As I lifted effortlessly towards the mercury-glazed mirror of trapped air above me, I felt like a character in a science fiction movie.  I pushed a neoprene-gloved hand through the bubble, and slid a full head and shoulders into the dimly lit dome of air.  I was in Bernies Cave, Middle Arch, Poor Knights Island, some 14 metres under the sea level, 24 kilometres from Tutukaka in Northland, New Zealand.

Thanks to the organising of Trade Me colleague, Matt Duguid, I’ve just returned from three days of diving the Poor Knights Islands, aboard the good ship Mazurka. The PKs are rated as one of the top ten dive sites on Earth by none other than Jacques Cousteau.  It was formed as New Zealand’s second marine reserve (no fishing or disturbing marine life for 800m acround the islands) in 1981.

The sight of XOS Snapper, crays and Moki proved difficult to resist for some of our team, more commonly used to diving for a feed of kai in the Marlborough Sounds.  Instead, we kept busy taking video and photos.

Here’s some footage filmed by Matt of myself (with torch) and Daniel Feutz cruising through Northern Arch, surrounded by circling kingfish, huge snapper, trevelly, sandagers and demoiselles.  This huge archway (43m from sea level to sea floor) provides food-bearing currents with fish lining up to dine and incredible water clarity as you can see in the video.  This location was one of the most spectacular dives I have experienced.  We’re sitting at around 30 metres deep, Matt is filming from 35 metres.

Here are a few assorted photos from the trip (click on them to enlarge).

This has been news in the freshwater fishing fraternity since 2006 and it’s good to see DOC finally taking action.

Due to the didymo transfer risk associated with these boots, the Minister of Conservation agreed in principle last week with a Fish & Game New Zealand submission to ban the use of felt soled wading boots for freshwater fishing. The ban, yet to be approved and included in the proposed 2008/09 Anglers Notice for Fish and Game Regions, will be effective from 1 October 2008, and applies to freshwater sports fishing anglers in all New Zealand waterways, except those within the Taupo Fishery.

Taupo is administered by DOC and will, surely, follow suite.

I’m just back from a week fly fishing in the rugged Roaring Lion tributary of the South Island’s Karamea River with my good friend, Tapio. It was truly a trip of a lifetime with extremes of tough tramping, big fish and typical high country weather. Thanks to Syd for getting us to the edge of the Tasman Wilderness Area (no tracks, trails, huts or helicopters permitted within).

The river is aptly named with the flash flood that interrupted our fishing on Day 4 creating a deafening cacophony punctuated by rockfalls and lifting the river level up a metre in only a few minutes, turning the gin-clear water into a malt-brown maelstrom. Fortuitously we were on the right side of the river to get back to camp. The third of the photos below shows the river a day later - almost back to normal flow and colour, and with a 9 hr tramp (remember no tracks) between the two sets of shots.