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| Very demanding cormorant chicks. |
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| So cute but the pukekos took all of this brood over a week we were there. |
And us humans are anticipating more warm sunny weather and looking forward to the hot summer months ahead. We have spent most of the winter up in the so called winterless north. And yes we certainly enjoyed not having to put up with the very real cold you get in the south island. A lot of our time we spent in the areas we know quite well with just the odd excursion further afield.
One of those excursions took us to the Kaipara Harbour at Tinopai to a small camping ground right by the water. I think in the future it would be good to come this way a bit more and really explore the area. There is a lot of early history over there regarding fishing and of course the early settlers and the Kauri logging industry.
We didn't stay long, only 5 nights. We really struggled with one inconsiderate camper who brought motorbikes with them and thought it was ok to ride them around camp 3 or 4 times a day. Round and round they would go while the rest of us were trying to enjoy the peace and quiet. Maybe I am getting grumpy in my old age. Although I can't think of any other public camps that would allow that.
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| First Kaipara fish. |
The Kaipara is a huge harbour and I only explored a very small piece of it in my kayak. I did a bit of fishing and managed a few nice fish while we were there. Giving some away to other campers and one of the locals. The currents are very strong in this harbour so you need to be aware and consider your route according to the tide or you may find yourself battling against the flow. Further exploration will definitely be required at a later date. I still forget to get my camera out when I arrive somewhere so unfortunately the photo above is the only one I took there.
From here we travelled up to Dargaville and restocked at the super market, and then crossed back over to Whangarei. We then headed north to Otamure for a few days. I found the fishing pretty hard but still managed to get a few snapper for dinner. And one morning I managed to land a very good kingfish after quite a battle, so that fish was shared around camp with some also ending up in the smoker.
Our kayak fishing friends Dave and Donna were arriving on Saturday so we packed up and moved to Puriri on the Friday to get camp set up. Roger and Lorraine were still there enjoying the sunny weather though they had been putting up with a fair bit of wind. I got straight in to the fishing as I do and pretty quickly had enough fish to feed a fair few of the campers.
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| Straight in to nice fish at Puriri. |
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| The large wasp nest at the end of the beach. |
Hank and Wilhelmina whom we had got to know here previously were camped further along, and I was pleased to hear he was being successful with the soft baiting tips I had given them on my last trip here. Hank had been to town and invested about $500.00 on a softbait rod and reel with new jig heads and softbaits filling his tackle box. Hank had caught a number of large snapper he showed me on his phone.
Dave and Donna arrived the next day and the timing was perfect for their holiday as over the next week the weather turned out amazing. Sunny skies and warm weather. The fishing was pretty good too with both of them catching some very nice snapper and Dave landing two very large John dory. The camps new managers arrived and they are a young couple who are very easy to get along with. Unlike the last managers who ran the camp.
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| Dave and Donna. |
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| Big snapper. Whose finger is that? |
All too soon Dave and Donna were off back to work. A few days later we had to move back to Otamure for a week. On the DOC pass we can only stay for 2 weeks then we have to leave that camp for a week before we can return. John and Margot gave us a call and said they were on their way north to spend a week or so with us in their new 5th wheeler. John was keen to give his new kayak a work out and get a few tips on fishing out of it. It would also be a good shake down trip for them before they headed down to the south island.
I did get a chance for a spearfish before they arrived and managed to spear a nice porae. I had been towing it around on my string and float for a while when I dived down and caught a crayfish. I tied this onto my string then looked around as a large bronze whaler cruised past obviously intent on stealing my porae. Lucky I was close to shallow water so I managed to get my fish in close enough before he could grab it. Our friends Dave and Shellie with their 5th wheeler had arrived while I was in the water so it was good to see them again.
Next day John and Margot arrived and we were keen to look at their shiny new rig. It is beautiful inside and looks very similar to ours on the outside. But it all looks and smells so new. Awesome new home.
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| The flash new rig. |
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| John and Margots rig, then us, then Dave and Shellie. All 5th wheelers. |
After a couple of days the fishing was still hard and there was still a fair bit of wind so we made the decision to go back to Puriri and the more sheltered waters of the Whangaruru harbour.
It wasn't long here and John started to catch some fish. Although one of his first encounters was with a rig, or spotted shark. These fish are good eating often called lemon fish in the shops. I told John he needed to cut off its head and gut it to keep the ammonia taste from the flesh that sharks are known for. As he didn't have a knife I came over and cut its head off and he gutted it. In the back it went and I drifted off to do a few more casts. A short time later John landed a John dory and turned to put it in the back when he noticed the shark was gone. That shark struggled so much even though it's head and guts were gone it had wriggled over the side and escaped. He might have trouble seeing where he is going now though.
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| He looks like he might have had one or two of those. |
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| This is the life. |
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| A few to take with us when we leave. |
Over the next few days we enjoyed some good family time as well as a bit of fishing. The odd wine and beer were consumed in the evenings and lot's of good quality fish fillets eaten and shared around the camp. Then John and Margot were off on their new adventure back to Rotorua and then off down the south island. We can only hope they enjoy their retired life and travels as much as Jocelyn and I do.
We had the rig booked in to get fixed at Kopu so it was also time we packed up and hit the road south. We would be staying at Ken and Vickis over the next couple of weeks, although we also spent a weekend at Dane and Lauries in Auckland. We had a good weekend visiting the markets and checking out the viaduct and generally just good family time. But Friday we pick the rig up again and we will be back on the road. Sounds like we are going to check out the Hawkes Bay. Iv'e heard the fishing is not great down there but I guess I will find out. You are probably sick of fishing photos anyway.
