Fishing Initiation

Dear Friends, I survived my first week of school. I only ran around frantically the first couple of days and then I got the hang of it. By the end of the week, I felt like a rockstar at Auckland University. So to treat myself, I decided to hop onboard a boating trip this weekend with my Kiwi family. Trish came and picked me up at the Uni and away we went. We drove up to the Northland to Tutukaka: Welcome to the Motherland of marine life.

I stepped foot onto Maxifun boat, expecting it to be just that... maxi and fun. Boy was I in for a rude awakening (we'll get to that later).

The boat is beautiful: well equipped with plenty of shelf space, a couch for me to sleep on at night, and our very own espresso maker to keep my caffeine addiction at ease. My first night of sleep was solid. I caught good zzz's, counting sheep.

The next morning we got up with the sunrise to start our fishing day. Greg, my Kiwi dad signed up his company in this intense fishing competition. This is why I get to be here this weekend. But first let me put a little disclaimer on the situation: The last time I went fishing was with my Grandpa when I was 6 at a dinky pond in Sedelia, Missouri. Needless to say, I know nothing about fishing. We eat a quick roll and then set off onto the water.

I had a lot of thought going into this weekend. What I expected it to be like. What I thought I'd get out of it. Here is the fantasy I painted in my head:

Wake up to a beautiful sunrise welcoming us into the day. Calm waters with a slight breeze and the sun shining down on our boat in all its glory. Going exploring through caves and coves and getting glimpses of the beautiful islands. Catching a huge Marlin shark on my first attempt fishing. Getting my tan on. Oh and also seeing dolphins. Plenty and plenty of dolphins.

Well friends. As we all know fantasies don't ever quite pan out. Here is what actually happened:

I woke up. The sun was quite lost in the clouds. The air was a bit chilly with no sunshine to reign down upon us. The waves were incredibly choppy and enjoyed controlling our boat and where it went. I failed to catch a Marlin shark on the first go. In fact, I didn't catch a thing on the first go. The second try I caught something!!! It was a baby snapper. We had to throw it back in because it was too small to keep. Pity. Oh and I have terrible sea legs. They asked me before we left if I ever had motion sickness. I said no in my confident, cocky ways thinking I can handle anything. Well, I was wrong. My stomach kept tossing and turning with the waves. Constantly rolling and no way to escape the feeling of being ill. I tried for as long as possible to fight off my stomach, but it finally caught up to me. The crew tried to encourage me to look at the horizon line if I started feeling queazy. I stared intently on the horizon line with all my might. Fail. Ladies and Gentlemen I left my DNA in the Pacific Ocean. My gift to the sea. I saw no coves or dolphins. But I felt well acclimated into the boating world. I roughed the water and I stuck it out.

On our way back to the marina harbor we hit some pretty intense waters. There were tons of reports in the morning advising boats to stay inland and to not go out on the water. Well, this is a fishing competition, and there are fish to be caught, so there was no stopping this crew. Maybe we should've taken the advice. As we are cruising back to shore I can feel the boat fly up out of the water and smack down to the rolling waves. We bump and crash into the waves and I can barely hold myself down from flying out of the seat. I looked at Trish to see if I should be concerned, but she pulled off her motherly composure well. I thought well, this must be... normal? All we needed to add to this scenario was a huge thunderstorm and Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump shaking his fist angrily at God. This is the moment I experienced. We we plowing through 4 meter waves. That is equivalent to 12 foot waves. No biggy right? They don't make rides at Disney World this intense. Well here were the sign that made me realize huh, maybe I should start to worry.

Warning Sign # 1: Stuff is flying left and right inside the boat's living space. Apples go flying, the teapot goes flying, magazines hit the floor.

Warning Sign # 2: The boys from upstairs come down and hand us all life jackets to put on. Huh... that's no good. I don't really feel like going for a swim

Warning Sign # 3: Trish takes the dry bag and starts to put cellphones, cameras, and other electronics in.

I thought we were goners.

Luckily, Greg is quite the Skipper and he drove the boat all the way back to the harbor without crashing. We fought the storm and came out on top. Again... I left some DNA in the Pacific Ocean.

Overall, this was quite the ordeal. But we did get a great feed out of the deal. I had some quality fish for dinner. Tried Hapuka for the first time. Probably the best fish I will ever have. Tried smoked Marlin. Greg won a marine TV. I tried oysters for the first and last time in my entire existence. I also got to meet the famous NZ fisherman, Matt Watson. Matt caught a Marlin shark while on a surfboard once upon a time. He's been on David Letterman and 60 minutes. I guess that's pretty legit. First time boating was absolutely epic, and I lived to tell the tale. Great fish, great trip, great people, and great adventure.

We drove back Sunday to see Lauren perform her gig for the Saints and Sinners Tour. On the drive back, they closed off a portion of Motorway 1, the country's main highway. So instead of going back the way we thought we would, we had to cut across to the Westland and then down. I felt pretty seasick still in the car. I just tried to force myself to sleep through most of it. We stopped and grabbed a bite at the Bay of Islands. I could see where the Treaty of Waitanga was signed. It's quite a historical place in NZ. We got back to Auckland just in time to quickly throw on a dress and get ready to head out for the gig. We grabbed pasta on Parnell Street and then went to the show. Lauren was incredible. Her voice has gotten better over the years. The trio was fantastic and the overall sound was great. I was impressed at how many instruments she picked up in the concert. She's quite a classy lady. All in all, this was a great weekend.

I'm happy to be on land and I'm happy to be alive.