Canadian TV gets a taste of Wairarapa

EVERGREEN Canadian television presenter Valerie Pringle lived up to her name in Wairarapa yesterday.
The host of Canada's hugely popular Valerie Pringle Has Left The Building travel programme flung off her shoes and joined Masterton businessman Matt Paku and his son Hadleigh in the creek that runs through their property for a hands on experience of catching eels.
Dubbed the Judy Bailey of Canadian television, as her face is among the best known of all Canadian broadcasters ? although she says she has never quite earned $800,000 a year ? Ms Pringle spoke to Matt Paku about his experiences as a fisherman and gourmet food manufacturer as the two stood, along with the film crew, in knee-deep water with a net full of what were destined to become a smoked delicacy.
Later at lunch she and the crew got the chance to try smoked eel for the first time in their lives ? along with paua, crayfish and scallops ? and gave it an unreserved thumbs up. "This is absolutely delicious," she said.
The Wairarapa visit of the CTV Travel team was hosted by Go Wairarapa's tourism marketing manager Wendy Balfour and funded by Tourism New Zealand.
Ms Pringle's vote of confidence in smoked eel is likely to be beamed to hundreds of thousands of Canadians when her two New Zealand shows "Maori NZ" and "Gourmet NZ" go to air.
Ms Balfour said for Wairarapa to get such high calibre television time on a North American show was "invaluable".
The film crew that visited the Paku property, Schoc Chocolates in Greytown and Wharekauhau Country Estate are true globetrotters.
Cameraman Frank Vilaca has not long returned from a quite lofty assignment ? he climbed Mt Everest. Ms Pringle went as far as Base Camp, to prove Valerie Pringle really does leave the building.