Gone Fishing

Those of you who are well acquainted with me will probably realise that I would not know coarse fishing from polite fishing, a juggler from a jiggler, and as for a tackle boxes; aren’t they a form of protection used in cricket! You would also know that I am not ‘good’ on boats. By that I mean, I have a tendency to turn a shade of ‘apple white’, and tense up before breaking out in a cold sweat; even when crossing on the Sandbanks chain ferry. Therefore, you would be surprised to hear that I went away on a boys only fishing weekend.

The trip started with a three hour drive down to Kurow. Once there we dropped our bags off and went to the pub to meet up with the others who had already spent the day fishing. Subsequently, the rest of Friday was spent drinking, talking s#*t and watching the televised rugby (Canterbury v Auckland). Strangely enough, my ‘one eyed’ Cantabrian colleagues were rather quiet watching the game down in the rival province of Otago. After getting a lift back to our accommodation, courtesy of the pub, we stood around the leaner (see the forthcoming article on kiwiana) in front of the open fire drinking, talking more S#*t and trying some of the catch of the day. The drink flowed and so did the laughs and bulls#*t, all resulting in a good night!

It was hard to tell whether the lovely 1970s decor was ironic or authentic

Even though three boats were towed down to Lake Waitaki and Lake Aviemore, Mark (a fellow Selwyn Green hockey player) and myself had no real intention to spend Saturday cramped up on a boat dangling sticks in the water, drinking flasked tea. We had bigger and better plans; even though, we were quite prepared to enjoy the fish later in the evening. We decided to sample the finer things in life so made a two hour trip from Kurow to Bannockburn. There are a number of wineries around this area and as I kept hearing this part of Otago is known as ‘Pinot Country’.

It must be said that wine was never something I fully appreciated but I have been on a few wine tasting trips now (and I don’t mean Yates Wine House on a Saturday night) so can certainly taste the difference between a $6 and $30 bottle of wine. So, Chantal no more bottles of Queen Adelaide or Banrock Station, please, as a lovingly crafted bottle of Pinot Noir will be far more appreciated.

We visited some good wineries: Mt Difficulty, Akarua and Carrick; but the best thing was the fact that I was the passenger! That meant I was able to sample as many wines, as I wished… so I did! Rieslings, chardonnays, cabernet sauvignons, pinot noirs. And just for extra ponciness points, I indulged in a yummy cheese platter accompanied by a generous glass of Pinot Noir. Needless to say, I felt quite drowsy on the return journey.

Having lunch at Mt Difficulty Winery is a tough task!

Of course once we were back in Kurow we headed straight to the pub. Being in New Zealand, more rugby had to be watched and as more drink was had the s#*t began to flow again...

Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture so I can confirm that the well worn phrase, ‘Gone Fishing’ is basically a euphemism for ‘drinking trip’.