New Zealand cuisine is renowned worldwide for its complexity, depth and variety — and one item in particular is a childhood staple.
The cheerio sausage has been around since anyone can remember.
And traditionally, kids get a free one when you go to the local butcher. But is it a tradition under threat?
"Kids love them. Kids will come in with their parents, mum will come in and get the meat, and they walk straight to the counter where the cheerios are and look at the counter," Gipp Street Butchery's Bill Allan told Seven Sharp.
More importantly, it's a national treasure.
You'll only ever find them here and in Australia, where they're known by various names. But here, it's the cheerio.
The name supposedly came from a butcher back in the '20s who always said "cheerio" to people. But now, the cheerio has fallen on tough times, with anecdotal reports suggesting the tradition is disappearing.
"There are not many butchers left for a start. Some might think it's a food safety thing but we don't touch them — they're wrapped up in a little bit of grease-proof paper," Allan said.
But not in Karori, where the tradition lives on.
While Allan has offered lollipops, the kids "seem to want a cheerio".
"I've been a butcher since '76 and we always gave away cheerios to the kids then," he said.
"We just have great local support. I've been in Karori now for 34 years now and it's a great community."
"Now we've got parents who were kids and their kids are coming in and getting cheerios."
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