Thread: Tramper missing in Tararuas

Locusts and cicadas aren't bad. You can fry them, but they're fine fresh.

Cicadas have a nutty sort of flavour. Locusts have a gelatin sort of texture and a grass-like taste once you get past the initial 'crunch' and get into the juicy innards. Great source of protein and a host of valuable minerals.

If you're in the sub-alpine/alpine you can eat Spaniard Grass roots - which taste a bit like carrot/parsnip. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're in a similar family. They can be quite tough to chew on and are nicer cooked. Some of the early NZ pioners actually lived off Spaniard roots when food was scarce.

Coprosma berries - another source of food in alpine areas across the South Island. They're small perfectly round berries about the size of a large matchstick head, and they come in different colours: reds, yellows, blue/purple. They're very sweet and a handful of them can be quite moral boosting.

Thistles - you may find them close to farmland or in low-land bush. You can eat the leaves fresh (once you've taken off the prickles), boil them, and you can also eat the heads of the bulbs (they're similar to a 'nut') and the stalks (quite stringy, but you can get a bit of moisture/minerals from them). You can also eat the roots of thistles. The younger the plant the sweeter the root. Thistle leaves are actually used in salads in some Asian dishes, and I'm fairly sure it's a European thing as well (or at least used to be).

Chicken fern fronds.

Lichen.

Mushrooms (better take a field guide with you).

Hedgehogs, possums, rats, mice etc.


You won't fill your belly as you may at Mcdonald's, but it's enough to keep you alive until you knock over another deer.

And with deer, you can eat the eye balls, bone marrow, brain, heart...you can get most of the minerals you need. The muscle meat alone won't cut it and it may upset your stomach if that's all you're eating.

Plenty of stuff to try.