Taupo

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I was excited and a little nervous to get behind the wheel of my new (17 yr old) Subaru. I had test drove a couple cars in New Zealand so I had a feel for driving on the left hand side of the road, but negotiating round-a-bouts and surprise one lane bridges on the highway is another story! Ha I had a couple close calls but made it down to Tuapo without any major incidents. It was well after dark on a Sunday evening when I arrived and I found the Flashpacker Hostel was one of the few that was still open, so I booked a dorm and went in search of food. I was looking forward to driving around town rather than having to walk but when I tried the key, there was no response! No interior lights and it didn’t want to start! Bummed out, but to tired and hungry to care, I walked to a nearby Burger Fuel to vent my frustrations on one their famous greasy burgers. When I got back to the car I found a loose battery terminal under the hood accounting for a dead battery and a blown fuse keeping my lights from working. I was up early the next morning expecting a long day of sorting things out, but it turned out that the hostel owner had a battery charger, and two hours later with my battery and new fuses installed I was ready to try it again…no worries mate! With all of my mechanical skills exhausted I crossed my fingers and started off for the Waitahanui River for some much anticipated, New Zealand fly-fishing.

The first stop was The Waitahanui River. It is a spring fed creek that holds a lot of big brown trout from Lake Taupo, but it is swift and narrow with large palmed bushes and trees lining the banks making the fishing tough. After a slow day there, I spent the following 3 days fishing the Hinemaiaia and the Tauranga Taupo Rivers, while harassing the local fly shops for tips. They all suggested different fly’s but the same basic technique of using two fly’s at once; the second fly being tied directly to the hook of the first. In principle, two hooks work better than one, but they also snag twice as many things... other than fish. 😊 The streams were nice and reminiscent of home and while my luck was getting better I had yet to land one of the big fish that I kept seeing tailing away from me in the pools of clear water. Next stop was the acclaimed Tongariro River which is one of the best fly-fishing spots in New Zealand. The fish I had caught up to this point were modest, but with a light-weight rod, had proved to be a handful to actually land and so a lot of fun to catch. Within an hour of my first morning on the Tongariro, my luck finally changed, I had a fish on my line that I initially mistaked for a snag! It was the first of many nice fish that I would eventually land while I spent the next three days with the river all to myself. It was perfect setting with a cool mountain mornings, light summer breezes and rolling hills upon hills on the distant horizon; the perfect ending to an amazing week of fishing world class streams.

I spent most evenings camping around the town of Te Rangita, which is on the East Coast of Lake Taupo. I was graced with rain free days and clear, starry skies for all 7 nights. Not all were ‘legal’ campsites but I had no troubles, only early mornings of skating out to avoid complications.

My experience with the local New Zealanders has been nothing but good. The people are genuine, caring and helpful; from driving directions, a free battery charge or just stopping to talk, it has been a great experience. With that said, the camper’s hospitality is 2nd to none! I was often invited over to other camps for all I could eat and drink dinners accompanied with crazy stories and lots of laughs. I was eager to repay the favor, and happily served up fresh caught fish with an unlimited supply of box wine, always well received! Good good times and something I’ll do again soon!

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Comments

[Cob]

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I'm so Jealous that I'm not even going to leave a decent comment....congrats on the job!

[Chris Donato]

To quote Doc Holiday
What do you think, darlin', should I hate him? ........ That is awesome. Keep the pics coming.

[Off Again]

haha...thanks brother! Hawkins just happens to have a public spaces division....

[Off Again]

Hey Chris! Good to hear from you! I need one of your custom rods down here, the 5/6 wt isn't gonna cut it with salmon!

[Jeff]

Glad to see that you are putting all those lessons that I gave you to good use! Nice Fish. Congrats.

[Off Again]

Thanks Jeffy! Good to hear from you!