Nelson & Hanmer Springs

Fishing
for Christmas

Regardless of where or exactly how you celebrate it, the world over Christmas is about family. Being apart from that is hard. The one saving grace was that down here in the Southern hemisphere with lots of hot sunny weather and no snow it did not feel like Christmas time. It kinda felt like the holidays just never came this year, except for my Mom's delecious sugar cookies which somehow found me on the other side of the globe.

I met back up with Mike in Nelson where he had been hanging out with Kris, Bruce, and their little darling 7 month old daughter Ayva. Mike and I simply chilled out with the newest Patterson family for a couple days just hanging out, watching Ayva, and relaxing. Being wonderfully generous they spoiled us with free food and shelter. Then on the 23th Mike and I set off for a short 2 day fishing trip.

From Nelson we drove towards Murchison and fished the Waimui River and Owen River along the way, but did not have any luck [TOP: Mike fishing the Owen River]. Then we took a dirt road South out of Murchison along the Matakitaki River where we found a camp spot for the night. In the morning on the 24th we fished the Matakitaki River, but still came up empty. So in the afternoon we pushed on down the marginal dirt road and up over a pass to drop into the Maruia River valley. We fished the Maruia River until dusk and saw some giant fish. But, they were incrediably spooky and bloted if the slightest thing was out of place. Skunked for our fishing trip we drove on to Hanmer Spring and got in around 10:00pm to the Patterson's vacation home.

Kris and Bruce had been kind enough to invite us to spend Christmas with the rest of the Patterson clan in Hanmer Springs [LEFT: Christmas Morning; LtoR: Catherine, Josh, Tyler, Megan, Susan, Harry, Ayva, Kris, and Debra]. Their whole family, around 15 people stong, gathers together for 3 to 4 days of holiday festivities. We were immediately welcomed right into the family, given a place to stay, and kept very well fed. Over the next several days Mike and I hung out with the family, drank with the family, played tenis with the family, discussed every topic under the sun with the family, went to the hotsprings with the family, and indulged in lots of delicious food with the family. It was a great family holiday, and it was really nice to be included. I just wish it had been my family.

Anyways, after the holiday festivites Mike and I went out for one last try at fishing in New Zealand. We drove up over a pass and fished the Clarence River. It was a small warm river cutting a winding path through pastureland. We did not have any luck at first, but eventually Mike keyed into the fact that the fish were going for his indicator. So, we switched to dry flies and bam... we got fish. Not many still, but we caught fish. Mike caught 3 and I managed 1 and a half. The first was a beautiful Brown Trout that I pulled out of a big slow pool. Not as big as the monsters that Mike caught earlier in the trip, but a respectable 10 to 12 inch trout none the less [BELOW: Me with my solo fish]. The second was slightly smaller and he broke the line just as I reached down to take the hook out, so I only count him for a half.

It was a great note to finish up our time in New Zealand with. Catching one fish in 4 days of fishing is not good, but it is a lot better than catching no fish. Overall, despite the rough start, really enjoyed my time in New Zealand and I look forward to being able to come back someday.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from
NELSON & HANMER SPRINGS]