May 28th - Ted lands a BIG ONE

Today. I should let Ted tell you about today….

If you don’t already know, New Zealand is considered to have the world’s best fly fishing. The area around Taupo, where we stayed last night, is considered the best area to go. Yesterday I contemplated whether or not to take the dive and spend the cash on a fly fishing guide. The Taupo area is very touristy, so the cost is very high and pretty shocking. I was about to go on without taking the chance to fish is this great area, but my GREAT wife talked me into spending the money for a guide. We signed up for a half-day at one of the local fly fishing shops. We left this morning at 7:30 with our guide Leon. He was a fairly young guy that was in love the outdoors and very enthusiastic about fly fishing. He took us to a river called Waitakoto river. For the first hour, he spent some time with Britt and I showing us how to cast and fish the river and for New Zealand trout. After getting the hang of things, we trekked back to area of the river that had several large pools where the fish like to hide. Leon hiked up the side of the cliff to see if he could see any fish. Luckily, he sighted a couple in one of the pools. He told me where to place my fly and be ready for the fish to strike. After the first cast, WHAM! The fish went running downstream and flopping in the water. It was amazing the power the fish had. Several mintues later, Leon was able to net the fish. Below you can see a picture of the 18”, 4 lb rainbow trout that I landed. A beautiful fish.

Leon showing me how to hold the fish (I really did catch this fish!!!)
Me holding the fish (Britt picture taking skills needs some work - The picture just doesn't give it justice)

Unfortunately, Britt did not have the same luck (or skill as I would call it) as I did. Better luck next time. I will still give her half the credit for the fish as she talked me into going. THANKS!!!!

Random notes:

From our first night stay at a B&B, we found it interesting how much New Zealander’s know about our current events. We carried on a lengthy conversation about politics, mainly Hillary and Obama. What was even more surprising was the fact that last night after we posted our blog, we had the local news on. They had a quick clip on tornado’s in the Midwest, even mentioning Northeast Iowa and showed video of a tornado in Hugo Minnesota. Who knew we would hear about Iowa halfway around the world.

There are approximately 38 million sheep in New Zealand and 6 million cows. Ted and I believe we’ve seen all but a few thousand of the 6 million cows…..

Theresa…you were right. Day 4 and Ted and I have talked about everything we could think of. Car rides, if I’m awake, are turning into memorizing Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and Rascal Flatts (although I have the last two memorized) songs.

Good news. Ate a quick lunch at McDonald’s today and they have regular “tomato sauce”. I should’ve asked for a sack full. Maybe it was just the restaurant we ate at? Time will tell. When I ordered our meal, Ted told me that locals will put beets on hamburgers. Not knowing if they did at McDonald’s, I asked the cashier for two cheeseburgers w/out beets and onion. What we got was a hamburgerless sandwich. She must’ve thought I said without beef…

I think Ted is starting to believe he’s now a race car driver. You should see the smile on his face as he speeds (you didn’t read that word Mom) around the curves. Feels like we’re driving in the Rocky Mountains constantly!

We're now in Waitomo Caves. Tomorrow, we will get to partake in the Waitomo Caves adventure. It should be interesting. We'll update tomorrow, if we get a chance.

A few more pictures of New Zealand