In 1991 I bought a backpack and a tent and set off for a four month trip backpacking around New Zealand. It being my first major backpacking trip I packed rice thinking it would be an easy and sustaining food. My first night in Tongario National Park, camped in the shadowof Mt Ruapehu, a 9,177 ft active volacno I realized my mistake.



Not only is rice heavy it takes a a long time to cook which wastes a lot of fuel and is bland without any seasonings. I glanced over at my companions for the day, a couple of guys from England to see what they were cooking and noticed it was pasta. Light in weight, cooks in under 8 minutes and delicious with simple seasoning. Luckily I had packed some pasta as well so I dumped my rice and went with the pasta.

Between hikes I restocked my food supply and bought some garlic granules to add to my salt and pepper. Not having a container for the garlic I decided to ditch my spice containers and combined the three spices into a a plastic bag figuring I would save space and cut down on the weight of my pack. When next I cooked my pasta I was camped beside Golden Bay along the Coast Track in Able Tasman National Park on the South Island of New Zealand. Much to my surprise the combination of pepper, garlic and salt though simple, resulted in a great taste that was more than the sum of the individual spices. Conceived out of necessity, Special Spice was born!