How does a vacation that includes amazing scenery, great people, lots of fun and maybe even catching a few big fish sound? Well, if you are the Fish Guy that is heaven on earth, so each winter I go to such a place… New Zealand. I just got back and I have got to tell you there is no better place on this planet.
My trip started with a 12-hour flight from Los Angeles to Auckland. Auckland boasts a population of 1 ½ million people and is the largest city in New Zealand. It is a mix of old English and new Asian cultures. I grabbed a room at the Hyatt which is located downtown. It is just across the street from Albert Park and is a short walk from the fashion, restaurant and harbor districts. Auckland is a fun town, but I had a few fish to catch, so the next morning I caught an Air New Zealand flight to Napier. Napier is located in Hawks Bay on the east coast of the North Island.
My buddies and local guides Dave Hern, John Ferrell, and Robbie Danks picked us up at the airport and drove us to Waipukurau, a small farming community. Waipuk is a great little town and the local fishing can be quite good. We spent the next day fishing the Tukituki River. After managing to catch a few fish we capped off the day with a nice bottle of Hawks Bay red wine and Chinese takeout…the perfect start to any New Zealand vacation.
Dave Hern arranged access to Ngamatea, the largest privately owned station (ranch) in New Zealand. The ranch is over 80,000 acres and runs around 60,000 sheep and 20,000 cattle. Located about two hours from Waipukurau this is big, wild, rough and tumble country…about as far away as you can get from Auckland's fashion district. We fished here for three days. The first day we fished Mystery Creek. This is a relatively small stream but holds fish up to 6 lbs. The next day we drove about an hour and a half and fished the Rangitikei River. This is truly one of the crown jewels of North Island trout fishing. The scenery and fish are amazing. We spotted rainbows up to 8 pounds and landed fish up to 6 pounds…on big dry flies! While at Ngamatea we stayed in what is lovingly referred to as the "Ngamatea Hilton." Let's see…a roof, four walls, foam mattress and sleeping bag, hot shower and a toilet…that's the Ngamatea Hilton. Ngamatea is old-school New Zealand and unlike any other part of the country. It includes lots of time on bumpy, dirt roads, and the accommodations are far from world class. If you want to be pampered I would leave this off your list of things to do, but if you do not mind roughing it for a few days in order to see some amazing country and catch some big rainbows then put it on your list. It is on my list.
From Ngamatea we drove back to Napier and flew to Nelson, a city of about 50,000 people, on the north coast of the South Island. From Nelson we drove about an hour and a half to Murchison. This town of around 1,000 people is surrounded by over 20 rivers within an hour's drive. A mecca for fly fisherman, we stayed at the Kiwi Park Motel on the south end of town. Murchison is a great little town and has everything you need and nothing you don't. There's a grocery store, butcher shop, gas station, hardware store (where you go to buy fruits and veggies), a couple of good restaurants and of course several pubs. I have spent a fair amount of time in Murchison over the past several years and have fished with the finest guides in the area. This year the guides were Pete Flintoft and Lindsey White. Between them they have forty years of experience. Each morning the guides arrived around 8:15 and after the standard issue thirty-minute BS session we hopped in the car and headed to the water. This part of the South Island is primarily a brown trout fishery, but the waters vary from small intimate tributary streams like the Owen and Matiri to large wild rivers like the Wairau and Maruia. Do not expect to catch lots of fish each day. New Zealand is not the place you go to rack up big numbers. In fact, the average number of fish landed is around 2-3 a day. Spotting fish is the key to success. Much of your day is spent slowly walking the banks as you and your guide look for fish. This year the rivers were low and clear and the fish were quite spooky at times. Most of the fish we caught were on nymphs, but occasionally we managed to catch a fish on a dry. There is so much to do that I suggest everyone take a few days off during the trip. Great hikes are just a few minutes away. The west coast is an hour drive and there are wineries all along the east coast. If you like being outdoors you will not run out of things to do.
3 Creek Ranch Owners, if New Zealand is on your list of things to do I would be happy to answer any questions you might have and assist you in setting up an itinerary. I plan to head back again next winter so if you and your friends want to come along let me know and we will talk over details. I hope we get a chance to visit this wonderful country sometime in the future.
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