Boys Camping Trip

After a pretty hectic few weeks, a mate and I decided we should go on a boys' fishing trip. 

I drove down to a small rural hospital on Tuesday and did a locum shift there, and then my friend met me there in the evening and we set off to commune with nature. We headed off to a small spot on the banks of the Whanganui river, about 30 minutes out of Taumaranui, which the local fishing store owner had recommended.

We found a good spot near the river to pitch our tents. I had borrowed a tent from a camping friend, which did not come with instructions and didn't at all resemble the traditional tent shape that I was used to as a boy scout. Erecting it was like the Krypton factor, but after wrestling with it in the dark for half an hour it resembled something inhabitable...

After getting our bearings we hunkered down for a slap up meal on the camp fire and a bottle of scotch. The evening passed quickly and soon we hit the hay. I slept well, but my friend awoke during the night to find that our camp was being rummaged through by some marauding wild goats! 

Above: We later found the pack of wild goats across the river, half way up a hill...

It was a cold night, getting down to a couple of degrees below zero, but the tents were surprisingly warm, which made outside rather bracing for breakfast.

Above: The early morning fog over the valley

Below: Getting up in the morning

 Below: One of the many frosty-morning cobwebs..

We then set off for an early start fishing. It soon fined up into a lovely day for it...

Above: Wading out into the middle of the river

Below: The view up the river from the middle

I tried several flies: assorted nymphs, various variations on a Wooly Bugger, and some glow bugs...

Alas, we didn't get so much as a bite. So by lunch we headed back to camp and scoffed some bacon butties for lunch (I'm not much of a Bear Grylls when it comes to food, so it was lucky we packed a little F&M styled hamper for the eventuality that we didn't catch anything.

Unfortunately it is illegal to sell or buy trout in New Zealand, so the only way to taste one is to catch it yourself.

In the afternoon we packed up camp and headed down to National Park to another supposedly good fishing spot there, but again no luck. We packed up and came home empty handed, but it was good to get away from it all for a day or two.

The Boys' Weekend...

Well, I finally took a weekend off work, my first in 6 months, and went on an overnight tramp with some mates...

We started off from Hamilton in the early hours and spent the morning fishing in the Tongariro River, which is famous for its trout...

Despite seeing quite a few fish in the river, we didn't catch a thing. - but then it was midday. Not having time to stay for a twilight fish we carried on south towards Tongariro, parked up, and set out on the Urchin Trail up over the Kaimanawa Ranges.

Dominated by the Kaimanawa mountain ranges, the Kaimanawa Forest Park encompasses a vast (77,348 hectares) largely unmodified expanse of native forest, shrublands and tussock grasslands. It was gazetted in 1969 and is managed to protect and conserve soil and water, native vegetation, wildlife and scenic values.

It lies south-east of Taupo and extends from Tongariro National Park in the west to the Kaweka Ranges in the east.

It was a blisteringly hot day.

Below: Lake Taupo in the distance, from the first summit.
The trail starts near to lake level.

It then winds its way up through stunning native bush...

before breaking out of the bushline into rocky alpine terrain...

from the first summit we hiked over the ranges below...

to the Waipakihi Valley river flats below...

After a long day's tramping, and a futile effort at stalking deer on the river flats, we settled down to a roaring camp fire and a rough meal of Fillet Mignon with seasonal vegetables and a bottle of Shiraz before scoffing down some creme brulee and settling in for a night of port and cigars under a cloudless sky enblazoned with stars (talk about slumming it!).

We forgot the marshmellows though!

The state forest is home to much wildlife, including Sika deer

and wild horses, known as Kaimanawa horses, which are protected.

for more information visit the Department of Conservation website.

Rabbit Pie... Shooting parties and Wild Fare!

Last weekend some friends, who own a neighbouring estate, invited us over for lunch. They served a rabbit pie, which Richard had made from a rabbit he shot the night before. It was delicious. Which got me to thinking: why had I never tried rabbit before?

Known to city folk as cute little cotton-tails, portrayed as victims in such classics as Watership Down; but known to farmers as marauding vermin who are at best a free meal, and at worst the destroyer of the crops which provide their livelihood; these little creatures, I must say, are incredibly under rated.

As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall puts it:

If I described to you a meat that was low in fat, delicate in flavour and hugely versatile, would you be interested? If I added that it was inexpensive, usually sourced very locally, and subject to none of the serious welfare concerns that attach to so much of the flesh we eat, would I have closed the deal? Such a meat certainly does exist - in abundant supply. But very few of us eat it.

I'm talking about wild rabbit. And I really rate it. Portioned, on the bone, it's an excellent meat for stews or casseroles. Boneless and trimmed, it makes a nifty stir-fry. And minced, well-seasoned and mixed with a bit of good fatty sausage meat, it can be pressed into service as a fantastic burger, too.

So, I've copied the recipe from our hosts, and here it is to share with you now...

Rabbit, Prune, Bacon and Leek Pie

1 Rabbit (500g of meat)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
a little flour for dusting
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 leek, washed and trimmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
200g streaky bacon, chopped.
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch thyme
1 cup cider
500ml chicken stock
1 cup cream
a pinch of grated nutmeg
stlt and freshly ground black pepper
100g putted prunes, chopped
400g flaky pastry
1 whole egg, beaten

Dust the chopped meat with flour and add to the foaming hot butter and cook till lightly coloured on all sides. Set meat aside. Cook onions in meat pan for 3 mins without colouring. Add leaks and garlic and cook for 2-3 mins till leaks soften. Add bacon and bay leaf and thyme. Then return rabbit to the pan. Pour in the cider and stock and simmer gently for 40 mins. Remove meat and as much vegetable as possible, then reduce the stock by half on a high heat. Then add the cream and simmer for 15 mins. Sprinkle in nutmeg and add salt and pepper if necessary. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred the meat from the bones and place it in a bowl. Place meat in a pie dish and sprinkle on the chopped prunes. Pour over the sauce and cool for 30 mins in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Roll out pastry to fit the pie dish, leaving 2 cm overhang. Dampen the edge of the dish with water and drape pastry over the top, then crimp the edges. Make a steam hole in the centre of the pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 40 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the filling comes out hot. Serves 6 (although, I suspect some rabbits may serve more....)