The last Toheroa season was in 1981 - due to a crash in the Toheroa population.
However, 1992 Maori authorities have been handing out permits - mainly for gatherings.
It seems like much time has passed since you could buy a can of "TIKI" condensed soup - what luxury. Now you will only see the TIKI lable in a museum.
I personally have not had Toheroa Soup since I was a kid - when there was the last season on Waikanae Beach. Before that I think it was Waiterere Beach.
It was an exciting time I remember - the weather was wild grey and windy - and there was quite a surf.
Still hundreds of people turned up for the Toheroa hunt.
My dad caught two and I managed to find one.
It is very exciting - basically you find the marks of the Toheroa on the sand - then you dig dig dig. The Toheroa senses its impending capture - and using its large tongue tunnels quickly and deeply.
Sometimes they escape - sometimes they don't.
When I found mine - an elderly man helped me dig it out - it was quite a chase - not helped by the incoming tide. One thing I did notice was that the Maori families caught way more Toheroa than anyone else. They seemed to hunt in packs - when one person found one they would all dig in a circle and often catch several more.
My mother made a chowder from the Toheroa - I cannot remember what it tasted like - but it was certainly a soup with a reverence.
However, 1992 Maori authorities have been handing out permits - mainly for gatherings.
It seems like much time has passed since you could buy a can of "TIKI" condensed soup - what luxury. Now you will only see the TIKI lable in a museum.
I personally have not had Toheroa Soup since I was a kid - when there was the last season on Waikanae Beach. Before that I think it was Waiterere Beach.
It was an exciting time I remember - the weather was wild grey and windy - and there was quite a surf.
Still hundreds of people turned up for the Toheroa hunt.
My dad caught two and I managed to find one.
It is very exciting - basically you find the marks of the Toheroa on the sand - then you dig dig dig. The Toheroa senses its impending capture - and using its large tongue tunnels quickly and deeply.
Sometimes they escape - sometimes they don't.
When I found mine - an elderly man helped me dig it out - it was quite a chase - not helped by the incoming tide. One thing I did notice was that the Maori families caught way more Toheroa than anyone else. They seemed to hunt in packs - when one person found one they would all dig in a circle and often catch several more.
My mother made a chowder from the Toheroa - I cannot remember what it tasted like - but it was certainly a soup with a reverence.
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