A trip to New "Zealand" capped the last Friday of April and it was one rejuvenating experience over a cup of native coffee. It was in the SkyScraperCity-Iloilo forum that I to know the existence of this hole in the wall.
A respite in the hustle and bustle of the construction boom in the area, "New Zealand" is set right in the middle of Iloilo City's megadevelopments - Megaworld, Ayala land, SM and Gaisano among others.
It also sits on the bubog grove, a specie of native beach forest trees locally known as calumpang. The area is where the original shoreline of Iloilo used to be. Time and man-made development pushed the shoreline further away but these trees managed to survive and adapt.
This hole in the wall has no name so it adapts the name of the place - New Zealand. And there just like in NZ, there were cows roaming around as you sip you coffee. There was even a sort of "bull fight" when we were there - good thing they didn't create a scene.
Or else we couldn't have enjoyed our plain and simple but good native coffee with pan de sal on the side. Just for PhP20 a cup and PhP7 for a pack of pan de sal, simple things keep your minds off the excesses of life. they also served simple batchoy (based on what I heard which I will try next time if ever)
As developments now start all around (the front part was being leveled that time), "New Zealand's" days are just numbered to give way for bigger projects in the area.
Despite the rustic scene and ambiance, you'll see a number of parked cars in the area and lots of IPads and IPhones being "tinkered" upon. You'll see the sports buff riding the bikes - rolling and sort of tumbling down the man made humps in the area. It's playground and whatever your reason of coming cover, you'll find our place in the greenery of "New Zealand".
As of JUNE 1, "New Zealand" is also closed and off limits.