New Zealand, three years in a row… I feel very blessed! I have been pondering where I wanted to go with this post as there is so much I could say (and bore you all with) but I really feel like so much of it has been said over and over again, so I have decided to go with a slightly different approach.
Friendships, Trout Cottages, and Fish!
I have been lucky enough to make some really good friends in New Zealand. I give many thanks to this site for introducing one of those friends, Mr. Simon Chu. He has been responsible for most of the others I have made there. There is Tony at Overland rentals. http://www.overland.co.nz/ We have rented (hired) our vehicle from Tony for the past three years and I could not recommend him enough. He goes above and beyond to make sure you are taken care of and even takes time out of his busy life to come fishing with you!
Then there is Greig Cousins from the North Island. Became instant friends with this guy. Just one of those people who you feel like you have known forever. Plus the guy has a photo album of fish that have been caught by him and his mates over the years that would leave the best of us with our jaws on the floor!
And of course Simon Chu. There is no one quite like him. He is a very kind hearted fish nut, period! He has gone out of his way to make our experience in NZ nothing but the best. My only hope is he comes to visit us someday so I can repay him!
The Trout Cottage is something that should be a part of everyone’s lives. If there were more Trout Cottages there would be no war because you forget that the rest of the world even exists. I have two favorite Trout Cottages in New Zealand, Trout Cottage North and Trout Cottage South. Both are unique in their own separate ways but there are things they both have in common, the welcome feeling you feel the second you walk in the door. There are addictions everywhere your eyes look. Fish porn, fly rods of all shapes and sizes, fly reels, flies and tying stuff, magazines, books, more fish porn…whew! It might just be a little slice of heaven. These cottages are also a place where your face hurts from smiling so much, where stories are swapped, strategies are formed, plans are made and beer is drank! Everything you eat at the Trout Cottage tastes like it was the best meal you have ever had (A long day of hiking and hunting trout enhances the taste buds) and the only time you are concerned with time is knowing what time you are leaving in the morning to go fishing!
I could go on forever about the Trout Cottage, but I think you all get the point.
New Zealand is rugged, very rugged. I think EVERY fly fishing gear company out there should use New Zealand as the standard for how their gear with stands these rugged conditions. I have lots of opinions about gear I think matches up and the stuff that needs to go back to the drawing board, but I won’t go there with this post.
The fishing can also be very tough at times in NZ. Sure, there are places you can go where the numbers are high and are better than average, but the places I enjoy the most are the ones where you are the hunter and the trout are the hunted. These are the places where you have to spot the fish before it spots you. Where you hike for miles each day to get a good shot a dozen fish that would all be the fish of most people’s life time and where you may go home with nothing because the fish where simply not interested in a single fly you had in your box. There are lots of victories, but for each one of those there are 5 agony’s of defeat! One thing for sure every day you are left smiling and wanting more!
New Zealand is a photographers dream, a troutaholic’s paradise, and the only place I would want to live besides Montana. I hope all of you that this sounds good too gets the chance to go someday.
Now on with the pictures!
Here is Tony the guy I hire my car from. Great guy and a good mate. He has the hunting bug as bad as the fishing bug and got this red stag the day before we had to leave the south island.
My first brown of the trip. Not huge but he ate a dry so I was happy!
The hook up, the net, and the pose. Greig is the man!
Spot the fish, hook the fish, get your picture taken with the fish. Seems easy…right?
One great mate with another great mate. The battle that took place and the chase that ensued to land this fish was priceless! I think the smiles say it all!
And lastly I leave you with the scenery. Each day brings a new look and peace to your sole. It is an amazing place…
Joel
