Leaving it all on the field

The heels are gone on my wading boots. The blisters reformed atop old ones. You know the drill. Today, we walked 25 3/4 km of a small stream (Google Earth). At the end of the day, once we made and cleared the gate that locks for the night as the employee was there to lock it (2 minutes later and we'd spend the night), a wave came over us both. We're exhausted. 11 weeks of fly fishing, on the water 8 of every 9 days, fighting the elements tooth and nail or glowing in its gifts, it came to an end. On a trip in which we walked closer to 1000km of water than I ever thought possible, we gave it our best. We've certainly learned much once again. We enjoyed each other, laughed, cried, disliked each other for fleeting moments, loved each other more than ever, you name it. In 11 weeks of intense fly fishing, intense pursuit, in physically demanding circumstance, we're done. And we'll certainly have tales to share, photos on display, and a video project or two in development soon.


Today's adventure took us to another small stream. We were supposed to swim with dolphins on the coast, but the 60 to 80kmh winds fated us elsewhere. In swells like that do you want to swim with the dolphins or puke on them?

In a repeat performance of the past 5 or 6 weeks, we touched every fish we saw. And we certainly picked the right bit of water to have a go with. A long hike, certainly, but we knew what was to come as a reward. It ended very well. A couple of the fish from our last day...

Amelia landed this nice brown from a foot of water in the tailout of a small pool. As much a gimmie as you'll come across. An easy cast and the take was wonderful with a good fish. In that 7 - 7.5 pound range.

Then there was this one. I was high on a bank looking into the run (behind me in the photo). It was painfully obvious there had to be a fish against the bank. Sure enough, tight to the grass, this one glowed green in the blue water, sitting there waiting for something to do. It was an awesome day, with several such trout.

We'll post much of our trip once we return. A day or two in Christchurch and hop the plane... home. Did I mention we're exhausted? What a gift this year's trip was. Simply epic. By far the best of the trips to New Zealand. We leave not hating going home. We come home fulfilled, bushed, energized, revitalized, simply excited at the road ahead.

Cheers & Talk to you soon.

D & A