Beach Swimmin' and King Fishin'

Spending the week with Cole has been pretty spectacular and a heck of a lot of fun! We are so glad to be able to chill out with our favourite little man, and help out Hazel and Craig as well. As the sun was setting the other evening, we strolled along the beach at low tide making some cool tracks in the sand. Brian footprints with Colesy footprints in the middle: The shadows and patterns on the sand were brilliant...Colesy LOVES being held, and he LOVES LOVES LOVES water. Splish-splash-a-ma-dash! Uncle Brian taking Cole into the not-too-brisk water: There was lots of laughter, plenty of smiles and one WET diaper. The next morning, Craig and Brian and I took Colesy on his first ever fishing trip! Craig was very excited at the opportunity to share one of his passions with his son, and I think the expedition was a hit with Cole! There was excitement all around at the first big tug on the line, but seconds later the bliss turned to "BUGGER! BUGGER! BUGGER!" as the line broke. ACK! Must have been some damned big fish on the hook to break the line... Hope was not lost, however, as we kept trolling and keeping Colesy occupied. The "Big Sport Fishing" design on Coles wee-shirt must have been good luck because a second big bite came ten minutes later. Craig took the line and kept control as the fish was a tuggin' and a swimmin'. Craig kept his cool and brought this massive king fish up to the surface with expertise and a whole lot of "Wooooo-hoooo!!!!'s" and "I LOVE FISHING!". Once bringing the fish into the boat, the measuring tape came out and confirmed that this fish was one big catch: just shy of one metre long!! After all that excitement, Brian and I took a quick dip into the ocean before we took the prize fish home to show Hazel. Lunch was a BBQ feast, and dinner - oh my gosh - dinner was the best meal I've had in New Zealand. Aside from potato wedge fries and a tasty salad, Craig put together the king fish into three separate dishes. I don't even know what they were called, but the first dish had lemon and coconut milk and cilantro with raw chunks of king fish, the second dish had mayonnaise and other yummy things with smoked king fish, and the third dish was sushi style with raw strips of king fish and a big bowl of soy sauce with oodles of wasabi. Ohhhhhh soooooooooooo gooooooooooooooooood! I'm still dreaming of those marvelous tastes... And today, we're planning on having king fish steaks seared on the BBQ just like tuna steaks. I CAN'T WAIT! This week has been quite the delicacy, delicious and delightful food time, and it makes me think this is going to be the excessive treat before we head off on our bikes with limited space and tools... Actually, I'm sure Brian and I will come up with some tasty treats of our own using a bit of ingenuity. Canned beans with cheese, anyone? I'll add some parsley off the side of the road for a touch of colour. This afternoon, we're going to do a test run with the bikes and head out to Rabbit Island for a swim in the ocean. If all goes well, our South Island bike tour will hopefully begin on Monday. Hazel suggested we do a "Before and After" photo shoot, which I think is a marvelous idea, so I'll be plunking the "before" photo on my blog soon.