Thread: Kaikoura snorkel / spearfish trip

Like sea water:thumbdown:

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Like sea water:thumbdown:

Depends if I'm diving LOL

Good luck guys, may the weather gods shine down on thee!

Thanks guys for a great weekend , and dinner last night doesn't get any better . if anyone has an offer or opportunity to get out with VC or Stingray do ! , they truly are good bastards ! .

Awesome weekend.
Cheers Stingray and Munsey.
Good barstards :thumbup:

A fantastic weekend with some of life's true gentlemen,fathers and husbands.
Munsey , Cam a huge thanks for a epic weekend.

I will file a report later, but let say we did some miles swum some miles, yarned dived saw NZ at its best

Sounds like a great weekend, with better than top hotel grub

Well here's a run down with out pic's sorry I'm not much of a photgrapher so fingers crossed Cam may post some.

It all started with a P.M from Munsey setting plans in place.. seemed like it took forever for the weekend arrive.

Thursday 7th .. finshed work late, played hockey home to pack ... pack, un-pack, check repack... pace, pace, roll over, roll over, sleep beep beep!!! yay

Friday 8th... A casual start and trip to the coast with a stop to visit family saw us catch up with the young folk at about 11am as they were finishing a swim at the spot we picked over last weekend. Same story this week heaps of small stuff not worth stirring up.So down the coast a bit saw us a spot we havent dived for 6 months. The young folk rock hopped about 200 yards north of our normal entry point while I geared up. I headed in and swam out to where the vis cleared and started hunting as Blake comes around the corner with a grin from ear to ear "got 4 beauts".. great!! now the presure was on the old man..up down up down (free diving)... small stuff again ... next thing ..."hey dad give us a hand" ... little shit was diving turf I swam past and had a cray in each bloody hand, "theyre just sitting in the weed dad" what are ya doing?? need glasses or something??.... mutter mutter.

So an hour later were on the hard taking stock of their mornings efforts 3 butters, a handful of paua and 9 crays... bout then the MAF (now relabled as Minstry of Primary Industries) pulls in for a yarn and a look (she was hard case, bloody good sort) shot the breeze with her for a bit then hunger pushed us south to Kaikoura for a feed and regroup.

Sorted the accomadation for Lis and I and caught up with the young folk (20th birthday weekend differnt accomadation) and headed down the coast. Having people coming to get amoungst it tommorrow we opted for a new spot. We found some blue water and made our way through the mob of seals and into the tide at low water shit it was still deep it took less than 5 mins for Curly to have his hand in the air with a keeper, well hell even I managed one then two ..bugger me a third, Blake peeled out a couple of butters and curly forgot about the crays and headed off for a hunt. That was me I left them to it it was 6pm I was nackered and was wanting a cold one.

We waited till the lads had finished sorted ourselves and made a sort of plan for Sat and then went out seperate ways.Got the pad cracked a beer looked around the park nup no camo wearing blokes to seen, so headed for a shower ran into a lady ( turns out to be Mrs Munsey I find out later) how ya going etc.. a hour later back at the pad Lis & I are dealing with a feed of fish & chips and a cold one when a bloke comes to the door... I meet Cam!

We wander over and I meet Munsey!! ( two fine looking gentlemen). They've being out setting cray pots so a plan for Saturday is hatched and after a yarn... Bed.

Saturday.. up Munsey and Cam are gone sorting the cray pots. So a coffie and wander around camp till the agreed time of 9am kick off.. trucks loaded kids gear etc and gone north up the coast through the sea mist to a spot that normaly is protected from swell. Arrive to find a meter swell rolling through but nothing to serious.. bit of a chin wag ,sort out, and were in the tide.

Munsey's off hunting butters, Cam heading for the wild blue younder, me trying to find crays, Lis floating around mask leeking and not feeling the best (it was like swimming in a washing machine near the rocks). Lis heads in and Cam yells out he's found the rock loaded with paua.. Beauty.. I head over to grab my catch sack and paua knives by the time I get to Cam he's amoungst the rocks getting a work out. Try as we might we can't get back on the paua and half an hour later we pull the pin. I arrive at the beach to find the team yarning to the Maf bloke was kind of hard to measure a empty catch sack eh.. Damn.. Maf bloke told us that the swell south was the same but the water was clearier so up camp and down the coast

11 am past the young folk minus a couple bodies apperantly the beer devil got'm the night before, they were prospecting some new turf, we had a quick yarn and I took the crew further down the coast. Back in the water minus Lis, out into the tide with better vis and onto the crays, tried to get Cam on to em but his ears were giving him grief, he could get down but not stay there. by the time I had mucked around the crays had gone back and with a swing and a miss I managed to scare em even futher back..

We dived the shit out of this spot got a hand full of paua and I eventualy snagged a cray, made the call to finish the day with getting a decent feed of paua but not before Cam and the kids gave a big old crab a tussel (good humor). South again in the water with the tide out we struggled with the bull kelp. Munsey got amongst em it took a bit of measuring but once he had his eye in he hooked out some beauts in waist deep water. That was it for us, time for home, back to camp we cleaned the paua and Cam and Munsey took the cray pots out for another soak, then they set about cooking up the hell feed crays , scallops , whitebait , venison we ate the tucker straight off the hot plate dusted in salt and down your neck. Fantastic!!!

Dusk became evening the kids were put to bed (no rocking required they had done some miles) the fire lit and chairs pulled up, yarns told beers washed down an amazing tea untill bodies worn thin by a day in the tide needed to find a soft pillow and a warm blanket to.

Sunday they arose to sea mist on the ground with dam near zero vis Cam and Munsey went out to collect the cray pots , they had to use the snail trial of the GPS and slowly make their way to the pots. They got home safe and sound with 3 crays one was a beaut. so smiles all round. Then came the eventual clean up , pack and good byes and next times!!

Lis drove me north back up the coast as I watched a calm and clear sea, we stopped for a break and I stood looking at the sea my mind willing me to get amongst it one more time and my body saying "I don't bloody think so". To be honest I was knackered, so we watched a bloke suit up and jump into the tide and 10 mins later wave a butterfish at me.. I had time enough to think what an amazing part of the contry we live in surrounded by warm welcoming shareing people. A huge thankyou to Cam, Munsey, Lis, wives and the kids.

Till next time!!

Sounds like a bloody good weekend! Nice write up Stinger

Well written and keen to do again , and main thing was the mrs loved it too

Yea great weekend. Kids loved it and were well knackered:thumbup:
Wife even enjoyed herself.
Cheers guys.

Cool picks VC did you see any baby seals in the pick of the water fall ?

Was only a couple up there, couldnt catch them in a pic phone to slow to take pic.
Kids enjoyed watching them.

Shit!