Well I for one am NOT one of those! There's a reason why I don't enjoy hunting, camping, hiking or anything along that line. I hate fishing and don't really enjoy much when it comes to anything in the least bit requiring much physical activity on my part. I do admit to enjoying a good boat ride and other various leisure activities.
When Joe and I came to New Zealand we decided that we would each select things we most wanted to do. We both were pretty agreed that we wanted to take a helicopter ride over the mountains, fiords and glaciers near Queenstown, New Zealand on the South Island.
One of things Joe most wanted to do on this trip was to try his hand at trout fishing at one of the stops we had planned. Joe mentioned to our helicopter pilot that he was interested in fishing so he gave Joe contact information for his friend who happened to be a fishing guide.
On Tuesday morning we set out on a private, guided fishing trip about an hour outside of Queenstown. I was along strictly to document the experience. I had no desires to do any kind of fishing. I was just along to support Joe in his experience.
We got to our starting point and our guide, Henarae (a native Maori of New Zealand) gave us equipment to put on. Since I was not actually fishing, he gave me a jacket and a pair of thigh high waders to keep me protected from the high grasses and mud we would be trekking through to get to the fishing spot. Joe had waterproof pants and boots.
I should have known I was in trouble when I put those boots on. They were probably 4-5 sizes too big, I'm sure they were men's boots and my feet were all over the place inside them. As we started out on our 2+K walk I knew I was going to have a time walking in these boots. We were probably about 5 minutes into our trek when we came upon a narrow pathway that skirted the river on one side and had a fence on the other. Probably no more than 18 inches wide, if that. Henarae got through, Joe got through and then turned to warn me about being careful. Before I knew it I was slipping into the water! The current was pretty fast and I was starting to go with it. Joe and Henarae got to me very fast and got me out of the cold water quickly. I think I scared the *&%* out of them both!
We got to a flat place so I could sit down. My boots were full of water, my jeans were wet, my sweater was wet half way up and I had cuts on my fingers from trying to hold onto the fence and keep my balance. I think Joe was afraid that was it, no fishing. After emptying out my boots and bandaging my fingers I told the guys I was ready to go on. I certainly didn't want to give Joe the satisfaction of being able to tell everyone I was the cause of his not getting his fly fishing experience!
It was then that I realized that my camera that had been hanging around my neck was no longer functional. Luckily the backpack I was carrying with Joe's camera, his Blackberry, his wallet, the video camera had no water damage. My Blackberry however, didn't fair so well. It was in my front pocket of my jeans and is still drying out at I write. My camera is also drying out and I'm not sure if it will ever work again. The upside is that the video card was OK and I did salvage the few pictures I taken so far that day.
Our trek continued. Wet jeans, wet sweater, wet, soggy, too big boots, throbbing fingers and all! I did make it through the area were I fell in and off we went. It was all I could do to keep up with the guys. My boots were again full of water and my wet jeans were a little heavy. We were walking on narrow trails that were anything but level. It was slippery. My too big boots proved to be a great hindrance to me. My feet were sliding around the inside and the water didn't help any either. I guess I'm lucky I didn't turn an ankle because they were certainly suffering in those boots. I was glad when they finally selected their first spot to throw their lines in. By this time I was quite uncomfortable (a point I tried hard not to reveal to Joe).
As luck would have it our first stop was where Joe got his first fish. It took about ten minutes to get the fish in to the bank. I was able to video the whole process and take pictures along the way. After Joe and Henarae got a good look at the fish it was decided that it was a good catch and Henarae immediately cleaned it so we could have it for dinner. Rules are you can catch all you want as long as you release them back and you can keep one a day.
When Joe and I came to New Zealand we decided that we would each select things we most wanted to do. We both were pretty agreed that we wanted to take a helicopter ride over the mountains, fiords and glaciers near Queenstown, New Zealand on the South Island.
One of things Joe most wanted to do on this trip was to try his hand at trout fishing at one of the stops we had planned. Joe mentioned to our helicopter pilot that he was interested in fishing so he gave Joe contact information for his friend who happened to be a fishing guide.
On Tuesday morning we set out on a private, guided fishing trip about an hour outside of Queenstown. I was along strictly to document the experience. I had no desires to do any kind of fishing. I was just along to support Joe in his experience.
We got to our starting point and our guide, Henarae (a native Maori of New Zealand) gave us equipment to put on. Since I was not actually fishing, he gave me a jacket and a pair of thigh high waders to keep me protected from the high grasses and mud we would be trekking through to get to the fishing spot. Joe had waterproof pants and boots.
I should have known I was in trouble when I put those boots on. They were probably 4-5 sizes too big, I'm sure they were men's boots and my feet were all over the place inside them. As we started out on our 2+K walk I knew I was going to have a time walking in these boots. We were probably about 5 minutes into our trek when we came upon a narrow pathway that skirted the river on one side and had a fence on the other. Probably no more than 18 inches wide, if that. Henarae got through, Joe got through and then turned to warn me about being careful. Before I knew it I was slipping into the water! The current was pretty fast and I was starting to go with it. Joe and Henarae got to me very fast and got me out of the cold water quickly. I think I scared the *&%* out of them both!
We got to a flat place so I could sit down. My boots were full of water, my jeans were wet, my sweater was wet half way up and I had cuts on my fingers from trying to hold onto the fence and keep my balance. I think Joe was afraid that was it, no fishing. After emptying out my boots and bandaging my fingers I told the guys I was ready to go on. I certainly didn't want to give Joe the satisfaction of being able to tell everyone I was the cause of his not getting his fly fishing experience!
It was then that I realized that my camera that had been hanging around my neck was no longer functional. Luckily the backpack I was carrying with Joe's camera, his Blackberry, his wallet, the video camera had no water damage. My Blackberry however, didn't fair so well. It was in my front pocket of my jeans and is still drying out at I write. My camera is also drying out and I'm not sure if it will ever work again. The upside is that the video card was OK and I did salvage the few pictures I taken so far that day.
Our trek continued. Wet jeans, wet sweater, wet, soggy, too big boots, throbbing fingers and all! I did make it through the area were I fell in and off we went. It was all I could do to keep up with the guys. My boots were again full of water and my wet jeans were a little heavy. We were walking on narrow trails that were anything but level. It was slippery. My too big boots proved to be a great hindrance to me. My feet were sliding around the inside and the water didn't help any either. I guess I'm lucky I didn't turn an ankle because they were certainly suffering in those boots. I was glad when they finally selected their first spot to throw their lines in. By this time I was quite uncomfortable (a point I tried hard not to reveal to Joe).
As luck would have it our first stop was where Joe got his first fish. It took about ten minutes to get the fish in to the bank. I was able to video the whole process and take pictures along the way. After Joe and Henarae got a good look at the fish it was decided that it was a good catch and Henarae immediately cleaned it so we could have it for dinner. Rules are you can catch all you want as long as you release them back and you can keep one a day.
We continued further along the river for the next few hours. I was still wet and my boots were still full of water. I couldn't figure out where the water was coming from if I was emptying out the water along the way. Very absorbent material??? Anyway I sat while the guys fished and even brought along my Kindle so I could do some reading. Henarae even brought along lunch and coffee for us. It was an overcast day and every once in a while clouds would come in and it would sprinkle for a bit. What could it possibly matter when you are already wearing sopping wet jeans, right???!Joe caught a few more fish and threw them back. Henarae also gave us a lot of local information and history about our surroundings. He even showed us spots where there had been filming locations for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and also the movie Vertical Limit ( which he was an extra in).
Then it was finally time to head back to the car. I wasn't sure if I was going to make the trek back. By this time I was exhausted from fighting my over sized boots and wet clothes. As we got closer to the car I told Joe my legs felt like jello. It was all I could do to life up my feet. Plus the fact that I knew I had to again cross the section where I had fallen in. We finally reached the start and I was never so glad to get those things off my feet! My poor wrinkly, wet feet! A warm bath back at the hotel did a world of good to get me back to normal.
All in all, is was an OK day, I did survive. But the best part of it all was the look on Joe's face when he got that first fish. We took it to the chef at our hotel and he cooked up two filets - one pan fried with toasted almonds and lime and one pan fried with lime, cilantro, peppers and spinach. It was the most mouth-watering trout I've ever tasted. Better still because Joe caught it!
Love to all!
2 comments:
I LOVE this post!! But I felt so sorry for Mom.
Kim- This will be one of the best stories you tell years from now !!
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