Revealed: The most popular meal ordered on the Interislander ferry

Kiwis consumed thousands of meals on the Cook Strait this summer. Photo / Supplied

More than 10,000 ice creams and nearly 30,000 punnets of hot chips were consumed by holidaying Kiwis on the Cook Strait ferries this summer.

But the most popular dish ordered on the Interislander ferry in December and January is a surprising one.

Interislander executive general manager Walter Rushbrook said thousands of servings of butter chicken were ordered, with over a tonne of the popular non-traditional curry consumed on the Strait.

"It continues to be our bestselling meal on the ferries.

"Over the holiday period, passengers travelling with us ate around 4,500 servings of butter chicken."

Although passenger numbers were down about 20 per cent due to the lack of overseas visitors, he said New Zealanders had shown their support for the Interislander carrier and its floating restaurants.

The company also transported 7000 dogs across the Cook Strait throughout summer.

The ferry had seen its busiest day of the season on Sunday, January 3, with 6108 passengers.

Throughout December and January ice creams and hot chips were also crowd favourites, and just over 3500 packets of sushi were sold.

From the drinks list, nearly 4000 ginger beers were ordered.