GLFC New
Zealand Club Trip. April 2016
What a great trip we had. We left Melbourne airport at 11.35pm
and arrived Auckland at 5.45am the next day. We struck some difficulty in
hiring a car to take 6 people and had to wait another 5 hours for a suitable one
to come in. Well worth waiting for though, as we ended up with an almost new
Sangyong 8 seater.
We left the airport and travelled north, only to find we had
gone the wrong way and were heading for the West coast not the East as planned.
Our navigator was asleep!! We travelled
some 680ks instead of 330, but what the heck! We saw a lot of beautiful
countryside. One thing we noticed were all the wild chooks and turkeys which
apparently no-one bothers to catch for the pot. Finally, we arrived at
Wangarda, the most beautiful sight you could imagine. There was only one
hotel/motel and one Fishing Club which had heaps of trophy fish and photos on the
walls and even the ceiling. The village has only about 50-100 inhabitants, and
no SHOPS The marina is fairly new, with 20-30million $’s worth of game charter
vessels and recreational boats. Our lodgings were at the Marlin Hotel, a very
quaint older building, built about 100 years ago.
Twin share rooms with ensuites were excellent, but did not
supply earplugs which were needed by some members. Our hosts were delightful
people as were the locals who made us Aussies very welcome.
After 2 days being tourists, we boarded the Christena with
skipper Kerry, a wooden boat but very
comfortable even in a rough swell.
Stacks of King fish again, a couple about 1100cm or 10-15kg.
Shaun Myers caught a snapper on the last day, 90cms inside the tail, about
26-28lbs. He had the biggest smile you have ever seen, our club Logo hangs
proudly on the wall of the Marlin hotel.
Too much happened to write about really, all up a fantastic
adventure and I would recommend it to all.
Don Henry.
