In search of the 'Whitest Honey in the World.'

Some of you will remember emails that I sent out not long after first arriving here in New Zealand. I had discovered the mono-floral honeys that are produced here and was excited. Mono-floral honeys of course are those that are produced by the bees from only one source of nectar. One specific flower. (in most cases)*

I won't go in to a listing here of all the wonderful honeys we're tried. Today's post instead is about the trip I took up to the Waitemata Honey store.  I traveled for just about two hours. First, on the train to Auckland and then on two buses. The first was the Northern Express (NEX) to one of the main terminals on the northshore and then a local bus to near the store. The local dropped me just 200 yards from it. And all for free, now that I'm a geezer. There and back. What a deal. 

Just a word about this honey. I want to try to give you a feeling for just how unique I think it is. The Waitemata Company is the only company who can produce it. The pohutukawa tree that provides the nectar is called New Zealand's Christmas Tree because it has bright red flowers and shiny green leaves and because it flowers just before and during the Christmas season.

The largest single pohutukawa forest in the world is the one on Rangitoto Island. Rangitoto is a volcanic island about 4 miles off shore from Auckland. It was formed during an undersea eruption only about 600 years ago. The pohutukawa tree happens to be one of the very few trees in the world that can live on bare rock. It needs no soil. Little wonder then that the brand new island of Rangitoto was in time covered in pohutukawas. 

Waitemata Honey Company Ltd. has the exclusive right to transport it's bees out to the island every year and produces only a given amount of honey during the short pohutukawa flowering season. It is called the 'whitest honey in the world' and it is in fact very light colored. It is also my very favorite honey.*

The following pictures show you views from my double-decker NEX bus seat as I headed north out of Auckland and across the Harbour Bridge. 

The only downside to my excursion is that I discovered that the honey has almost doubled in price since I was last at the store three years ago.  Oh well, it's still worth it.  I don't really fault them for charging whatever they can get for it. A very limited quantity, of the whitest honey, from a single type of flower, that grows on a volcanic island, in the south Pacific. Pretty cool. I think of it as creamy white gold. 

(I'm sure that lots of honey that is produced elsewhere in NZ has some small percentage of pohutukawa nectar in it. Afterall, the trees grow all over the place here. BUT, Rangitoto is the only place where pohutukawas comprise the dominant species. Further, this honey is made and collected from the bees only during and immediately after the flowering season of the Rangitoto pohutukawas. The honey is tested and can be shown to be pure pohutukawa.) 

 The top of the double-decker bus with the stairwell in the foreground. 

 Heading up Quay Street. 

 Maybe some day I'll do a post on the Auckland Fish Market. 

 The Harbour Bridge in the distance

Very overcast this morning. 

 The north shore

 Here I am at Te Kea Place. Honey store dead ahead. 

It's just a little place but does good business. Their honey processing area and warehouse are next door. 

 The first time I walked into their showroom, I was a little taken aback. It is so small and unassuming. Their pohutukawa honey is not sold in any stores. You have to either come here to buy it or order it on-line. 

And here is the shelf that offers this most amazing honey. It shouldn't, it seems to me, have to share a counter top with some common multifloral honey. It ought to be displayed on a higher pedestal of some sort. Something with spotlights shining down on it. Arrows pointing, "This is it! One of the rarest honeys in the world!"  

As I approached Auckland on the return leg of my journey, I saw an enormous cruise ship tied up at Queen's Wharf. It turned out to be the Golden Princess, London.  It's 951 feet long and 118 feet wide with 17 decks. It can cruise at 25.9 mph. That's the biggest cruise ship I've seen here I think. It carries 2,600 passengers and 1,100 crew.  My jaw dropped. Take a look...and yes, the sky was clearing up and turned out to be quite a nice afternoon. 

 I think the Golden Princess must be mostly empty right now. The sidewalks were crammed with tourists. 

* You may have noticed that I used the asterick twice in the first six paragraphs. I'll explain.

In most cases means that there is one type of honey produced here that is not made from nectar. Instead, the bees collect  what's called 'honeydew' from a certain type of aphid. (scale insect) This aphid feeds on the sap of beech trees that grow on the South Island and secretes a sugary, thick liquid as a waste product. The bees collect this from the aphids and make their very dark colored, strong tasting honey from it. How bizarre.  

It is also my very favorite honey, (referring to pohutukawa), means that I like it best for taste. Because of the weird and wonderful way Honeydew honey is made, it has to rank as my overall favorite NZ honey. The third unique honey I've come across is thyme honey. (Thyme is Amiri's favorite honey for taste.) 

The chart below summarizes my opinions about three NZ honeys. 

For taste                                               For Overall uniqueness

Waitemata Pohutukawa                          Honeydew 

Thyme                                                   Waitemata Pohutukawa

Honeydew                                             Thyme