Family Time for Christmas.

After leaving Westport we headed south back down the coast and parked by the Grey river at Greymouth.  We were less than a week out from Christmas so Jocelyn had to get a few pressies for the young ones.  We stayed one night then went inland to the lake Brunner rd and followed this through to Moana  then turned off and drove down to Iveagh Bay on the shores of the very beautiful Lake Brunner.  We intended to stay a few nights here as James our 15 year old grandson was coming to stay.  Rod was going to meet Jocelyn at the Arthurs Pass village with James that evening so I got the kayaks down and headed out onto the lake for a reconnaissance of the fishing prospects.
 All the trout in the lake are brown trout and it seems to be very well stocked.  The lake itself is fringed  by bush and high mountains. The early mornings and evenings out on the lake are so beautiful especially if there is no wind as the trees and sky are reflected on the still waters.  Another great NZ place to play.


  I managed to catch 2 trout that evening and kept one for lunch the next day.  I caught both fish on one of James nymphs that he had created so I figured he would be happy.  I reckoned with James arriving I wouldn't get much down time over the next few days as that boy has unlimited energy.  Jocelyn arrived with James around dinner time with hugs all round.  He was keen to get into some action so we were hoping for a spell of settled weather.
  Next morning James and I jumped into the kayaks ready to do battle with the local browns but it was a bit of a slow start.  We were seeing plenty of fish rising but were getting no takes.  Up to this point we had mainly been towing flys behind the kayaks but  we found an area that had quite a few rising so I started casting from the kayak at the rises.  Almost immediately I hooked up and eventually landed a nice size fish that went into the back.  I moved a short distance and found another  few rising and again cast to them and hooked up again.   It was a bit smaller than the first one so it was released and we decided to head back for lunch.  On the way back we discussed ways that could get James into a fish as he was a bit down that he hadn't landed one yet.

James first trout from kayak.

Much happier now.

  After lunch and  a bit of a relax James tied on the secret weapon.  One of his beaded woolly buggers that he is so good at tying.  It was an instant success with 3 fish striking in no time, unfortunately he hadn't figured out how to put tension on the drag on his reel and they all turned his line into a big birds nest.  He reckoned I had given him a useless reel so I wasn't too popular.  Once I showed him how to tighten the drag it wasn't long and he had a nice one in the boat.  He was away now and was very happy.  He caught another nice fish on the way home and I had managed a good one too.

 I am really starting to enjoy the kayak fishing but I do find after 2 or 3 hours I get a very tender butt and a sore back. Small price to pay for some great experiences.  We did a bit more fishing over the 4 days and went for a short evening hunt up  one of the bush spurs but only came across goat sign.
  We hooked up the rig on the 4th morning and left Iveagh Bay for Arthurs Pass.  Climbing up the Otira Gorge we were down to first gear and she was really working.  Boy that is one steep stretch of highway.  On the way over the top we found Lake Moana off to the left and decided to pull in for the night.  A very pretty little lake but not great water clarity after Lake Brunner.   The ducks were very friendly and on the scrounge for   a feed.  The trout were mostly small and come evening were rising all along the lake edge.  We had a slow start next morning which was Christmas Eve and headed for Oxford, where we were to have Christmas day with Rod and Catherine and the kids.
 

Lake Moana.

Gracie being 8 years old was very excited about  Christmas and the huge number of presents to be opened.  James still enjoys it as well and Monique had to get up at 3.30am to milk the cows.  About 7am the door of the rig flew open with Santas presents spread everywhere and gracie giving us a run down on them all.  Later in the morning all the other presents got opened and everyone had a great time.  Especially Grace and also Nana who ended up with 6kgs of lollies to take on her travels.

Nana with her new supply of lollies.

 Boxing day arrived and we were heading off to Kaikoura.  Monique was working so she had to stay back but the rest of us arrived along the coast about mid day and that was low water which meant gearing up and paua diving.  The water was unusually clear for Kaikoura so It didn't take long and we had our six paua each.  James had his new spear gun so he was keen to christen it with his first fish and I went back out and had a look for a crayfish.  We were both successful with me getting one cray and James getting a good size blue moki.  There were a lot of people along the coast snorkelling for Paua and there were also lots of fishery officers patrolling as well.
  After we had had some lunch we packed up and went up to the farm on the inland Kaikoura road.  We set up the rig and Rod and Catherine and James moved into the house.  Gracie was moving in with us.  Sean and Michelle and Troy came over and we had a nice dinner of paua,  fish and salad.
  That evening Rod,  James, and I went for a walk down by the river and James shot three rabbits.  We took them home and next morning James skinned them and I trimmed them up ready for the pot.  That afternoon we went down the coast again and got another limit of Paua and I managed to get 3 crays and Rod also got a cray.  James had a tough day with the speargun trying to shoot one with the safety on then losing the speargun in the kelp after hooking it onto his catchbag.  After a a bit of a meltdown he went out and managed to find it again sticking out of the kelp.  The fisheries officers checked our paua and then the crayfish.  Size wise  they were all fine but we had forgotten that in Kaikoura the crayfish tails had to be clipped if they were recreationally caught.  This is called telson clipping.  I had first heard of this around 6 months before while reading a sign in one of the coastal campgrounds. Kaikoura is the only place in the country that you have to do this and unfortunately I had forgotten all about this.  The fisheries officer said he had to issue a written warning about it but it wasn't really a big deal as everything else was ok.  A bit frustrating though.

   That night on the menu we had rabbit casserole, sausages, and crayfish.  Although as I have become allergic to crayfish I only get to watch other people eat it.  But I still enjoy catching them. Sean had't eaten Paua before this and he really liked it and I think he was quite impressed by the seafood available here just by getting out and getting in the water.  So next day he was off to hunting and fishing and had all the family kitted out in wetsuits and snorkelling gear.  So with a bit of practice they will be able to partake of the bountiful waters around Kaikoura.



 Rod and Catherine and James went back to the farm as James had to work the next day, Gracie stayed with us and we moved the rig down to South Bay at the race course were the NZMCA has a park there.  South Bay is quite a bit more sheltered than the rest of the coastline around here and this is where the whale watch and dolphin encounter boats leave from.  This is a huge business here now,Ngai Tahu owned and the tourists seem to flock to it.  The boat ramps are very busy this time of year with lot's of boats heading out to check craypots or go for a fish.   We spent a couple of very pleasant days here with Grace and went to the beach.  Sean, Michelle and Troy came down and gave their new snorkelling gear a good workout.  Not many Paua in the water here just the odd one and I only managed one good cray.  And I remembered to telson clip it.

Gracie with her starfish she caught while snorkelling.

Nice big paua and another cray.

 Its New years eve tonight and we are back up to the farm this afternoon where we will have a bbq with Rod, Catherine  and James who are back tonight and Sean ,Michelle and Troy are coming over as well.  Then we will be heading for the ferry to cross back over to the north island on the 3rd So we will be saying bye to our south island family for a while and then looking forward to catching up with our north island family again.  Happy new year everyone.  Hope you have a good one.  Murray and Jocelyn.