Haast, South Island, New Zealand
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Haast turned out to be our southernmost NZ stop due to time constraints - we knew we wouldn't make it all the way around the perimeter of the South Island and this turned out to be the point at which we had to stop heading south. No problem - by this point, we had also learned the truth in the advice we received from the camper-van-Dude that there's no point rushing around to cover more ground - it's all good and you don't want to burn up a lot of time driving. And, "it just gives you a another good reason to come back," which is the truth as well. The camper park owner in Haast pointed us to a good fishing spot that turned out to be just that - great scenery but no fish. We were living what we had been told and had lived many times before - to catch our particular quarry (running salmon) you needed to be in the right spot at dawn or dusk when the tide was right, and then have the good fortune of running your lure in front of the nose of a salmon inclined to attack it (the salmon don't feed once they start up the rivers, they just attack for reasons no one in NZ seems to have bothered to understand). But, we've also found that fishing with the kids is a great cheap date and a great way to see a country where there's not much going on besides incredible terrain. It gives you something besides the economy to talk about with your fellow pub patrons; it then gives you another hot lead to chase down in your camper van (curiously always about a day's drive away from your pub friend's home river); then you have a healthy hike and an excuse to stand one spot and take in the scenery while you work up a large hunger and thirst. If you happen to catch a fish, all the better. And if you rarely catch a fish, it becomes very, very exciting when you do, and even a trout can taste good. (Most NZers treat trout like we treat carp or bluefish - "Mate, we'll keep a salmon for sure but not a trout - we toss them back." They look at you like you look at someone who eagerly takes your carp home to cook. And, no, it's not because there aren't plenty of trout here.)
