Steve and Kev went for a fishing trip, which involved getting up very early to be at our hosts house at 5.45 am.
As dawn broke we launched Ron's 'tinny' boat and went round the bay. he plan was to fish adjacent to the barge servicing the mussel beds in the bay, because the fish (particularly Snapper), feed on the debris that comes off the barge.
The men on the barge were surprisingly happy to tolerate us being close to their workplace.
The fish were obliging and soon we were reeling them in
When the barge was working the fish were about 2 meters down. Eventually the barge moved off, and we were then fishing on the bottom.
Photography on boats this size was not easy, but I did catch my share
and we were soon surrounded by other boats with the same idea
We seemed to have been out for hours but we caught so many fish that we gave some to the crew on the barge, who were very grateful. At 9am it was time to return to the shore.
Our captain Ron seemed happy with his crew's work!
We said 'Hi' to the ray again as we came ashore...
then it was time to admire our catch of 15 fish which were all of a good size.
Later we did the railway trip. back in the 70's, Barry Brickhill decided he didn't want to be a teacher anymore. He bought about 2 acres of bush with an idea of building a potters community where people could come and make pottery.
The railway was initially built part-way up the hill with material from closed mines, to transport clay down the hill to the pottery. However he then bought 60 acres with the ideas of ecology and replanting the bush (detsroyed by miners) with new trees.
The railway was completed when Barry was 73. It goes to the top of the hill via a number of bridges and reversing 'switch-backs', to the top of the hill.
There are great views from the 'Eyefull tower" at the top of the hill.
Barry died a couple of years ago aged 80.
It was a great ride and we enjoyed the trip! Later in the day we went for a walk and took some pics close to the bach.
So pretty and colourful!
At the end of the day, Steve made a cold-cooked called 'Ika Mata', (which is a raw fish salad from the Cook Islands where the fish is actually cooked by marinating it in lemon juice, coconut milk and spices etc), with some of the fish was had caught. I tasted it and it tasted great, but unfortunately I couldn't eat it. Was it that I just don't like fish, that it was cooked without heat, or that I had killed the fish myself? I am uncertain, but I was happy with barbecued lamb chops!
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