Lovely fishing and another car story
Trip Start
Jan 24, 2012
1
10
29
Trip End
Ongoing
Otago Penninsula, Otago, New Zealand
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Later we said goodbye to the city of Dunedin, heading south towards an area called the Catlins on a two-lane road lined with fields full of grazing sheep and gently rolling hills. Amazingly, we did not stop once for birdwatching or photography, arriving at our campground in late afternoon.
Our campground is really isolated, far off the main road and away from houses. I write at 8 pm, sitting comfortably on the ground beside the Tawanui River. It is still totally light out, the sun doesn't set here until close to 9:30. The tent is set up in a clearing in the forest, at a spot only a 30 second walk from the river. Joe has disappeared again to fish. Unlike the last river he tried, this is much slower and narrower. It was mentioned in the guidebook as being a good river for catching trout.I haven't heard any exuberant shouting so I suspect he has not yet caught "the big one."
With my backpack behind me, I am content to sit and do nothing, happy to watch the river flowing past while listening to the soothing music of the water. I may write some, read some, daydream some. Across from me, beyond the steep bank, there are more rolling fields of green, dotted with what at first glance look like rocks. Upon further investigation though, it is obvious they are sheep. Sheep, sheep and more sheep. They are a constant in this New Zealand landscape. It is a great spot to whittle away a chunk of time.
...later. Joe returned with a smile to say he caught two brown trout. "This BIG!" he showed me when I asked, spreading his hands apart several generous feet in the way typical of fisherman everywhere. I smile, glad he has finally had some luck!
"Time is the most valuable thing a person can spend.": --Euphrates
