Now …tell me how apt is that?

These 2 girls piloting a “clinker” …

…the other day…well actually made my day really.

Guessing Competitions over…

…and locals already know….

where I was..

…and…exactly what I was up to.

Probably one of the most “singularly male “ things….

… that happens here down under. In a real serious “hunter/gather way” sort of way. And there was a result.

One of my best mates Brian smoked up my 2 kahawai and then as I had to rush off to an open home,

I took the risk of leaving them on the kitchen counter.

Luck seemed to favour me this day…because once entering the home after the Open House ….guess what….all was as it was!

The absolutely fabulous….

 

……smoked fish was still there…and let me tell you it was (using that adjective again) absolutely and simply….in one word…..supremely delicious!!

Guess what I was doing yesterday morning…

as the sun arose over Nelson?

Thinking about parking the boat up on an Island…

….yet this vista above is only 420m from the main shoreline on Rocks Road.

And from the centre of Nelson….well from the NCC building to be precise…. its actually just under 2.3km driving/walking to get there to that shoreline point. You could probably swim across then to Haulashore Island as many locals do as part of there “daily exercise regime.”

Really annoyed that I missed this…

 

….but unfortunately business called ……

…looks like they were having fun… 

and this is all I got…

….out of a situation that this was taken much earlier in the day.

Am thinking climbing that rigging must be a highlight of a voyage on this beauty.

 

Hacked off that I missed a “photo opportunity” of a lifetime….but there was more…

I’m talking about the boat “Lord Nelson” in Port Nelson, Nelson and then the fact that around about the same time……our Royal NZ airforce decide to fly a Hercules above on practice approach to Nelson airport.

I’d prefer to call it “timing.”

But because of a phone call I missed that crucial “all in the photo at once” opp!

One thing though is that the whole thing did not mattered to everyone …..

The Lord Nelson has some fantastic ideals for young folk.

Nelson being one of the first NZ Companies settlements in this part of the Antipodes actually owes its name to him said above.

Check these links to find out more …...

http://aus.jubilee-sailing-trust.com/?gclid=CIjihcy89boCFVKFfgodNC8Ang

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/225963/tall-ship-lord-nelson-sets-sail

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/9412482/Lord-Nelson-sails-in-to-emotional-welcome

http://www.atseasailtraining.com/177/ships/43/lord-nelson.html

Just can’t trust the “inter-webs” it seems…

……as I found out today…(well actually really only when I double checked tonight…) …..unfortunately this was extenuated by “a particular person” who at this stage in life has “decided” they don’t need…

….(even though its plainly obvious that they do) …..need glasses!

TRANSLATED into English, from memory….what it was meant to say was something like this …   

Why is the bill so high, it was just to change a pane of glass?

Was a real busy day today… in fact real real busy one…..its been that way for the last 48 - 72hrs non-stop.

So for once I let my guard down… mistakenly ….and now, regrettably, relied on, implicitly trusted in fact, my voice dictation via Google on my mobile phone via my hands-free mobile kit,  to get it right. Plainly it seems….todays mission can not be qualified as a successful sortie….in other words we did not accomplish this at all!

But I’m thinking the photos allow you to get the ghist of what I’m talking about?

Big Show on the water

just before lunch Monday as FSPO Raroa leaves Port Nelson.

You know I love Nelson, but can I say..

…central Otago is just drop dead gorgeous at this time of year.

They say NZ has more sheep than peoples…

….and to act as re-enforcement on our mini South Island Road Trip last week was this sight…

can I say “it brings home the bacon?”

How many sheep can you count?

I also learnt for the 1st time..

…that Garston is…well I’ll let the photo explain…but gotta admit its also happens to have a real neat Honey Shop,

just across the road from this …oh so…retro NZ pub.

And at the same time, out the corner of my lens, I happen to note the town has a neat old building too.

NZs got fish…and then…

…its got “big fish”…and as one of my best mates Brian will tell you…they grow them big down south! A pic from last weeks mini South Island road trip. And where was it taken… well I think you can work that out.

“Bliss” is apparently the most popular image…

….numerically down-loaded wise (I’m guessing for desktop backgrounds) currently still in the whole wide world.

I love a challenge, so what better time is it to offer up my proudest pulling off to the side of the road with your wife screaming “what the h*ll are you doing on the 100 km/h Main Rd”  New Zealand country side shots…..

Keen eyed observers will note this is a “slightly” Kiwi perspective to these photos…but being there in the moment…it was just glorious …..

Never before in my Nelson (or anywhere actually) life have I…

seen so many

obviously “fish” in these spots

I say obviously fish because I am 100% sure

that surely is the only reason why

there are thousands and

thousands of seabirds hanging around.

Seasoned & “old timer” judged opinion today seems to be of the belief …

…its Kahawai stock that is chasing the

bait fish into the shallows…but man there

was just so many of them (what you see just above the underwater rocks in the above photo is 10’s of thousands of small fry…and I reckon all up there must have been millions in The Haven today …. and yesterday too I’m told)

that late this afternoon…

and adding to the excitement is another thing I’ve never ever seen along Rocks Rd,

a NZ Govt. fishery officer…

…but not just one,

but at least 3! handing out “handy min/max length catch” fishing guides.

Unfortunately this series of pics really does it no justice, you really had to be there to experience mother nature in her utmost abundance!

Seems local News Media finally thought it was worth a mention!!! too.

Kind of the fact that I reckon it was a “once in a lifetime” (I’ve prolly had 7-8 old timers tell me this in the last 36 hrs) visual. Here is their report…..

http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/9390258/Fish-frenzy-draws-a-crowd