Your Guide to Eating and Drinking at Splore 2017
Trade in that soggy, sauce-drenched hotdog for some of the best food vendors this side of the Bombays.
The 2017 edition of Splore is right around the corner. If you're one of those people who like to plan every single detail before heading out the door, you'll be pleased to know that the food lineup for the festival has come in hot. You'll also be pleased to know that the organisers have put as much focus on the food as they have on the music. Trade in that soggy, sauce-drenched hotdog for some of the best food vendors this side of the Bombays; this is your guide to eating and drinking at Splore.
AWAKEN THE FESTIVAL SPIRIT
Let's start with the essential items first. Instead of just one measly coffee cart, this year's festival will feature three caffeine hawkers to keep you charging for the entire three days. Get your buzz on courtesy of Atomic Kingsland's mobile coffee lounge Concord Caravan, boutique roasters Miller's Coffee and the carpenter's delivery van turned coffee and ice cream truck, Tinman.
POST-MOSH RECOVERY
New to this year's festie, The Breakfast Club is something for those who want to sit at the edge of the beach and enjoy a hearty brunch. The initiative is a collab between the Produce Company and Mint Kitchen Catering, who together have whipped up a menu offering a selection of both hot and cold food choices— expect: tofu and miso soup, kawhai kedgeree, and Aoraki smoked salmon. To wash it all down, you'll have the choice of Yealand's Sparking Blush mimosas or the make your own Bloody Mary station. The Breakfast Club takes place Sunday 19 February at 9.30am and 11am.
FEED THE SOUL
Just because it's a music festival that doesn't mean you need to press pause on your clean eats routine. For those who want to keep their head clear for the dance floor and their bikini bod poppin' for the onsite lagoon, there will be plenty of healthy options at Splore 2017. Feed the soul with guilt-free offerings from chicken rotisserie Bird On A Wire, organic popcorn producers Organic Knowledge, vegan eatery Vege Powa, Juice Revolution and Riversea Açaí Smoothie Bowls.
ALL CHEESE EVERYTHING
If you don't think there should be an entire subsection dedicated to cheese then just take a look at that photo once again. Auckland's purveyors of raclette, Melt, is a cheese lover's castle in the sky. As well as perfecting the Swiss innovation of pouring loads of gooey cheese on everything— meatball subs, steak, chips— the food truck serves a first class parmesan wheel pasta in various flavour combos.
HIGH TEA
Intergalactic drinks initiative Tasty Space Tea was born at Splore six years ago and now takes place at events around Auckland to provide a comfortable yet cosmic space for people to bond over a cup of tea. The lounge is a space-themed living art lounge, which combines lights, costumes and art with specially selected biodynamic and organic teas, all of which are completely free for guests. 
MORE THAN JUST FESTIE SUSTENANCE
There really is something for everyone on the menu at Splore— all of which shoot far beyond your average festival fare. Waiheke Island's Dragofired will make the trip across the harbour to serve their first-rate wood-fired pizza; takeout joint Fatima's will be on hand with mouthwatering Middle Eastern cuisine and their infamous potato koftas; Got Pasta will be pumping out made-to-order pasta; and Langos Fried Hungarian Bread will be the ringleaders of food envy with their puffy, fried bundles of goodness. Further high points include the reigning kings of jerk Jamaican Me Hungry, loaded chippery Double Dutch Fries, vegan burger-makers Wise Boys Burgers, Temaki Truck with their take on the Brazilian sushi roll, and the Tin Kitchen.
FAREWELL THE SUN WITH CORONA
Sitting opposite the main stage, the Corona Sunset Bar is the prime spot to watch the action unfold with a can of the good stuff or the refreshment of your choice. If you're making your way back to the campsite for a mid-afternoon siesta, the Corona Discovery Zone (at the top of the Goat Track) will offer non-alcoholic slushies. Perfect to ward off that summer heat.
Splore 2017 takes place at Tapapakanga Park from February 17-19, 2017. Get tickets here.
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