old ` or that little! I'm happy to do it, and it's fun. Look at it. Got all the kids helping volunteer. I know. I've got grandchildren here. They're all in. It's really amazing that you can give this stuff to these people. I know. They're so grateful. You know, they haven't got a lot. And it just makes a difference to their lives. It makes a big difference. I wanna give you a hug for the rest of New Zealand. Oh, great. Oh, thank you. (BOTH LAUGH) We need more people like you. That's pretty important, what you're doing, you know? Oh, thank you. We all can help, can't we? And this is sort of the first basic step of being a volunteer, is it? Yes. (LAUGHS) Baby steps. Yes, the peeling! So, have you done much bottling before? No, I haven't done much bottling at all. My mum was a bottler, you know, and I think that generation... My dad used to bottle as well. He used to bottle feijoas. But he didn't do any other bottling; it was just the feijoas. Just the feijoas! (LAUGHS) It must've been his favourite, I think. What kind of families are getting the food? Guess it's families that don't have enough, really, for whatever reason. And there are families like that in New Zealand. And most of the preserves that we do now go to the Mission or to food banks. Quite a bit for the refugee centre. Yep. School breakfast clubs. So it's a huge range of people that we can help. We have over 80 preservers and bottlers just in Auckland. 80 bottlers? Yep, 80 bottlers. How exciting. I've known Di since she started the project, and it's just been really good how that friendship's developed. Pretty amazing idea. Yeah. She was setting up a community garden, but as she was driving home, she could see all these trees laden with fruit that were just going to waste. There were these huge grapefruit trees, about 1000 grapefruit on. And I thought, 'Why don't I just ask those people if they'd share some of them?' Oh, OK. Rather than spending 10 years growing my own trees. I actually lie awake at night thinking about all the different fruit that's out there and who we can get to pick it, cos I hate seeing this going to waste. It's just` It kills me. When you read in the papers about kids going hungry, and then you see all this going to waste ` that's what drove me to start this. Yeah. I mean, this isn't gonna get used. So if we don't pick it, it's gonna lie on the ground and rot. Our first priority is to get fresh fruit directly to people. Do you get excited when someone rings up and says 'we've got a whole orchard of peaches' or pears or whatever? It's like a mission. Right. And especially when it's fruit that you've gotta pick quickly. That sends me into a bit of a panic. (LAUGHS) Peaches or plums. And they say, 'The birds are getting it,' or, 'We're getting a rainstorm.' International Fruit Rescue coming in. LAUGHS: That's right! Maybe we should get some capes, you know? Fruit Rescue capes. Yeah, that's a good idea. So, who are the sort of people that come and help pick? Anybody and everybody. I had two ladies in their 70s. They'd be the first climbing the tree. Other people will pick their own fruit and drop it off at my house. Oh, OK. So just, you know, your regular person next door. I've roped my new neighbour into helping me as soon as I met her. Yes. (LAUGHS) My house is a bit like a halfway house with fruit and jars and jams all getting dropped off and collected, and... It's an exciting thing to be part of, and it's a lovely thing. We're gonna do these just in apple juice. You don't have to use sugar. It's gonna be healthy bottling as well. It really is. So, we've got our apple juice heating up, and we've already sterilised our jars. We just use our hands to pack 'em? We just use our hands to pack 'em. It's the easiest way. And we're gonna cook them again. Have you had fun doing this, though? Yeah. It's really great, like, teaching people how to preserve. Lots of new migrants. People who wanna come along to the workshops just to practise their English. The good old Kiwi way. Good old Kiwi way. Learn how to speak the language, and bottle some fruit while you're at it. It's the community thing that keeps it going. That's why it works, doesn't it? It's a really easy way for people to give. Like, even one tree, we'll come out and pick. But yeah, even saving jars for us. So the whole of New Zealand could help. Easily. Pretty exciting, isn't it? Yeah, it is really cool. There's an apple up there that needs rescuing. Little pressure. Come on, baby. Whoo-hoo! There we go. (CHUCKLES) We're saving the world ` one apple at a time. (CHUCKLES) Brilliant. Hot apple juice goes in there. Yep. And then we put the lids on. Yep. And then we'll put them in the oven. And screw it down till it's hand-tight, and then loosen it a quarter of a turn. We'll screw it down hard when we take it out of the oven. There it is. There's our first one. (CHUCKLES) Righty-oh. We've got many more to do, though, as they always do here at the community harvest. (CHUCKLES) What's the best kick you get out of it? It's the community spirit. Everybody that's involved in this is loving doing what they're doing. The people that have the food love giving it. The people that are picking it love being part of the community of giving. And the people who are receiving it are loving getting fresh fruit and jams. Nice giant circle. That's right. What I hadn't counted on was all the people that love being part of it. And it's the friendships. I've made so many amazing friends across all nationalities, cultures and age groups. Doing something for other people. It's such a pleasure. Here we go. Let's go, everybody! TWINS SING: # We're untouchable, untouchable, untouchable girls. # Untouchable, untouchable, untouchable girls. # We're untouchable, untouchable, untouchable girls. # We're untouchable, untouchable girls. Cha-cha-cha! # Whoo-hoo! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) The Community Fruit Harvesting is an amazing idea. You are incredible. But we couldn't do it without the volunteers! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Well said, you old fruit. (LAUGHTER) Well-preserved fruit. (LAUGHTER) Almost pickled. (LAUGHTER) * (WHIMSICAL STRING MUSIC) Today, we're raising money for retired lady MPs ` National, of course. And the main ` mini lobster burgers on a brioche bun. I call it 'Cray in the Bay'. Lobster ` that's donation-worthy. A little remoulade on the bottom, lobster rissole and rocket. And I'm putting fruit in my Pimm's. Lid on. Drink. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES) Would you like one, Prue? Lovely, darling. Thank you. (CHUCKLES POSHLY) (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) Waiheke Islanders Eugene Behan-Kitto and Huhana Davis are committed leaders, both on the Piritahi Marae and here on their community gardens. Raised in the market gardens of Pukekohe, Eugene is passionate about growing food. And he's super-passionate about Huhana. And why wouldn't you be? She's gorgeous. We're here today to help with the annual kumara harvest, and each year, Eugene and his team grow 2 ton of kumaras, and they give it all away. What a legend. Look at that. What a beautiful kumara. Look at the colour on that. Magic. Righty-oh. We better keep diggin'. (GRUNTS) Whoops. That's a box. Oh no! Look. (CHUCKLES) Look. You owe a box. A box of ice creams. A box of ice creams? Yep. For all the kids. Oh no. This cost me money already. (CHUCKLES) Look at that. I speared my first kumara. (CHUCKLES) So, who turns up here to do all the harvesting? Well, the planting and the harvesting ` various members of our community. That's beautiful that the whole community gets involved, isn't it? It's all gotta be picked up by hand and carried... All by hand, yep. Planted by hand. Dug by hand. Stored by hand. And we do it traditionally. The old ways. Makes for growing good kumaras. Yep. And they're tasty as well. Yeah. I'm not dissing Ruawai,... Yeah. ...but they've got tasteless kumara. They've got tasteless kumara in Ruawai? Yep. They've got tasteless kumara. (LAUGHS) Don't tell 'em I said that. No. (LAUGHS) Is this a special garden for you? It's a special garden for our community. We had a kaumatua called Koro Kato Kauwhata. He was our spiritual leader. He was there for everybody. And these gardens were started by Koro Kato and Eugene. Yep. We feed the Anzac Day breakfast, harvest festivals, families in need, the vulnerable, the poor ` all of those sorts of things. Fundraisers. Where there's a need, these gardens serve. Wow. And everybody comes in to reciprocate, to give back. Some of the stuff that's grown here goes to the markets. Every Saturday. But mostly, you're sharing stuff, eh? Well, that's what it's about. The marae's name is Kia Piritahi ` 'together as one'. It's great to start with all the little young ones. With the little ones, yeah. Startin' off little, aren't they? Yeah. Are they gonna take over from you one day? Hopefully. (CHUCKLES) Hopefully. CHILD: Do you like kumaras? Yes, I love kumara. BOY: I like kumara. You like kumara a lot, don't you? CHILD: Me too. Yeah. Everybody likes kumaras. Who likes kumaras? CHILDREN: Me! (CHUCKLES) Well, this is a beautiful entrance into the garden here. I painted this. Yes. (CHUCKLES) This is what we call a whakatauki, left to us by our elders, and now it's up to us to live up to that. Says at the top here, 'Hold fast to being good.' That would just be one good line to work with. But you have a lot of other lines too, eh? I like the line, 'Waewae atawhai.' Yeah? Giving legs to kindness. In other words, that means walking the talk, not just talking the talk. They actually don't put it into the practice. Yes. Waewae atawhai is what these gardens have certainly always been about. That looks like a nice cup of tea you've poured there, Margaret. As long as you like it weak. (CHUCKLES) We've koha'ed these kumaras here to Nan,... Yep. ...because she kindly let us use the paddock over here. We had plenty, and he wanted some, so... what else would you do? Well, you did a beautiful thing. And what are we gonna do with these now? Uh, we're gonna wrap them so Nan can store them over winter. Oh, OK. Just wrap 'em in a piece of paper, eh? Yep. OK, what happens when you've got a kumara that looks like a mouse? You run like hell. (LAUGHS) Or hit it on the head and chuck it in the hangi. (LAUGHS) Rongomatane is the guardian of peace. That is the symbol of the kumara. In other words, if you've got a good kai in your puku, then you're not at war. If your puku's empty, as a community, you're in chaos, and you're in war. Your family's fed, then you're a pretty content person, yeah? Never gonna sit down and eat a kumara without thinking about it being the food of peace. Absolutely. I like it. Did you know... there are boy and girl kumaras? No, I did not. (CHUCKLES) We put them to bed together. You do? The boy one has veins on it. Oh yeah. Those are the boy ones. There's a good vein there, look. Really stick out. Is that a vein there? Yeah. We've both got boys. Oh wow. What's that about? (BOTH CACKLE) That one looks like a bit of a girl. What do you reckon? Yeah, she's cute. She's very petite, and she's got no veins. Yeah. That one's a girl. Can you remember the first time you started growing kumaras here? My lovely wahine, Huhana, volunteered my time. (CHUCKLES) She goes up to Koro Kato and says, 'Get him to help you.' (LAUGHS) How did you meet her? I was down at our local nightclub. I went to go walk towards her. I'd had a couple. And I didn't see the little step in front of me. 'Smack!' on my face. (LAUGHS) And I'm looking up at this beautiful wahine. She look good from that view, eh? From that angle? Oh, stunning. There we are. Prince Charming falls at your feet, you see. You brought up a few kids too, eh? Oh, just a few (!) (CHUCKLES) Nine children between Eugene and I. 23 grandchildren. We've got African grandchildren from Ghana. Wow. So we're kinda like the League of Nations, and our waka is full. Yeah, that's right. Sounds like a good life to me. Uh, never a dull moment, I'd say. (CHUCKLES) Kumara has a dressing which is orange, honey from the bees from our garden, and garlic. It's unbelievable what you can do with kumara. We made the kumara wine, and it is absolutely delicious. On the front of the bottle here ` and it's still got a bit of kumara dust and a bit of cobwebs and everything ` it's got 'F.P. 08'. Front paddock. This century. CHUCKLES: Righty-oh. Let's see what she looks like. Strong bouquet, eh? It's got a very strong bouquet. How many bottles down there? Probably about 60 dozen. 60 dozen? Something like that. Here's to the community kumara. (GLASSES CLINK) Cheers. Cheers. (SOFT ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC) That... is quite an amazing wine. Who would've thought, eh? Kumaras... in a glass. (CHUCKLES) Oh, what a... Fred! Look what we've made. Hee-hee! Yeah. Beautiful. Our kumara. Our ika from the moana. Ringawera bread. Eugene, you have got a beautiful garden. The tuara of those gardens is a strong wahine. And here she is. That's our girl. (CHUCKLES) * In Nelson, the Victory Community Centre and School have combined to teach the kids to grow and cook their own food. With their very sparkly principal, Helen Taylor-Young, at the helm, she and her passionate team of teachers and volunteers run the Garden-To-Plate programme. Some kids arrive early for breakfast club, where local mums serve up hot and delicious tucker. Hey, kids! How ya doin'? CHILDREN: Good! Who's hungry? Me! Who's happy? Me! Who's gonna be even happier after we cook breakfast? Me! (LAUGHS) Is everybody ready? How we going? That's New Zealand nectar of the gods there ` baked beans for breakfast. Hungry mouths to feed out there. Spaghetti, Jools. That's good. Who wants egg on toast? Yeah! You want one too, eh? I got another order for eggs. Any for spaghetti? Good boy. Is this called the breakfast club, is it? CHILDREN: Yeah. And anybody can come too, eh? Even Jools and me are allowed to have breakfast with you fullas. (CHUCKLES) Where do you come from? Malaysia. Good on ya, buddy. Is this your brother? Yeah. He was born in Germany. Germany? Yeah. What an international school you've got. And do you know what you're gonna be when you grow up? Police. A policeman! I just like police dogs. - You like police dogs? - (LAUGHTER) What about a big cheer for all the ladies that cook breakfast every morning? CHILDREN: Yay! Whoo-hoo! Oh, here comes the principal! Sit up straight! (LAUGHTER) This is an amazing idea, isn't it? The volunteers behind me ` they're here every morning before 7.30 to make this happen for our students. They'll all see it on TV now; you'll be inundated. (LAUGHTER) We're gonna need more chairs, aren't we? We're really lucky here at Victory. We've got a third of our school that are new New Zealanders, uh, refugee students that have come from all over the place. Where are you from, darling? Um, Chin State. And what did you have to leave? Why did you come to New Zealand? Because, uh, like, my little brother ` even though he was a little kid, a toddler, he still had to work. So you have a better life here? Mm-hm. Well, good on ya, buddy. Welcome. (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) It's just a hive of activity here today, Sarah. Yeah, there's lots going on. Everybody pitching in, digging holes. We've, um, harvested all our summer plants, and now we're coming together to plant our winter crops. And it's a beautiful thing that the whole community's coming out, eh? Yep, lots of help. Ladies from our Chin community who've come to the school to learn English. OK. Their children and their carers, students from the school. Parents are here as well. They come to help out with the Garden To Table programme. A big part of the community that keeps this garden going. It is, it is. And we cook what we grow. And it teaches the kids so much. Yeah. And the kids love it, eh? The kids love anything that they grow in the garden. What they won't eat at home, they'll eat in the garden. Cos they had a crack at planting it themselves, eh? They grew it, yup. CHILDREN AND LYNDA: Tena koe, Ms Richards! This morning, we've been up in the garden harvesting our...? Ooh, ooh! Lynda? Kumara. Is that a kumara, everyone else? CHILDREN: Yes! Yes. We've been getting ready for something special. For Matariki. Matariki. Who likes kumara? We're gonna use some of these kumara today to do some cooking with. We're gonna make something with filo pastry. It's really hard, filo pastry. Do you reckon we're up for it? CHILDREN: Yes! Righty-oh. First of all, you've gotta help me up out of this little baby chair. - OK. - (CHILDREN GRUNT) (CHUCKLES) First thing we're gonna do is slice the spring onions and finely chop the parsley. Good luck with the big knives! (LAUGHS) What a brilliant idea. Everything's out in the garden, and they bring it into here. So, Garden To Table ` it's about food. It's seeing where it's grown, harvesting, planting it and seeing the final product. They can make a recipe book, take it home. And some of them will come back and say, 'Hey, this is what we do in our culture. Can we try and cook this?' What's the most elaborate recipe you've had? Rice bubbles and chilli. CHUCKLES: Rice bubbles and chilli. Chilli, parsley, soy sauce ` all sorts of ingredients with rice bubbles, in a little group, and that's how we ate it. You kids like this idea? CHILDREN: Yes! Looks good. (GRUNTS) compost kings, eh? That's why you've got your gloves on. Yeah. All the stuff that gets chucked out or gets a little bit rotten, they put in here? Yeah. Sometimes, the leftover fruit gets thrown out, so then we put it into the compost. And what else goes in there? Paper. Paper? Yeah. Another thing that goes in there is teabags. And they rot down all right too? Yeah. They just all break down, eh? It's fuel and nutrition for the garden. You're on to it, buddy. Victory Primary's just genius. They're recycling everything for making gardens. It's just the coolest thing out. Well, this was fun. I wish I had a garden when I was going to school. Sick of doing maths. (LAUGHTER) So, you've got your spring onions chopped up and your parsley chopped up and your feta crumbled. So everybody, mix away. We've got orange and white and red kumara there. (CHUCKLES) Smells good? It's gonna be yummy. Tastes like cheese. Oh, good! OK, we've got our filo out. Everybody put their butter on. All over. Put your butter on. Your butter's good. Righty-ho. Fold it in half. Fold it in half. There it is. You got it. There it is. Here's the mixture. How we all goin', team? You gotta close the sides off, otherwise all your mixture's gonna fall out. Here we go. OK, let's put some butter on that. I can't fold mine. You're doin' real good! Wow, look at yours! Yours is huge! (CHUCKLES) Put some butter on there. We've got one more ingredient! Sesame seeds! Sesame seeds! Sprinkle them on, Sam. There you go. Look at that. They are our beautiful filo parcels, full of kumara and parsley and spring onion and feta cheese. Here's a challenge for you, Jools. We all have to eat sorrel ` all of it. You get the big one, cos you wanna impress people. I got the one that fell on the ground. (LAUGHS) No! Oh, no, there's a little one for me. Is it gonna taste horrible? Sour. OK. One, two, three, go. (GIGGLES) It's horrible! Oh my God! (CHILDREN LAUGH) You all right, buddy? (GIGGLES) Ah! He ate all his. He's the winner! You had a big one, though. I think you might have to get a prize too, for eating the biggest one. You're the winner. Winner! And you're the second winner. And you're the third winner. Do I get a prize? Do I get a prize? You get a prize? Hug. Oh. (BOTH LAUGH) ALL SING: # The cows were sleeping, # and the sun had gone to bed. # Up jumped the scarecrow, # and this is what he said. # I'm... a... # dingle-dangle scarecrow with a flippy-floppy hat. # I can shake my hands like this # and shake my feet like that. # Yeah! Whoo-hoo! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Come on, all you wonderful chefs! What an amazing day. Makes me wanna go back to school. Straight from the garden to the plate. Couldn't get any better. Is that good, buddy? Yep. Yummy, but hot. And hot. (GIGGLES) Generous and kindly ` it's the Kiwi way. We're keen to roll our sleeves up and help out on the day. Whether making cupcakes for a community event or buying Girl Guide bickies, it's money that's well-spent. So all you helpful Kiwis, step up to volunteer. It's the ultimate commitment to show we really care. Our pears are ready, Kev. Would you like the first one? No, you have some, Kev. No, go on. No, you cooked them. Go on, take the big one! You go! No, you take one! You take it! No!