Tag Archives: fishing

Holiday, Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island – Views of the Lagoon

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Lord Howe is an island, foremost, so let’s have a few more views of the water. We stayed on the western side of the island and hence got our fill of views of the Lagoon. No name, just Lagoon, since it’s the only one.

It is the most southern reef system in the world, and it is beautiful to look at and swim in whatever the weather, since there is no sewage or storm-water run-off to pollute its clean waters. The uniqueness of the marine environment obviously helped gain the island a UNESCO world heritage listing.

In the middle of the lagoon, about 700m off-shore, is Rabbit Island (officially, Blackburn Island), which produces a lovely focal point to the view. It might have been overrun with pests like rabbits in the past (hence its name), but after the big clean-up, it’s now pristine.

There are lots of snorkeling opportunities on the Lagoon, as well as lots of fishing opportunities. Hubby brought his fishing gear all the way from home and was eager to cast a line. It’s certainly a scenic place to do it.

And on the shore, there were interesting details to examine while I waited for hubby to land a catch (he did eventually, by the way).

Holiday, tasmania

Lake St Clair – Part 3

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Being in the middle of Tassie, you might wonder if there were any animals about. There were, though many of them were elusive. The most accessible were actually the marsupials. We have seen pademelons before way back in Stanley.

Pademelon
A pademelon grazing.

But it was my first glimpse of the following two animals. As I said in my previous post, the cooler Tasmanian weather produces some interesting adaptations to otherwise run-of-the-mill ‘mainland’ species. Look at these two and see how they differ from their northern cousins.

Tasmanian Wombat
Tasmanian wombat
Tasmanian Echidna
Tasmanian echidna.

And the big lake is of course stocked with trout, for all those keen anglers.

Brown Trout
Brown Trout.
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Eastern Cape Drive – Part 3

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At Cape St Francis, there is a small port with a fleet of trawlers. These boats fish for squid, which this stretch of coast is famous for, and other lovely eating fish that lives in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Around Jeffreys Bay

Predictably, we had to sample their catch, so at lunch time, we headed for the local restaurant at Jeffreys Bay, which was packed at Sunday lunch.

Around Jeffreys Bay

Their fish (a local variety of snapper) was succulent and very fresh. And like most things in South Africa, prices were very reasonable. This was about AUD $10!

Around Jeffreys Bay

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Seal viewing at Hout Bay – Part 1

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The most popular day trip from Cape Town is probably the drive down to Cape Point, about 60km south of the city. It goes along spectacular drives to coastal suburbs and villages, and then finally through the Cape Point National Park to wild capes.

Our first stop of the day was in the fishing town of Hout Bay. Originally it was the source of Cape Town’s timber – not much of the forest is still in existence, as you can see.

Seal Cruise

Its natural harbour made it a perfect place for a fishing port. It still maintains a fishing fleet today, although much of the catch seemed to be for export.

Seal Cruise

Nowadays, the holiday-makers, sea-changers and recreational sailors have also moved in.

Seal Cruise

Next, we’ll go on the water.

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Cruising the Hawkesbury – Part 5

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Pretty soon we were cruising past long stretches of bush and mangroves. With national parks on both sides of the river on this stretch, there was nary a house in sight. The landscape here has probably changed little in 200 years.

Hawkesbury Riverboat Postman Cruise

Hawkesbury Riverboat Postman Cruise

Being mid-week, there weren’t even many boats on this stretch of river, except for this fishing boat. Fishing and oyster farming used to be the mainstays of the lower Hawkesbury. These days it’s almost impossible to make a living from these industries. The oyster industry has been particularly hit hard in recent years due to disease.

Hawkesbury Riverboat Postman Cruise

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Brunswick Heads – Part 1

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Up the road from Byron, and a thousand miles away in every other respect, is Brunswick Heads. It’s a quiet fishing village that perhaps Byron was aeons ago.

Brunswick Heads

As you can see, there were no crowds here, and the shops were gentrified, but not too extensive.

There were some local touches, like this mural in the park.

Brunswick Heads

The pub though was very grand, indicating that it’s been a spot popular with holidaymakers for a long while. Or perhaps of a very successful fishing industry in times gone by?

Brunswick Heads

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Byron – Part 3

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As someone who likes to photograph the outdoors, I often have to make the best of what’s on offer. Much of the time it’s not ideal, whether due to time of day/light conditions/weather/wrong position/difficult subject matter. That’s why I get really excited when everything aligns, like it did that afternoon on Belongil Beach. The light was absolutely perfect for photography, whether it be photographing a surfer and the waves.

Belongil Beach

Or a fisherman casting a line into the misty surf.

Belongil Beach

Just when you think it doesn’t get any better, the light changes, and the same view becomes even more beautiful.

Belongil Beach

Sometimes I wish that moments like this would have more often, but then you wouldn’t quite appreciate it in the same way, would you?

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Goin’ Fishin’

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We were invited by a Central Coast friend to fish off his boat on Brisbane Waters during Easter. It was a calm, cloudy day. I particularly liked the calm bit as I get seasick pretty easily.

We anchored off the village of Davistown, which was supposed to be a good spot. I was a complete fishing novice, but Hubby and his mate L were pretty serious about getting a catch, with a tackle box filled with lures and sinkers, and three types of bait at the ready for every eventuality.

Gone Fishing

I did get my first catch – a bream – but it was so small that we had to throw it back. In the end, it was L’s son that got the biggest catch that session.

Gone Fishing

The rest of the time was spent fighting the seaweed that got caught on the line and prevented any significant fish from taking the bait. It didn’t matter to me that we didn’t get anything as there was still the reflections and delicate light to capture.

Gone Fishing

Hubby and L did get their fish in the end. They had another go at night, and they got a bumper catch – some six eatable fish.