Well hello again. . . Hey, I got the call to go fishing. . . . . So I hada smile on my face. . . . . It was a beautiful sunny day and the wind and weather was perfect for it. . . . . So after a quick coffee in the morning at my new favorite café / bar I met up with Allen the skipper down at the port. . . . It was just gonna be the 2 of us, but I was happy with that. . . . We jumped on board the boat and headed out. . . Allen was a really friendly guys with lots to talk about, so we got on really well. . . . . As it was just me and he normally charges a lot more for the boat charter I don't think we went out quite as far as he would normally, but reckoned we would still catch something. . . . . !

First stopped first at one of his hot spots and he showed me a new toy he had bought, an under water camera. . . .So he drops this thing down into the water and low and behold, there you go. . . the sea floor and some fishy's! They were only small spotty's, so nothing special, but we still dropped the lines in for a go. . . . . Nothing, nit even a bite. . . . !

So after trying there for a bit we headed further up the coast and saw a fishing trawler coming in followed by a mass of seagulls. . . . Also behind it the water seemed a bit strange. . . .?! On inspection after getting a bit closer we saw what it was. . . . . Dolphins. . . . . 30 to 40 of them. . . Now just early Allen had been telling me that he hadn't seen dolphins in the bay for years, so he was pretty chuffed to see them now! More chuffed than me really. . . . I wanted to fish! There were nice though and really playful jumping around the boat, etc. . . . .

We then headed to another spot and I dropped the line in thinking, "is it gonna be one of those days?" and bang, I got a bite, quickly yanked back on the rod and with a smile on my face said to Allen, "we got one"! After reeling it in (not for long - We weren't very deep) glee soon turned to glum as we realized that it was a spiky dog fish, sort of baby shark! Bit of a pain to get off the hook and not really good for eating, not like the Blue Cod I had been hoping for. . . . Still, can't complain, I caught a fish! Allen also pulled one in, then I pulled two in at once. . . . These were not the fish we wanted so we tried something different while having a coffee and let some lines out the back of the boat with spinners on. . . . ! Nothing from that either!

After a few more dog fish and no more luck spinning, the day was getting on and colder, so we called it a day. . . . All in all I was disappointed with the fishing, especially as it was the most expensive I have done yet, but the scenery 'as ever' was beautiful, the sun shined all day and Allen was a great bloke to chat to, so I suppose I did enjoy the day after all. . . . . !

Once back on dry land I didn't really have a plan of what I was doing, so headed back to the hostel I had been at and sat there for a while to plan my next move. . . . . I was thinking about staying another night, but had a rush of blood and decided to hit the road again and head to Picton. . . . . . . Picton can be a good base for doing some more walks, kayaking and / or visiting the Marlborough region winery's!

Well, I got to and stayed in Picton for the night and then decided to stay around here for a few days. . . . . Picton itself is a very small town with not much going on, however it is right next too the Marlborough sounds and so I have had a rush of blood again and booked to go fishing for half a day and then the next day a full day kayaking again! I know you must be thinking "Is he not getting bored off kayaking, walking and fishing"? Well guys, the answer is No! I cannot get enough of it. . . . I find it so peaceful on the water and very rewarding! I have also been on a bit of a walk up the hills around the town and visited a few remote spots. . . . ! There is also a very cozy Irish bar that sells a very nice pint of Guinness!

Well the following day didn't quite go to plan. . . . . Well, didn't go to plan at all actually. . . . The guy who said yes to me going fishing didn't quite explain himself properly and due to the fact that there were not enough people to go, hence just me, this didn't cover his costs (understandably), however, me waiting for possible others to turn up enabled me to do anything else, hence the day turning to poo. . . . . It happened to be a beautiful sunny day, perfect for fishing, but all I ended up doing was moping around felling sorry for myself because I didn't go fishing. . . . ! I did however get to another one of those small strange cinemas they seem to have here and watch a movie. . . . . Then chilled out for the rest of the evening in front of the well made wood fire (prepared by me) and read my book, followed by an early night for the next days events. . . .

The following day started as cold as the day before but didn't look as promising from a weather point of view but did look better from an outing point of view. . . I got picked up on time at the hostel by Ray, the kayak guide and taken to the launch area down at the harbour. We got kitted out as ever and loaded the kayaks into the water. I was paired up with a Finish girl called Heidi. Turns out she has done lots of kayaking before, so was excellent at paddling, etc. . . .

The weather didn't really improve and the sun didn't even make one appearance, however we weren't that bothered as the place was still beautiful and chilled. . . . . We saw some young juvenile seals playing, they were very nosy and came up to the kayaks to say Hi. . . . .! There was another couple kayaking with us on the same day, a newly wed couple from Australia on their honeymoon, however the girl thought it was a bit colder than what she had imagined when she booked it from a brochure many month ago. . . . . ! They were nice though and enjoyed the day also. . . !

When we got back and got to dry land, I decide to have a well deserved pint of Guinness on my way back to the hostel and ended up chatting with a nice old lady working the bar, she was already chatting to a guy when I walked in about worldly travel, as he was an Irish man doing a similar thing to me. . . . . Well, I say Irish man. . . . hmmmm, maybe not?!?! But I will get to that shortly. . . . . So, the conversation of world travel I could contribute to and did with some ease and the lady who had lived in New Zealand all her life was very much overwhelmed by all our stories. . . . But it wasn't until the chap got up and said he needed to get some cash when I noticed something a little strange about him. . . . . . And as he left the pub to find a cash machine and the lady said, "Well that's the first bloke I've seen with t***" it actually clicked. . . . . ! Yeah, the guy had boobs. . . . ? He came back and it all fell into place. . . . . Now don't get me wrong, sat down the guy looked like a guy, sounded like a guy and everything, but he had boobs?!?!?!

Now shortly afterwards I left as I wanted to get showered and such like after kayaking, but had planned to return that evening for the renowned green mussels and a few more pints of Guinness of course. . . . And on my return later that evening it turns out the guy / girl thingy introduced him / herself to the landlord as Jennifer. . . . Well there something for the local to talk about for a few weeks. . . . ?!?! A real man / woman. . . . . !

The evening was nice and chilled out. . . . . I kept myself entertained at the bar by drinking Guinness, ignoring the local drunks and reading my book, followed by the mussels that I think the chef didn't cook to well as they were not open enough?!?! Still they were very nice and the Guinness was a treat. . . . . I headed back to the hostel and here I am now. . . . ! Another leg of my journey is complete. . . . . The south island of New Zealand is done. . . . . . ! Off to the north island tomorrow, so let's see what joys that has to bring?!?!

Ciao for now people. . . . !