Lightweight food options....self heating Omeal range

Omeals....no cook tramping food...

My partner Karen and I tried something new on our tramp on the Rakuira Track, the new range of self heating meals called Omeals. Omeals are a product new to the New Zealand market and are basically like a US military MRE...you have the pouch of wet food, a water activated heating element and an outer bag to contain the meal.

Using them requires no external heating or even hot water as you simply add about a cup of cold water to the pack, add the food & unwrapped heater pack and wait as it chemically heats the food. This means you can potentially eat in the back-country without carrying the extra weight of cooker, gas canister and cooking pot....usually a saving of 500-700gms. 

No cook tramping...forgo the cooker, gas canister and cook pot!!!

There are a variety of meals available for both breakfast and main meals including gluten free and vegetarian versions. These meals are currently only available from Hunting and Fishing stores ($15 per meal) but I could see more shops carrying them as an option if the demand was high enough. 

Review of the meals I have tried from the Omeal range...

We tried a couple of different varieties of these meals including a breakfast option and two of the main meal options. Here is a list of all of the options currently available from Hunting and Fishing stores:

Hashbrown Potato, Oatmeal, Vegetable Stew with Beef, Chicken Creole, South West Chicken, Spaghetti Bolognese, Red Lentils with Beef, Cheese Tortellini with Tomato Sauce and Pasta Fagioli...

Another option: vegetarian Pasta Fagioli

There are a number of other meals but they are not yet available in this country, have a look at my comments on the meals we have tried below..... 

Southwest Style Chicken

We tried these meals as an experiment on the second night of our Rakuira Track walk...I thought it would be a good option after a tiring seven hour day. Karen chose one meal for herself and I chose one for me. My choice was the Southwest Style Chicken....stewed chicken, rice, beans, corn and other vegetables. 

It was well cooked without being over soft and you could clearly make out all of the flavor profiles of his very popular SW American style dish. The sauce is tomato based but was rich and dark with the slightest touch of chilli flavor to it. It was very nice and I would have no problems eating this one again...

Hashbrown Potatoes

We had the Hashbrown Potatoes for breakfast and unlike other all day breakfast options I have tried (Back Country and Mountain House) this one is bloody good. This hashbrown mix is really good and has distinct flavors of potato, onion, green peppers (capsicum) and bacon. It is absolutely beautiful and I have subsequently used it on two further tramping trips.

It is grated and cooked potato with additions and while intended as a main meal or meal accompaniment but it is at breakfast where it excels. I have always had problems with breakfast meals..I like porridge and muesli but it does get boring after a couple of days. I have so far paired this with salami sticks, spam and cold sausages and it is awesome with all of them. 

While this would not totally supplement the usual morning staples it is certainly another excellent no mess breakfast option when planning meals for your tramps. I will be using this into the future.....

Lentils with Beef

Karen had this for dinner as she enjoys lentils and it has a mixture of beef pieces, lentils, cubed carrots and a tomato based sauce in a thick curry like meal. It has a rich savory flavor and smells really delicious. 

The carrots and lentils were well cooked without being mush and there were plenty of chunky pieces of slow simmered beef which flaked to the fork. The flavor was strongly of tomato but with a deep beef essence, coriander, onion and garlic. It was really nice...probably better than the South West Chicken but not by far..I would buy this one again.

Are there down sides to Omeals?

There is not a lot wrong with these..generally they tick all the right boxes for nutrition, ease of use and general weight savings. They do have a number of down points mainly the waste associated with them, cost and weight of the packs.

There is a lot of waste packaging with these meals but then there is with all food and dehydrated meals in particular. They do weigh 227 gms which is heavy for a single meal but this can be partially addressed by removing the enclosed spoon, napkin and salt and pepper pack. They cost $15 which seems a lot though any dehydrated meal will currently set you back for $12-$19 anyway.

All of the commercial freeze dried meal ranges available in New Zealand

It is all about choice really....you get to choose what you will carry...this is just another option. 

These are another option when meal planning for your outdoor adventures and you should give them a try at least once to see if they fit into your tramping style and dietary requirements. I am really pleased to see these meals as another tool in the outdoor cookery chest.  I will add a review for any other meals I use from this range so make sure you check back in the future to see what other options I have sampled.

Resupply point: St Arnaud General Store: Nelson Lakes NP

Resupplying in St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes NP, South Island.....

One of the places you will need to resupply while on the trail is at the beginning/end of the Richmond Ranges and the start/finish of Nelson Lakes National Park.

This is at the settlement of St Arnaud on SH 63 close to Lake Rotoiti.

Entering St Arnaud from the Blenheim end of SH63, general store on the right

St Arnaud is located between the Richmond's and Nelson Lakes National Park. It is roughly 7-10 days in both directions to the next resupply point. If you decide to forgo a drop box, then your only resupply option here is the St Arnaud General Store. 

St Arnaud near Nelson Lakes National Park

The St Arnauld General Store

St Arnaud is a small settlement on SH 63 half way between Murchison and Blenheim. There are less than 50 permanent residents but it is often busy as it is the gateway to Nelson Lakes National Park. 

The St Arnaud General Store, cafe and petrol station

There is only one store in St Arnaud, the General Store on the main highway through the settlement. Calling this a store is a misnomer as it is basically a small grocery selection attached to the local NPD petrol station.  

The St Arnauld General Store

 The grocery selection is limited but you can certainly buy enough supplies here to get you through to either Hanmer (off the trail) or Arthur's Pass (with a drop box at the Boyle Outdoor Education Centre). 

I heard that the price were expensive, but a quick peruse of the shelves showed that they were only marginally more expensive than in a larger town. 

St Arnauld General Store: chiller and bread selection

The cafe attached to the store has a decent selection of cakes, slices, pies and sandwiches/rolls which can provide you with treats and lunches for the first day at least. They also do coffee and light meals if that is something you are interested in. 

St Arnaud General Store: the inside of the store

The store had methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) and a limited selection of screw type gas canisters for sale. There were very few of them so it might be best to contact them before you arrive to see if they have any available. 

St Arnaud General Store: toiletries and hardware

All the usual suspects are present: bread, rice, noodles, pasta meals, mashed potatoes, soup, canned tuna, cereals, nuttela, peanut butter, dried fruit, crackers, milk and milk powder, sugar, tea/coffee etc. etc. They have a limited supply of pre-packaged meats in a chiller including ham, bacon and salami.

I didn't spot any freeze dried meals, tortillas/wraps or anything similar in the shop.

St Arnaud General Store: general food groceries

The store also sells alcohol: they have wine, beer, RTD's and a selection of spirits for you to choose from. As always you need to be 18 years old to buy alcohol in New Zealand. 

The St Arnaud General Store sells alcohol....

I love that they have my favourite beer Kronenbourg (Vitamin K) in stock..must be all the tourists from France/Germany who drive the demand...

RTD and beer selection at the St Arnaud General Store...Kronenbourg!!!!

There is a small selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, enough to restock for the next section of the trail. I saw apples, oranges, bananas, onions, corn cobs, potatoes, garlic, capsicum, carrots, parsnips and tomatoes. 

Fruit and vegetable chiller at the St Arnauld General Store

So...not a supermarket but at least a possible resupply option as you pas through.

Incidentally, if you are catching the Nelson Lakes Shuttle to the Mt Robert car park (if doing the side trip to Angelus Hut) the shuttle collects you from the kiosk in front of the General Store. Bookings are essential and best made several days before your day of travel. 

Fancy a cuppa...? Tramping drink ideas

You are what you drink, or the tale of many beverages...

Does your beverage of choice say anything about you? Trampers have a diverse range of preferences, some people like tea, others coffee, or some other variety of hot or cold drink. I have seen people drinking soup for breakfast, liquid jelly for dessert and you often see tramping parties having a quiet tipple as well. Tea seems to be the leader with coffee, fresh or instant, a close second.  

Cheers!

Hot drinks for tramping...

My preference runs towards Early Grey tea, black with sugar and in large quantities. I don't care if it is bagged or loose just so long as it is hot and sweet. My brand of choice is Dilmah but even the roughest gumboot tea will suffice in an emergency.

My choice of tea, Dilmah Earl Grey

I sometimes take packets of instant hot chocolate or cappuccino mixes with me as they make a nice change from tea at every meal. If I can find them, I like the Nestle Hot Chocolate with marshmallows the best.

Nestle brand hot chocolate

I usually carry either Nescafe or Jarrah coffee and cappuccino sachets, both are freely available here in New Zealand. The individual sachets weigh 5 gm's and make a perfectly acceptable version of a coffee.

Nescafe Cappucino sachets- 20 per pack

I'm also partial to a mug of hot Raro or Vitafresh fruit powder drink with dinner. I know this sounds strange but its really good!

Classic Raro Sweet Navel Orange

Water, iced tea and a hot coffee, Lake Isabel Hut, 2014

Sweeteners and condensed milk...

I used to carry sugar for my hot drinks but now I use Splenda sugar substitute. One tablet is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar, the packet below holds 100 tablets or enough for 50 cups of tea/coffee. The packet is the size of a matchbox and weighs only 22gms, by comparison 100 teaspoons of sugar weighs 640gms.

Splenda sugar substitute

If I have a instant coffee it would be sweetened with condensed milk. This is a drink I picked up in the Army, it dates back too before WW1, the only way to drink coffee in the outdoors IMHO. It is also excellent in a brew of tea as well.

Update: Since I posted this in 2012 I have struck several people who also carry condensed milk for their coffee. It really is delicious- no need for sugar or milk with this product. In fact I have seen Ray Mears the survival expert using it on his TV programs.

Forget stupid syrups, classic old timer coffee additive

Condensed milk is still a part of both New Zealand and Australian Army field rations to this day.

 

Having a coffee at the Davies Bay campground, QCT in 2016

Cold tramping drinks...

.....(actually cool as you have no refrigeration to chill your drinks)

 

There is nothing better than water for quenching your thirst, but sometimes you want something different.
 
Powdered fruit drink packets are very popular, there are a wide range of flavours and several brands. My preferred type is Vitafresh especially their Peach Iced Tea, Orange Mango, Blackcurrant and old fashioned Lemonade.

Orange Mango Vitafresh

Raro is the other well known range available here in New Zealand. 

A Raro drink powder three pack

I also use isotonic drink powders, these are basically fruit flavoured mineral replacement drinks. Vitasport is one of the more common brands available here. 

Vitasport isotonic drink powder

I will generally carry one packet of Vitasport/Raro/Vitafresh (12 gms) per day and have it with my evening meal.

Beer,  spirits, wine anyone?

A quick snort of something is as old as tramping itself, and is a Kiwi tradition. I would imagine even the sainted John Muir carried a flask of something to make the evenings more convivial.

The outdoor 'Saint'- John Muir, father of the US National Park movement!

Personally I am of two minds about alcohol and outdoor activities, I like a drink as much as the next person but in the right place and at the right time.  A glass of a nice red with your freeze dried meal is good, a litre of Vodka with lunch not so much.

I'm partial to a river cooled can of beer and have taken several with me in the past. Nothing like finishing the day with an ice cold brew in your hand! Oh yeaahhhh!

Using nature's beer chiller....

I also enjoy a snort of whiskey or rum normally in a coffee. Leave the hip flask at home and carry it in a tightly sealed plastic bottle. Hey, its not going to compromise the quality any worse than humping it around in a pack for a couple of days.

Just a final word; carry out your empties! Nothing worse than arriving at a hut to see a pile of empty beer cans or wine bottles cluttering up the bench. If you carry it in, please carry it out.

Cheers!