Winter in the south.

It has been great to spend some time at Joel and Julies in Invercargill. And with the Uni holidays on as well we were lucky enough to be there when Tia came down to stay for a week.  We havn't seen much of Tia in recent times so it was a real bonus to hear how she has been doing and what she has been up to. We also went for a bike ride on one of the local mountain bike tracks.  Tia and I  were quite entertained when Jocelyn crashed off into the scrub with her legs kicking in the air.
  Jocelyn and I also did a drive to lake Monowai in Fiordland with the idea of taking the rig there for a few days.  It's a lovely spot but the camp site was in shade all day and would have been freezing.
 

Lovely lake Monowai.

Jocelyn on the walking track around the edge of Lake Monowai.

  While at Joels, Rod rang and said he was planning a 2 day trip down to the Cascade river in south westland. Would I be keen to go.  Brian Bolt was to be coming along as well.  I'm always up for another adventure, although it seemed a hell of a long drive for 2 days down there.  So I left Invercargill at 3.45 am and drove to Wanaka where I met up with Rod and Brian at about 7.15.  I left my ute at Rods mate Ians place and then we were off around lake Hawea heading for the Haast Pass.  It was about another 3 1/2 hours driving to get to the Cascade River block.  After turning off the main road onto the Jackson River road you are passing through a river valley with bush dropping right down to the road on the right and lovely river flats on the left, with the bush rising again across the beautiful Jackson river.  As we came around a corner we were surprised to see a large chamois standing in the middle of the road.  Now that was a surprise.  He didn't hang around too long and bounded into the scrub on the side of the road.
    As we pulled up at the gate into the block it was raining and the Martyr River was up a bit.  The plan was to unload the gear at the house then put the jet boat into the Cascade river and motor on down to the mouth for a fish.  The caretaker at the house welcomed us and helped get us settled in then we were bouncing our way down to the Cascade.   With the jet boat in and gear loaded we were off.  Tearing off down the river in a jet boat while it is raining is a bit of an experience. We were well wrapped up in wet weather gear but that rain in the eyes makes it pretty hard to see where you are going.  Brian and I were trying to keep our heads down but of course Rod needed to read the river and decide which channels to take so his face was getting pounded.   Its about 3/4 of an hour down to the mouth and once we arrived we got straight into the fishing.   There had been a fair bit of rain in recent times so the water was a bit discoloured but it wasn't long and we had a few fish on board.

The Cascade in the jet boat.

A nice brown trout for Rod.

   Right down at the mouth Brian hooked a really good trout and it was putting up a real battle.  After a fair bit of win and lose he finally got it to the boat and it was netted.  Brian was stoked.  Biggest trout he had ever caught he said.  So the camera came out and some photos were taken. By this time the trout was looking pretty subdued and was ready for the bin.  Rod lifted the lid and Brian dropped the trout in where it landed on the ice bottles, the trout did a big leap , jumped right out of the chilly bin over the side of the boat and flopped back into the water and disappeared.  The look of shock on Brians face was a real classic.  What just happened? His trophy fish was just a memory.  Lucky we had the photos or no one would believe him.  We had a great afternoon but with evening coming on we motored back up the river and loaded the boat back onto the trailer.  We cleaned the fish we had kept and it was back to the house, cook up a feed and then a bit of shut eye.

Brians large trout that escaped back into the river.

Parked on the beach for a cook up down by the mouth.

   The next morning dawned fine and sunny. A bit of mist lingering over the river flats as we drove down to the river.  The big heavy hereford cows slow to move out of the way.  A large white heron or kotuku eyeing us warily as we crossed the numerous small creeks on the way to the river.  With the boat in the water the peace was shattered with the roar of the jet boat.  A bit chilly on the way down river but a lot better than driving rain in your face.  The day turned out to be a real stunner.  We caught numerous fish most of which we let go again.  We kept a few of the big ones to take home for family and friends.  We cooked up a few sausages on the beach for lunch and went for a short walk and checked out the numerous deer prints in the sand dunes by the beach.  What an amazing, beautiful place to come.  It was quite a few hours driving to get here but few people get the opportunity to come to these true wilderness areas. It is real solitude in these areas.  Cell phones don't work. There is no internet here.  Just nature at it's best. It gets a bit busier in the whitebait season but this time of year it is deserted.

A nice brownie caught on the fly rod from the beach.

  It was getting a bit dark as we negotiated the last few rapids back to the trailer.  But what a special day we had all had.  We had a few fish to clean then back for a feed and a few beers.Yeah awesome.
  The next morning we all went out for a quick hunt before packing up.  Rod got close to a couple of deer but because he is now a bow hunter no venison made it back to the camp.  Brian spooked a couple but didn't get a look at them, and I saw nothing but herefords.  It would have been great to stay another couple of days but we made the long drive back to Wanaka where I picked up my ute and after saying goodbye to Rod and Brian I drove back to Invercargill.
   After a couple of days we again packed up the rig and headed back to Twizel.  We had a couple of weeks to wait before we  had to go back to Invercargill and take possession of our new Ranger.  We had decided to trade ours for an upgrade as ours was now approaching 3 years old and had done 85,000 kms.  This way we start with a new 3 year warranty and should have trouble free motoring for a few more years.
   We arrived at the NZMCA camp by the salmon farm at twizel .We arrived in the late afternoon and the ground was still white with frost.  Wherever you looked there was ice or snow.  A good place to keep all your gas bottles filled for the heater.  After setting up I grabbed the rod and had a few casts.  Within 1/2 an hour I had landed 2 salmon.  Not large but good eaters.  The frost was starting to bite by this time so it was back to the rig and feet up by the heater.

A misty frosty morning overlooking the salmon farm.

  Over the next couple of days the frosts were amazing.  One morning it had to be around -15 degrees.
  The ground and the trees were all white with frost and parts of lake Ruataniwha had frozen. When it snowed the next day the snow settled on the ice on the lake and there was about a foot of snow on  one of the arms of lake Ruataniwha.
  Unfortunately I got crook again.  While in Invercargill I had a recurrence of cellulitis in my left leg which we got onto pretty quickly.  But they put me on some penicillin pills and I had a reaction to them.  So I spent about 5 days in bed feeling very poorly.  I was also off my food for 5 days so I must have been crook. I also had a spot on my face checked and the doctor reckoned it should come off and be tested.  So he chopped it off and left me with a few stitches and a black eye.  Lucky it tested clear so no worries. It took me awhile to get back on my feet and then well enough to get out and about again so I missed out on a lot of the fishing I had planned to do while in Twizel. But when I did get out I got onto some fish pretty quickly.  We had moved down to the Ohau C camp on the top end of lake Benmore again. The winter rates were $10.00 a night for the rig.

My shiner.  I told everyone Jocelyn hit me with the frypan.

  The first night I just walked over to the point where the canal becomes the lake and almost immediately landed a good trout around 7 or 8 lbs.  I kept this fish for smoking.  I then caught another 3 trout, all bigger than the last one and released them all. I guessed the last two were double figure fish.  Pretty happy with that I called it a night.
  Over the next couple of days it turned really cold again and we had quite a bit of snow right in the camp.  The hills were covered in it and looked very picturesque.  It is such a beautiful spot but boy it sure can get cold.  Jocelyn and I went for a drive around to lake Pukaki and up Hayman road then up onto the Tekapo canal for a look.  The canal comes to an end there and goes through some control gates and then down through the pipes and into the power station and then flows into lake Pukaki.  Up at the control gates I spotted three trout that had died and were pinned against the grating.  They had been there awhile and were rotting but one of them had to be around 40 lbs and the other two over 20lbs.They were huge.

 

The snow coming down.

Then the beautiful sunset over the snow on the hills.

  We also did a drive up to lake Ohau and checked out the two DOC camps up there.  The first one the wind was blowing off the lake and it was pretty bleak.  The second one had at least a foot of snow all through the camp and if it snowed again the access could be a bit marginal.  But lovely country with high mountains and great scenery.  Maybe a place for the warmer months.  Back at the canals I went for a fish one evening back at the salmon farm on the main road.  I tried the other side of the canal this time.  Using a small soft bait I caught a salmon almost immediately. I wasn't happy with the size although it was legal, so I released it to grow.  I cast again and felt a really good strike and managed to hook this fish as well.  This one took a fair bit of line and put up a much better fight.  It took awhile but I coaxed it into the shore gently and was very happy to see a very fat salmon around 15lb.  This was my best yet so I was pretty stoked with that.  And as Jocelyn loved to eat salmon this one was kept.

 

A real chunky salmon.

  The following weekend Monique and Greg came to stay.  Luckily the weather was reasonably settled. and we managed to get out and about a bit.  They slept on the double bed where the table is.  Its still reasonably comfortable with four people in the rig.  We had a very pleasant weekend with a bit of fishing and bike riding. We also got the kayaks down and Monique and Greg went for a paddle. Then on Sunday night James showed up as well for tea.  He dropped off a bit of my gear I had left with Rod and brought us a nice wild pork roast from a fat pig he had caught.  Nice.  The next day we were off back to Invercargill as our new ute had arrived.  So over the next week we have to get the hitch changed over to the new one and  sort out a few other issues before we can get it on the road.  Maybe then we will start moving further north to try and find some warmer temperatures.
 
 

Fiji time.

It was 2.15 am and the alarm started singing.  The day had arrived and Jocelyn, Grace and I were off on a wee tropical holiday to Fiji. It was brother Kens 60th birthday and we were off to celebrate it with him and family on a Fijian island. We were all packed so it was just a matter of throwing on some clothes, chucking the bags in the back of the truck and getting on the road to Christchurch airport.  Jocelyn checked the tablet and found we had been upgraded to premium economy so that was good news as well.  Rod was with us to take the truck back to Kaikoura and to see us off.  On arrival we checked in then went and grabbed a bit of breakfast.
  The first leg of the journey was a flight to Auckland, and the landing was delayed as there was fog over the runway.  So after eventually landing it was a footrace to get around to the international terminal and find our gate for boarding.  Our names were being called over the intercom so I was getting growled at by Grace and Jocelyn to step up the pace a bit.  We made it and we were soon settled in to our seats.  Pretty cool they were too. Pillows and water bottles waiting on every seat.  No sooner had we sat down and we were handed steaming hot face cloths to wipe face and hands.  Menus were offered as we settled into the very roomy and comfortable seats.  We weren't used to the flash seats but it was certainly much more comfortable than cattle class.  The food was great as well. definitely restaurant quality.  Gracie was having a great time watching movies and she reckoned the chocolate desert after her fish and chips was the best ever.
  We landed in Nadi and stepping off the plane the heat was a step up from the Kaikoura temperatures we had been experiencing.  Walking to the terminal we were welcomed immediately by the friendly Fijians with Bula called out numerous times as we passed.  Ken and Vicki and Lance were waiting in the terminal as we came out. They had arrived a couple of days before and had done a big shop and organised transport to Rakiraki where we were to hop on a boat and have a short 15 minute trip out to Nananu I Ra.  Most of the family were on the same flight as us and they started to drift out to us with luggage piled high on trolleys.  There was a real sense of anticipation as we all gathered out at the van and started loading all the bags and supplies. 10 days on a tropical Fijian Island with good family and friends.  Yeah can't wait.

Lovely Fijian sunset from the deck.

  Lucky the vans aircon was working as we were jammed in tight amongst all the bags, spearguns, duty free, and groceries.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour trip to Rakiraki.  The roads are a bit rough and bumpy but still interesting looking out the windows to see how other people live in another country.  Gracie was finding the day a bit long after our early start so she put her head down and had a good sleep on the way.  It was around 5pm when we arrived and loaded the boats with gear and bodies and were transported out to the island.  Coming into the bay we got a good look at the accommodation and we obviously weren't going to be roughing it while we were here.  We landed on the beach and the locals were on hand to help get all the bags and groceries up the path to the house.
  Jocelyn, Gracie and I were going to be staying in another house 5 minutes walk away down on the end of the island.  Vicki took us down to show us the house and it wasn't long and we were settled in and ready for a beer or a wine.  It was coming onto dark and still about 28 degrees so a cold beer was going to go down well. We also got to share our house with Darren and Kathryn who unfortunately arrived a couple of days after us and had to leave about 3 days before us.  Poor planning guys.
 

Fiji winter.

   Over the next 10 days we all had a very special time.  Lots of swimming, snorkelling, some fishing and spear fishing.  We had lunch at one of the resorts and a swim in their pool.  The food for the week was great with steak on the BBQ or fish caught that day.  The local fruit was really nice with bananas, pawpaw, pineapples and of course coconuts.  On Kens birthday the locals cooked us a great feast like our hangi on the hot stones in the ground with pork, chickens, taro and other lovely vegetables.   It was also Kens daughter Billies birthday on the same day so it was a double celebration. We had a great night topped off by a traditional kava session enjoyed by us all. Especially 5 year old Ollie who kept sneaking back for another quick sip against mums orders.  It was great having the young Ollie and Gracie with us to keep us entertained.  They got on so well and had a great time.

Kava session.

Jocelyn with Pina colada at VoliVoli resort.

Nice pose Gracie.

Awesome Spanish mackerel Lance.

Jake was deadly on the Trevs.

Island girl.

Kens 60th.

  On the last day out in the boat Lance managed to spear a very large Spanish mackerel, his first of the species and a great achievement.  We were spending a lot of time in the water.  The colourful fish species in Fiji are a real joy and there are so many of them.  Gracie and I had fun hunting out the little patches of Nemos in their beds of anemones that they hid in.  We also encountered a sea snake working its way through the coral.

The last sunset

  Unfortunately the day came to pack up and head back to the mainland for our trip back to the airport.  We got a bit of ribbing from the rest of them as we again found we had been upgraded on the flight home.  Gracie was ecstatic.  It was a bit sad to say goodbye to everyone but everything went without a hitch and we found ourselves back in Christchurch in the evening and met Rod for our trip back to Kaikoura.  All in all everyone had a great time and it was definitely a special family time.
   It took a couple of days to settle back in at Rods.  Catherine was still overseas in Europe, Gracie was back at school and I mucked around on the farm with Rod and even sprayed a few weeds.  Then we decided to hit the road again and head south.  We said goodbye to Rod and Grace and took the coast road down as far as Parnassus for the first night.
  Then the next day we passed through Christchurch and took the road south then turned off on the Geraldine turnoff and headed back into the McKenzie country again.  Jocelyn was keen for some salmon so we were aiming to park at the NZMCA park on the Ohau canals at Twizel.  We arrived just before dark and got settled in looking out over the canal to the salmon farm on the other bank.  Apparently someone had cut the nets on one of the salmon pens a few weeks previous and released about six thousand salmon into the canal.  I don't know if it was someone protesting salmon farming or someone who wanted more salmon to target but whatever the reason it is a pretty low thing to do with a huge financial loss to the farmer.

Looking across to the salmon farm at Twizel.

   The weather was nice but bloody cold.  You get some amazing frosts around here.  About minus 8 one morning according to the neighbours David and Shellie.  I managed to catch a few salmon but they weren't that big, although mostly legal so we did get to eat some.  Jocelyn went for a couple of bike rides while I was fishing.  I think when we have more time we will spend a week or two exploring this area.  Lake Ohau and heading in towards the Dobson Valley needs further exploration with a couple of DOC camps up that way.  The Tahr hunting is great up in those high mountain valleys as well.  And talking to our immediate neighbours the Ahuriri Valley is another area that needs more exploring.  But I need to wait until these rivers open to fishing again in October.  In the mean time the plan was to keep heading south to Invercargill and catch up with Joel and Julie.
  The first day back on the road got us as far as Lumsden where we stayed at the NZMCA park.  We had the whole park to ourselves and after parking we went for a bike ride around town.  That evening I decided to grab the shotgun and head down to the Oreti river for a duck shoot.  It was pretty quiet but just before dark I spotted two mallards and with a few quacks on the caller managed to call them close enough for a shot.  The first one dropped like a stone and landed right at my feet but the second one only got a couple of warning shots.  I think I'm out of practice again.  Still I had one duck dinner and it was plucked and cleaned before I headed back to the rig.
  We are now at Joel and Julies in Invercargill.  Monique and Greg along with James travelled down to see us all yesterday so we had a great day catching up, with a few drinks and a nice dinner.  I have had the ute serviced while here so we are ready to clock up some more kms.  We have to be back in Kaikoura by the 6th July to shift stock for Rod while they take a week up north to go to a wedding. So who knows? After that we may head north and check out Golden Bay again.

Some time in the McKenzie Country.

After leaving Kaikoura, Jocelyn and I travelled the inland road back through Culverdon and onto Hurunui where there is a lovely reserve named Balmoral. We set up the rig then went for a drive to lake taylor.  There is a small DOC camp there right by the lake.  The drive in is on a quite rough metal road but with the river flowing through the valley and the mountains rising up from the road it is a typical stunning South Island vista.
  Talking to a bloke at the lake. He had been through the four wheel drive track to Lake Sumner towing a small tinny behind. He said the fishing was good and the scenery fabulous.  The track itself was very rough though he said,  and wet weather would make it marginal.  Lake Taylor itself looked lovely and I think would warrant a visit in the rig for a few days at a later date.

Jocelyn on the beach at Lake Taylor.

  Back at Balmoral we went for a short bike ride along the edge of the Hurunui river then back to the rig for the night.  The next morning Catherine called in and dropped Gracie off as she was off to the North Island to a funeral.
  After breakfast we packed up and took the Inland road through to Alford Forrest just out of Methven where we parked up at Sean and Michelles place for the night.  They were on a dairy farm there and doing very well.  They had signed up for another year and  were looking forward to their future prospects.  Was really good to see them and Troy again.  We only stayed the one night as next we were to meet James at Geraldine to get the maimai ready for opening morning of duck shooting.
  We parked the rig at Brian and Ingrids house.  It was good to catch up with them all again.  The news was there were a lot of ducks around and the prospects were looking good for a reasonable shoot opening morning.  James and I cut out some of the willows around the front of the maimai and put some manuka bushes in and around it for camouflage .   When we first pulled up in the ute and got out there were around 200 ducks flew out of the willows along the edge of the river.  So now all we needed was opening day to hurry up and get here.
  James headed on back to Kaikoura and next morning Jocelyn, Gracie and I took the road through to the McKenzie Country.  The first stop was Fairlie where Brian had told us we had to stop at the famous pie shop. A very busy bakery. The queue was out the door.  Then onto Tekapo where we found the NZMCA camp by the lake.  A pretty spot amongst the trees with views out to the lake and walking and bicycling tracks passing in front of the camp.
  I'm guessing the lake temperature was around 13 degrees but Gracie still wanted to go swimming.  I'm sure she is immune to the cold. There is no pussy footing around she just wanders out into the water and dives under.  Then pops up and says it's lovely are you coming in? No way I don't need a wash yet and I haven't got my soap with me. We did some walks and some bike rides then after about 3 days we packed up and we were off to another one of our special camp sites on the shores of lake Benmore at the Ohau C camp out of Twizel.
  The outlook from this camp is amazing. We are parked about 4 metres from the lake with the autumn colours from the willows around the lake shore.  The lake is mirror calm with snow capped mountains all around.  You can even see Mt Cook rising above the tussock covered plains in the distance.  A very special place.  This camp is usually full over the summer months as campers lease their sites for the summer. They set up a   semi permanent type of camp with little gardens and fairy lights and pathways, and then come first of May it all has to be packed up and the sites emptied.  The next year these campers have first right to the sites they occupied for that summer.

Beautiful spot at Ohau C camp.

Nice place to kayak

  Being the school holidays it was a great opportunity to have Grace come camping with us.  So it wasn't long and we had the kayaks down and in the water. Over the next few days Grace became quite confident and enjoyed coming out for a paddle.  I spent a bit of time out fishing.  I was planning to fish the canals and target a salmon or two but it was such a beautiful place where we were and I was having reasonable success here while keeping plenty of fish for the table.  I had taken to smoking the trout in the webber and found as long as I kept the temperature low it produced lovely smoked trout.

Nice smoked trout.

Nice double figure rainbow.

 Eventually Grace had to leave as school started back on Monday so we met Catherine close to Geraldine and they started the long drive back to Kaikoura.  After a few more days at the lake we also had to start heading in that direction.   As we came back into Fairly we had the GPS on with Lake Opuha entered.  It said to take a road to the left and we would meet up onto a cross road to take us on to the lake.  We got further down this road and it narrowed into  a line of trees that took us onto a river crossing. Normally this would be fine but towing the rig might be a different story. I got out and went for a look.  The crossing was quite deep and about 20 metres wide.  Oh well worth a crack I thought.  Lets see what the Ranger can do.  Jocelyn was not happy about my decision to forge on ahead and she tucked her head into her arm and wouldn't look.  I put it into four wheel drive and away we went.  It was shallow to start with but then the nose dipped and I had water coming over the front of the bonnet. Just as well we had good clearance on the rig and the ranger didn't hesitate it just kept a steady speed and climbed out onto the far bank without a hitch.  Everything got a good wash underneath and eventually Jocelyns nerves settled back to normal as well.  We got to the lake and camped in a small reserve there with a lovely outlook over the man made lake Opuha.

Pretty lake Opuha

Then there is always some dickhead who wants to park beside you and ruin the view.

On the Thursday before duck shooting we arrived back at Kaikoura.  I spent the day getting gear packed and loaded. Rod had farm chores to do to set the farm up for four  days while he was away. Catherine was going to do the milkings, and Jocelyn was looking after Grace.
  Around !0 am I left for Christchurch to pick up Dane from his flight from Auckland.  He always looks forward to duck shooting but even more so this year as he had saved to purchase a new semi auto shotgun and he was looking forward to finally poking a few rounds through it.  I arrived to pick him up and he was looking rather stressed.  His bag came through ok from Auckland but it seems Jetstar had misplaced one new semi auto shotgun.  No one seemed to know where it was so I got on the phone to Rod to see if he could borrow one from someone in Kaikoura. Luckily one of Rods neighbours was willing to lend an old winchester pump action for the weekend.  So we carried on to Geraldine and arrived just on dark.
  Dane and I had all the decoys on board so we went down to the river  and set them up in front of the maimai.  I had been giving decoy layout a fair bit of thought lately and had come up with a new layout plan. So hopefully in the morning we would find out whether it worked or not.
  Dane was on the phone to Jetstar again and eventually found out his shotgun had been sent to Queenstown.  There was no chance of getting it back for opening morning. I'm sure Dane felt like throwing a tantrum but he took it well and just got on with it.  A bit later James arrived from Timaru and Rod turned up as well with the replacement shotgun.  After a few beers and a good roast dinner cooked by Brian and Ingrid we made a bit of lunch for tomorrow then climbed into the sleeping bags.
  The alarms went off at 5.30 and after a bit of breakfast we were into the utes and off to the maimais. Daylight arrived and with that came the ducks. And they just kept coming.  Even though the weather was fine with no wind they were determined to come in to our waterway.  The new decoy set up had them decoying in perfectly right out in front.  In the relatively quiet spells Rod was out with Gem retreiving.  I don't know if it was the setup that was helping but we all seemed to be shooting well this    morning too.

Looking out from the maimai

Early morning anticipation.

    Eric and his mate Hayse called in to see how we were going around lunch time and said they had got 54 ducks for the morning. At that point we had no idea how many we had collected.  A bit later on we were to get together for a river walk and jump shoot the hotspots. So we started packing up and collecting the ducks together for a count.  At the end of the count we had 140 ducks in the pile.  We collected another 10 on the river walk so had 150 for the day.  The limit for the central region is 50 ducks per person so between the four of us we had shot 3 limits.  This was the best opening day from our spot so far and we were all pretty stoked with the day.  That night Dane drove back to Christchurch and picked up his shotgun from the airport. He was a happy man.
  The next morning we shot another 38 and then pulled in all the gear.  The afternoon was spent processing all the ducks.  We plucked quite a few of the best and fattest ones and the rest were breasted and the meat will be taken to the butcher to be made into tasty salamies.  Between the two groups of shooters 280 ducks were shot for the weekend off the farm.

Hayes , Eric and James with some of the ducks ready for processing.

  The next day we were off to the Waimate area to hunt the high country tussock for wallabies.   These wallabies have become a major problem for the farmers down this way as the numbers are always increasing but not only that they are spreading into new territory all the time. James was back at polytech so it was Rod, Brian, Hayse, Dane and myself.  After leaving the truck we were straight into it. Well Rod was anyway.  He had only walked a few hundred metres and he had emptied his belt full of 25 cartridges.  The strike rate wasn't great though with only 3 wallabies down.
   We hunted through a few areas that didn't seem to hold much but then we would find a patch of them again and the gunfire would increase and be echoing through the gullies.  We stopped back at the utes and cooked up a feed of sausages and bacon between a slice of bread and that got the energy levels up again and we were back into it.  The hunting picked up again and we finished the day with a fair few in the bag and pretty tired legs as well.  We took a bit of meat off a couple of them as well.  So wallaby casserole was going to be on the menu.

Rod with target species.

  By this time darkness had arrived.  Dane, Hayse and I were going further south to Oamaru, Rod and Brian back to Geraldine and then Rod back to Kaikoura to TB test the cows.  We pulled up in Oamaru at about 7.30pm at good friends of the Lamb family Brent and Stellas place.  This is where James is boarding while he goes to polytech.  Stella was out when we arrived but Brent had been busy in the kitchen cooking us a lovely dinner.  James was put out as Brent had made him wait to eat until we had arrived.  He was convinced he was hardly going to survive the lack of food for so long.  After dinner Stella arrived and we were made to feel very welcome, a bunch of rough hunters moving in and taking over their house.
     We were in for another early start as we were off for a shoot on the estuary at flag swamp.  About an hours driving and then carting layout blinds and decoys out onto the mudflats.  It didn't help when I got the ranger stuck in a bog either. Lucky Hayse had his toyota there to pull me out or we would have been in serious trouble.  The shooting started with a hiss and a roar but then tailed off quite quickly.  The birds were mostly Parries and I think we ended up with about 18 for the morning.  We found setting up in the dark a bit of a drawback as when we packed up and headed out with the gear we found by the sign on the ground where we should have set up. Never mind.  We said our goodbyes to Hayse as he was heading down to Queenstown for a few days and Dane and I were back on the road to Kaikoura.
  Over the next few days we all got caught up in the farm work.  Rod had heifers leaving the run off to go out to grazing and the new season calves had to be trucked up to the Puhi block, then walked up the road and onto the block. The cows were dried off and on the last milking Dane and I found ourselves in the shed helping administer dry cow therapy into each teat.   I found everything reminiscent of old times but it was reasonably new to Dane.  Especially working in the cowshed.  Not for him he reckoned this dairy farming with piss and shit everywhere, although he looked to be taking it in his stride even though he struck a couple that gave him a good boot in the hand.
   We also got time for another short parrie shoot and a quick look for a deer.   We got very close too as we had a hind pass by at about 12 metres but when she stopped she stopped in a place we couldn't get a shot.  Never mind it was a good hunt. We had plans to hunt Rods neighbours station but unfortunately the weather turned and stuffed up that plan.  Saturday morning came around and it was time to get Dane back to Christchurch airport.
  Jocelyn and I are looking after Gracie for a few weeks now as Catherine is off overseas with her parents and Monique.  We also have a special trip planned and Gracie is counting down the days so I will tell you about that on my next story.

Oh Gracie what are you doing.  Haha

I just love photos of pretty fish.

From north to south.

The move to Otemure Bay from Puriri Bay was uneventful, and we found ourselves parked at our usual spot overlooking the bay.  It was the lull before the storm, as the weather forecast was terrible for the next 5 or 6 days.   Still, there are worse places to be when it's raining.  There were still a few campers around with some of them in tents, but unfortunately when the weather did arrive they found it all a bit much and had to pack up.
 Even a small pop top caravan parked just along from us copped it on the last night of wind and rain and had everything turned inside out.  I poked my nose out of the rig to see if they were alright and saw they were struggling to pull it all down.  Nick from the caravan next door had been helping them to try and get the awning down in the wind as it had been blown apart. By the time I arrived they pretty much had it under control but what a mess they were in.  Everything was soaked even in the caravan and I think there was a bit of repair work to be done.
  Even in our rig there were a couple of nights when the whole thing was just shaking in the wind all night long.  The rain was coming in sideways straight off the sea but we endured it and were pretty happy to be tucked up warm and dry inside.
  As always eventually the sun came out and we had a good forecast for the next few days.  This came  about the same time Jenny and Stan arrived for their holiday in New Zealand.  They were coming up to stay with us for about 3 nights. It was great to spend some time with our "Aussie" relatives as we don't get to see them as much as we would like.  But the weather came right at the right time and we got to spend some time on the beach and going for walks and also introducing them to happy hour.  Our fellow campers were again a friendly bunch and liked to get together in the evenings for drinks and nibbles.

Stan, Jenny and myself on the Whananaki Harbour walkway.

 Stan found found himself in danger of cardiac arrest one night when taking a moonlit walk to the loo. A couple of young german female tourists were staying in the tent next door and he happened to meet one of them walking back from the loo.  She obviously thought clothes were optional as she was stark naked.  Apparently he was a bit shy to stop her for a chat. Well thats what he told us anyway.
 We got to know Nick and Janine who were also from Tauranga.  They spend a lot of time touring the country in their caravan.  Nick and I spent a bit of time in the kayaks looking for snapper.  Did ok too with a couple of really nice ones one morning.  I think I'm starting to convert a few bait fisherman to the idea of using softbaits out of the kayaks as I find you can catch a number of the larger fish. I find these large snapper really good to eat. Nick took the heads and wings to smoke  and Stan took a heap of fillets with them when they left.

A couple of good snapper from Otemure.

 The time came and Jenny and Stan were off to Tauranga and we followed shortly after.  We ended up staying up at Lincolns place on Pyes Pa rd where Jenny and Stan were.  We had a couple of very social evenings and were made to feel very welcome by Lincoln and Pam.
We had a couple of jobs to do at the house in Omokoroa while we were up here so we got that done and caught up with our friends and neighbours again as well.
 Next we moved down to Heidi's and Pauls as we wanted to see them before we started our road trip to the south island.  We also caught up with Ken and Vicki before we left.  It's always a bit tough when you know you are leaving for a year or so and probably won't get to see these close family members for a while.
  It was time to go and we waved bye to Heidi and lovely wee Luca and we were on the road to Wellington.  It was pretty poor timing into Wellington motorway as we struck the 5 o'clock rush.  So after a bit of stop start stuff we pulled into the Petone Working Mens Club and parked up in their back car park.  There is a small fee to stay here but you can also use their toilets and showers if you wish and the club is open for meals and drinks.  It's quite a pleasant place to stay.  After our long drive we were both a bit knackered so rather than cook we wandered in and had a good meal for about twenty bucks each.  Much easier.
  We had a full day in wellington the next day as our ferry crossing wasn't until 3.30am the following morning.  Nick and Janine from Otemure Bay and a couple of other people had told us about the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa so we were keen to go along and view it.  It was extremely popular and a bit of a struggle to get around some of it but it is a really emotional experience to stand there and think about what all these young men had to endure.  When stepping back out into the foyer afterwards the hollow feeling in your stomach has nothing to do with where the cafe is located.
We had a good walk around the waterfront, which is a tourist destination in itself.  Lots of cafes, eateries, bars, walkers, runners, pop up shops and lovely landscaped scenes right on the water.  A real asset to Wellington.
  We had a bit of a drive around the bays but this was marred by a lot of resealing gangs slowing down the traffic so it was back to the rig and an early night as we had to get up about 2am to drive to the ferry.  We got to the ferry in plenty of time and after boarding found a bench seat and tried to get a bit more sleep. We were fortunate enough to have a smooth crossing but sleep didn't come easy. Before we disembarked we had a meal and a coffee.
   From memory we left Picton around 7am and travelled to Blenheim where we filled the truck with diesel then it was onto the diversion road towards Lewis Pass and the long way to Kaikoura.  It turned out to be a bit of an epic journey as the roads still had a lot of earthquake damage as well as councils trying to improve the roads for the extra traffic they were having to take.  So road works were continuous all through the trip.  So it ended up being 8 1/2 hours after leaving Picton we arrived at Rod and Catherines on the inland Kaikoura road. It was good to see them again after so long away.
  Next morning after Rod milked and a bit of stock work was done we were off for a hunt. It was late march so the stags should be starting to roar.  Rod had permission to hunt on a farm off the inland road so we drove through the block and pulled up on the boundary.  Next door was a pay to hunt farm where often overseas hunters pay large sums of money to hunt mostly tame deer with lots of points on their antlers.  There was a lot of roaring coming from the stags on this block and you could see some of them up on the fence line with their huge racks of antlers just lazing around showing no fear of humans at all.  Not our style of hunting.
  We started climbing into our block and it wasn't long and we spotted a hind and yearling dropping down into a gully.  We carried on and Rod spotted a stag sitting down by a rocky outcrop.  We snuck up for a look and saw through the binos he was just a six pointer.  We watched for a while then moved on and almost immediately came across another stag, but he had a very poor head of antlers so he was left in peace as well.  A few days previous Rod had seen a good twelve pointer in this area so we weren't in a hurry to pull the trigger on a small stag.
  Around a bit further we decided to sit and wait while overlooking a good gully.  It wasn't long and a hind appeared down low and then the stag came out chasing her.  She was obviously in season as he chased her around until she stopped playing hard to get.  After that he needed a bit of a lie down. By then I had moved into position for a shot.  He was roaring while sitting down and roaring back at him still didn't get him on his feet.  So I took the shot and that did the job. He was around 150 metres away and when we got down there we found a very good even twelve pointer.  So this was the stag we had been after.  Rod and I were stoked and we spent a bit of time getting photos then the meat and head were harvested.  We weren't too far from the truck so hind quarters, front shoulders, and back steaks were all taken. Along with those 12 point antlers.  Not bad for day one hunting down south.

Feeling stoked.

I reckon it warrants two photos.

  Mick was due to come down for a bit of hunting so I picked him up from ChCh airport and we were straight into it again.  Mick , James and I ended up back at the same block one morning and while in the same area we spotted a huge stag up on the boundary.  He must have been an escapee from the game farm as he had a huge rack of antlers.  I tried counting the tines and got to somewhere between 20 and 24 points.  He was definitely on our side of the fence but when he realised we were there instead of heading for cover he just ran the fence line.  We weren't interested in shooting a tame animal so he was left in peace.
  That evening we were on the other side of the block and Rod and James both shot fallow bucks. So we had some prime venison for the freezer.  Over the week Mick was there we had a great time seeing lots of different animals including deer pigs and goats. But it wasn't until the last couple of days we found a good stag, or as it turned out he found us. We didn't even know he was there until he alerted us answering a roar way down in the valley.  Brian and Eric from Geraldine had come for a hunt with us and Eric heard him first and called Mick over.  The stag was making his way up the ridge toward us. When we spotted him he was only 20 metres away and looking right at us. At the chest on shot two great puffs of steam came from his nostrils at the impact and down he went.  He didn't move.  Mick had a very nice ten point stag.

Awesome stag Mick in great country.

Micks toes after Gracie painted them. Very cool Mick.

  After Mick flew back north it was only a couple of days and John the bow hunter arrived.  We had been having a fair bit of rough weather with a cyclone passing through but we certainly hadn't had it as bad as the north.  The fine weather showed up with John so it was back into a bit of hunting.  We did a motorbike trip up through the neighbours station with John and Rod on 2 wheelers and me on the quad bike.  This in itself is a cool experience and then we get to go hunting as well.  John was keen to get a good set of goat horns so when we spotted a group of billy's the stalk was on.  After a good shot John secured a nice trophy.

Great set of horns.

John the bow hunter.

   While getting the photos John noticed a big pig rooting up a patch of the hillside over in the next gully.  I got set up for a shot with the 270. But after trying three times I couldn't get my rifle to go bang.  There was a problem with the bolt. We sent john away to try and stalk in for a bow shot while Rod and I tried to free up the rifle.  In hindsight I should have left John to it  as we ended up with the rifle firing only to miss on three shots.  It was a very large boar and he didn't hang around too long. It was probably just poor shooting as I had sighted the rifle in, but it's also a bit unsettling when you are lining up for a shot and the rifle won't cock. Well thats my excuse anyway.  Never mind we'll be back for another crack at him at a later date.
  While on the farm we had been doing a few jobs around the place.  Shifting stock, a bit of weed spraying and building a new wood shed close to the house.  John got stuck in and mowed the lawns on the ride on at the three different houses on the farm.
 Rod and John had also been trying to get a deer with the bow.  John brought two bows with him and Rod had a bit of practice out in the paddock.  It seems he's a natural as he was on target straight away.  But the challenge with the bow is getting close enough then asking the deer nicely to stand side on and keep still while they poke an arrow into it.  Haha. sorry John.
  But it can be done as after John left he went further south and managed to get a nice fallow buck with the bow.  We left the farm on Easter Monday and went to Hanmer. We stayed at the MCA park there, went for a mountain bike and a bit of a wander around.  John called in on his way back to Rods with his buck strapped to his roof rack. What a happy man.  He reckoned it caused a bit of a stir when he pulled into town to buy a few supplies. He took photos of asian tourists taking photos of his buck. He hopes to get a bit more hunting in with Rod before he heads back north to Tauranga.
  Jocelyn and I intend having a bit of a look around the Hurunui area, maybe check out lake Sumner and Lake Taylor, then I will spend a day with James fixing up the maimai at Hilton in preparation for duck shooting.  Next we will head towards Tekapo and Twizel and see if I can catch a salmon or trout   and maybe do a bit of walking and biking in this stunning area.

Game fishing, camping, good company.

Jocelyn and I did get to the Coromandel again.  We started off at the NZMCA camp in Coromandel township.  It was a tight squeeze trying to find a slot to back into, as there was a rally going on with a BOP caravanners group staying there.  So we only stayed one night and we headed north to Fantail Bay.  The weather was a bit blustery with a disturbed sea but it is always with a sense of anticipation I travel the skinny northern Coromandel roads to our favourite campsites.  We got to Fantail Bay DOC camp to find quite a few campers already in residence. But amazingly our favourite site was vacant.
   It doesn't take long for us to set up nowadays and it wasn't long and we were getting to know our neighbours.  As it turned out they were a very social bunch and some of them had been there a fair while. John in the site next to us had been there for 3 months.  He was a very interesting character. In his early 80s, he had been coming to Fantail Bay in the summer months for years.  He had taken on the job of cleaning the facilities every morning and was always at the big Puriri tree by 5pm for happy hour. He had also written 2 books which he gave to us to read while we were there.  One was about his farming life with his late wife and the other about an overland trip through Africa they did together when he was 58.  Some of the hardships they endured made for very interesting reading.
  Happy hour in this camp had taken on a new meaning.  Everyone gathered under the big Puriri tree by 5pm, [sometimes 4 pm] for drinks and eats.  One lady Anna made a different variety of fritter every night for tasting.  We had oyster, tuatua, kina, sardine and water cress, and mussel.  The kina ones were my favourite.  Then one night a wild roast pork was cooked and everyone contributed with veggies  and sauces and gravy.  It was a great feast enjoyed by us all with very entertaining company.
  Some of the campers had only intended to stay for a couple of days but got on so well with everyone and enjoyed happy hour so much they ended up staying a week.

Happy hour under the puriri tree.

  It was still a bit windy but early morning there was quite a settled period so I managed to get in the water and spear a few butterfish. A lot of the campers had never eaten butterfish so I cooked up a taste for everyone and presented it at happy hour to good reviews. A few of the blokes went out in their small boats and kayaks for a fish with mixed success.
  Jocelyn and I took the bikes for a couple of good rides back along the coast.  It is a very pretty ride as you are peddling along right by the sea.
  The time had come to head back to Whitianga as I was meeting Ken, Mick, and Lance to fish the game fishing Nationals for a week on board Papillon.  Jocelyn was heading to Auckland to stay with sister Joan for a week and they had planned a number of activities to enjoy.  On the Friday evening the crew all arrived at the boat with mountains of essential gear to load.  Jocelyn and I had done a big grocery shop that afternoon and had already loaded fridges and cupboards to bursting point.  By the time everything was onboard it was getting late into the evening and starting to get dark.  The engines were fired up and the lines cast off and with a last goodbye to Jocelyn, Papillons bow moved out into the current of the channel.  The plan was to go straight out to the Mercs. and anchor up for the night, then we would have a good early start in the morning to head north.
  We arrived in homestead bay at the Mercs about 10.30pm, after following the GPS and keeping an eye on the radar for traffic or obstructions.  It can be quite unnerving travelling at night on a boat just following your instruments but the more you do it the more relaxed you will become.  Ken has a fair bit of experience on bigger boats now but you never stop learning.
  After getting the anchor set it was time to get a feed going and to have a beer.  In the mean time we got the big spotlight going at the back of the boat and caught the piper coming into the light. After a while I noticed a couple of squid coming in so I attached a squid jig to my line and ended up landing about 8 of these tasty morsels. The anticipation emanating from all of us at the start of an adventure like this was very noticable.  Tomorrow we would head out wide behind the Mercs then point the boat north.  We had a big area to cover over the next few days to end up north of the Bay of Islands.
  By mid day on Saturday we were a long way off shore trolling lures. Game fishing is a bit of a waiting game but nowadays we can improve our chances a lot by doing a number of different things.  First up is marking areas where we have had success in the past.  Often fish will be in those same areas year after year.  You can also get surface temperature charts through the internet that will indicate where pelagic fish are likely to be.  The warmer the water the higher the likelihood of finding fish. Also the old tried and true method of keeping your eyes open and looking for signs, be it birds working baitfish, free jumping marlin, or even something unusual floating on the surface of the ocean, like large clumps of weed or floating logs, as often fish will be under these objects.
  By mid afternoon we were out behind great Barrier, still heading north.  Mick had spotted a free jumping marlin but after working the area we had seen nothing else.  About an hour later there was a huge splash  about 10 metres off the port side and we were treated to the sight of a huge manta ray broaching another three times.  It was leaping right out of the water and landing on it's back with a mighty splash.  Game fishing can be boring but you do get to see some amazing things that you otherwise wouldn't get to see.  I was with Ken a few years back out behind the Mercs. when we were lucky enough to see a huge leatherback turtle cross in front of the bow and power away off to the side of the boat.  This was no ordinary fish pond specimen.  It looked to be about the size of a mini car and it was swimming at an incredible speed.  It had a large bow wave coming from the front of it's large shell and as it went passed it lifted it's football sized head and had a good look at us as it went past.  No one on board had ever seen anything like that before and it really made our day.
   It was starting to get late in the day so our plan was to head into Fitzroy harbour on Great Barrier for the night.  We were well on the way in and we had all given up the idea of hooking anything significant for the day.  I had gone into the galley and was whipping up some crackers and cheese nibbles and we had all stopped bothering to watch the lures.  Nek minute, a reel started screaming and I dropped everything and ran out into the cockpit. The reel went quiet and I was thinking what the hells going on here when the shotgun lure right out the back was grabbed and that reel started to lose line at a great rate of knots.
   Looking up I was surprised to see a marlin tail walking out the back and heading off into the distance.  Mick and I had set up all the harnesses to fit either him or Lance as we had decided one of them  could take the first fish.  I had started to get the other lures in when Lance came down and I told him to grab the rod but he told me it was my turn on the rod.  Mick was on the helm so he was busy.  This wasn't what we had planned but anyway I ended up on the rod.  By the time the rest of the gear was in I had settled into the chair and had plenty of weight on.
  This was the first time I had tackled a marlin from a game chair.  Usually we were in a stand up harness.  I found the chair very comfortable although Mick had Papillon in reverse backing up fast on the fish so I had a fair bit of water pouring in the back and sometimes crashing over my head.  It wasn't long and I had the fish to the back of the boat and Ken grabbed the leader.  I backed off the drag and set the rod in the holder.

Awesome striped marlin.

coming to the boat. A real thrill.

  By this time Lance had taken a video and now had the fish by the bill and the hook out.  I got out on the marlin board and took over from Lance and we got a few photos.  We held the marlin along side the boat while moving forward so the water could pass through it's gills and revive it while it rested, then after a few more photos I released the bill and it swum away unharmed.  I found again what a great thrill and almost an honour it is to catch or even see one of these beautiful fish.
  High fives all round and speculation on our achievement. It was a striped marlin we estimated in the vicinity of 120 kgs.  It had taken about 25 minutes to get it to the back of the boat. What a great start to our trip. And time would show that it was lucky I ended up on the rod when I did as my fortunes were to change in the near future.
  It was a happy crew that anchored in Port Fitzroy that evening and a few rums were consumed in celebration.
  Next morning the boat was pointed north again and it was a long but uneventful day working our way to the Cavalli Islands north of the Bay Of Islands.  By the time we rounded the northern end of the Cavallis it was into the evening.  We stopped and caught a few snapper for dinner then went into a sheltered bay to anchor for the night.  The wind had risen and the forecast wasn't great for the next couple of days.  We had a good feed of Kens pan fried snapper and spuds with a few drinks to wash it down, but everyone was pretty tired after a long day on the water and we hit the sack pretty early.
  The next morning the weather wasn't great so the decision was made to have an easy day with a bit of spearfishing and some  snapper fishing.  Lance is a bit of a legend as a spear fisherman.  He has proved he has what it takes to take on some very impressive pelagics with a large sailfish and a 40kg dogtooth tuna to his name.  Today he was to have a look for a kingi and at one spot Ken dropped him on a seamount and within a few minutes we spotted him struggling with a very feisty kingfish wrapped in his arms.  After backing the boat up to him I helped him haul it on board.

Lance's nice kingfish.

 After this we decided to see if we could find some handy crayfish.  Ken dropped us handy to a reef and Lance went one way and I went the other.  It was a very beautiful place to dive but unfortunately neither of us found any sign of crays, so the decision was made to head for Whangaroa Harbour and refuel and top up the water tanks.
  After my dive I was feeling a bit chilled so while fuelling the boat I went down to the galley and made some sandwiches for the crew for lunch, although by then it was mid afternoon.  After fuelling we went around to a bay in the harbour where there is a water tap on a buoy where visiting boats can top up their water tanks.   There is an honesty box there for a $5.00 donation for this service.  While getting this set up I was really starting to get the shakes so I took myself off to a bunk for a bit of a lie down.  The boys finished with the water and anchored up for the night.  I was hoping I didn't have anything serious wrong with me but through the afternoon  I seemed to be deteriorating a bit.  I was trying to stay out of the guys way but with Lance being a doctor he was showing a bit of concern.
   I had been looking forward to this trip for so long and felt we had only just got started so when Ken  said they thought I should get checked at the hospital I wasn't very receptive to the idea.   I probably should have done as they said but leaving the boat was going to be a last resort for me. But unfortunately by 10.30pm the time had come when I had to agree with them and they up anchored and called the ambulance to meet them at Whangaroa wharf.
   Sorry guys for making it such a late night for you but I was not a happy camper having to leave the boat so early in the trip.  By the time the ambulance reached Bay Of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa I was shaking uncontrollably and obviously had another case of cellulitis, this time showing up on my left arm.  So I spent the next 5 days looking at a hospital wall while the boys went back out fishing and ended up catching another 3 marlin.  I also ruined Jocelyns time with Joan in Auckland as she came up to keep an eye on me and make sure I was ok. Ken and the boys stayed in touch by phone and kept me informed with where they were and how the fishing was going.
  While in hospital I received a call from Dave and Donna Logan who were camping at Puriri Bay which is one of our very favourite spots.  Along with the call came some impressive photos of 6 and 8kg snapper caught from their kayaks.  So after getting the ok to leave the hospital We got straight on the road back to Whitianga.  We arrived about 6.30pm after a 7 hour drive and got the washing done and the rig all set for travel, then at 4.30 am we were back on the road heading back up to Puriri Bay. The traffic was light so we made good time and arrived around 11.30 am and set up on a site right by the water.

Must be happy hour again at Puriri.

Lovely Whangamumu bay.A good walk to the old whaling station.

Jocelyn and Donna by the old boiler at Whangamumu.

  The weather was lovely and Dave and Donna welcomed us enthusiastically with stories of large fish and seafood meals every night.  This place is an amazing piece of NZ paradise, with a lovely sheltered bay and good fishing right on your doorstep.  The next few days we enjoyed immensely with great company from Dave and Donna and fishing , swimming and snorkelling every day. All the campers got on well around us and most of them had small blow up boats or tinnies to go out and get a feed of fish.
  Unfortunately the time came for Dave and Donna to head back to Omokoroa and get set for going back to work.  We were sad to see them go but I think we will all be back here at a future time to meet up and repeat our great time at Puriri Bay.

 Jocelyn and I stayed a few more days then decided to head to Whangarei and empty the tanks and stock up with groceries.
 After this we moved to Otemure Bay and battened down the hatches for 5 or 6 days of stormy weather.  Hopefully Jocelyn will still talk to me after Iv'e been shut in the rig for 5 days.

A couple of good Puriri Bay fish.