Family Adventure in the South Island: Fly Fishing and Local Exploration

In the last two months we have transitioned from Summer to Fall to Spring and we are now on the verge of Summer again. We have finally settled back into our home in Philipsburg following our whirlwind two-month trip to the South Island of New Zealand.

As I start preparing for another busy summer around Montana all of our the highlights from our adventure start to blur together. With Gwyneth working for the Invercargill City Council, my weekdays were filled with adventures with the girls. Most weekends I would head out to explore the rivers. Through our time on the South Island I logged 15 days on the water spread out between 11 different rivers; some familiar destinations and some new rivers that I was able to check off my ever-growing list.

With Jessie and Eliza in tow we became regulars at all the local play grounds, cafes and even snuck in a few trips to the beach. On nice days we enjoyed picnics at the beautiful Queen’s Park in Invercargill, walk to the quiet little Lion’s park in sleepy downtown Riverton or we joined the crowds of tourists at the popular park next to the lake in Te Anau which included the 50-foot flying fox zip-line. When we were forced indoors because of the rainy Southland summer we spent lots of time having dance parties, completing puzzles and enjoying egg sandwiches for lunch. While visiting all the local cafes we became connoisseurs of the finest meat pies, cheese rolls and cream donuts around Southland. We came to the consensus that the best meat pies came from Fat Bastard Pies in Invercargill, the best cheese roll was from The Crib Cafe in Riverton and the winner for cream donuts was from The Wapiti Cafe in Te Anau. One of my favorite memories with the girls will be taking them to the Youth Pond near the Whitestone River and helping them land their first New Zealand Rainbow Trout.

When I was able to get out on the local rivers I was rewarded by the time I put in on the water through our last trip in 2019-2020. There is a steep learning curve in the techniques involved in New Zealand fly-fishing. I learned many lessons about spotting fish, stealth approach, rigging and casting long leaders, fly presentation and reading water. When we arrived in February I started the trip with a bang, having two of my most successful days in NZ within our first week. I felt like I had struck the lottery when I experienced a stunner of a day with big brown trout feeding on cicadas on one of the most prolific Southland streams. Between me and my fishing buddy we landed around a dozen browns averaging 5-6 pounds. Even on days when the fishing was slow I was able to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery around the South Island. Whether in the backcountry or in the rolling hills near town, the views from NZ trout streams are hard to beat. Even though I had more success on the river throughout this recent visit I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface of fishing destinations and opportunities around New Zealand.

As I have finally unpacked the last of my fishing supplies from the trip and reintegrated all my kiwi flies into my Montana boxes, I look forward to getting back on the amazing rivers that I am lucky to call my home waters. Traveling is great but it’s also nice to come home! Now it’s time for the harsh reality of getting my hands and shoulders back into rowing shape and practicing my knot untangling skills.

All the while, I daydream about walking a Southland stream with a meat pie and sweet treat in my backpack.