The Sounds

Despite living in Motueka for two years, we never made a trip to the Sounds, and now having been there I'm not sure why. We went to the Sounds to go fish for three days with Aamon, Wendy, their kids and Stu (a family friend), and they are truly stunning. Very much the New Zealand one sees in ads; stunningly clear turquoise water, steep green hills diving into the bay, rocky islands. But instead of being at a motor camp, or surrounded by tourists, we were renting a bach for a few nights in Okiwi Bay, a small fairly isolated hamlet with only a few permanent occupants. Its well known to locals, but off the beaten track enough that its pretty much just Kiwi families that visit to do a bit of fishing, like Aamon, Wendy and kids do a few times a year. My parents went with them a few years ago, and the invitation to join them and Stu was much appreciated this time around. There's nothing like spending intensive time with small children to make one appreciate life, and a few days of fishing, entertaining the young, swimming and eating haphazardly was just what the doctor ordered.

While Aamon and Wendy own their own (inherited) boat, we were on a rental with Stu, who luckily is an inveterate fisherman. He grew up in the area, and regaled us with tips and stories from the fishing he's done in the Sounds over the decades. In addition to fishing we also went scalloping, which Aamon was particularly excited about since the scallop beds have moved closer to shore this year and yielded an unprecedented bounty. According to Stu, though, which the Sounds have not always been known for scallops. Back in the day people didn't really care for or go after them, including Stu and his mates. Then one day, Stu and a few guys were out fishing and noticed another fisherman coming out fo the sounds with a fully laden boat full of sacks. Although he evaded their questions, they could see that the sacks were full of scallops and it piqued their interest. The next day they followed him out and noticed where he was having such luck pulling in scallops, and resolved to go out themselves. When they were successful as well, they told a few other people, like Stu's father, who told a few other people; and you can guess where it went from there. Last weekend, there were over a hundred boats out scalloping, many very successfully.

Our luck scalloping was mixed. The first day, almost nothing. We tried here, there, but only got dribs and drabs. It was enough, however, for me to have my first taste of fresh, raw scallop, scooped from its shell right there in the boat by Stu and rinsed with sea water. My god. I've rarely tasted anything more delicious. Hunger sharpened by sea air and sun, the scallop tasted light, creamy, like ocean foam and faintly sweet, with maybe a hint of apricot. It just melted. It was absolutely perfect. Luckily we got some insider advice for the next day, and our haul was much better, allowing me the privilege of trying cooked scallops as well (just lightly seared in butter, insists my father, or you ruin them. I think he's right). I like the roe better cooked, but the scallop body better raw; either way they are delicious.

But back to fishing. I've been freshwater fishing before, but never in the ocean. It was a complete mystery to me the way that Stu would choose a location to fish; I think it had something to do with depth, and something else to do with the proximity of rocks, but I could be wrong. Yet the first time that he handed me a baited rod, cast it out and gave me a few instructions, I caught the first Cod of the day! Success so early in the game had me hooked (sorry for the obvious pun, but I couldn't resist), and I was quite happy to go for hours. Really, I can see why people do like fishing. Out on the ocean, casting and reeling, waiting for bites, re-baiting hooks then casting again, its meditative and soothing. There's also periods of adrenaline, and periods of sheer beauty.

I returned from the Sounds exhausted by the sun, wind and children, but very satisfied. That night we attended a 7-course Greek-themed going away dinner for our family friends' daughter, complete with plenty of ouzo and wine. And tomorrow, I'm off to start my biking to Picton, to take the ferry to Wellington and soon to Auckland to take the GRE. The adventures never end! Wish me luck on by bike journey; its the longest I'll have ever taken.

And in rememberance of David, whose wake we attended today, a story from my mother. She asked David - a renowned and talented woodworker - for advice on how to get rid of scratches on one of their nicer cutting boards. Smiling, "you know what they are," he replied, "memories". Thanks for everything, David.