Time: 11:30AM – 1:30PM

Location: Travers River above Lake Rotoiti

New Zealand Day 2 (Travers River) 01/19/2018 Photo Album

After a solid night’s rest in our new surroundings in St. Arnaud, New Zealand, Jane and I completed a walk to the car park on Lake Rotoiti. Steady overnight rain created lingering  low hanging clouds over the mountains surrounding the lake, and a large collection of puddles next to the car park provided new territory for the local ducks to explore. It was quite chilly in the early morning aftermath of the rainstorm, but we put our energy to productive use by reviewing a large sign with a map of the area. The billboard map highlighted several interesting tracks (hiking trails) in Nelson Lakes National Park near Lake Rotoiti. We also inspected the rates posted for the water taxi that departed from the dock near the car park.

On the way back to the lodge we stopped at Elaine’s Cafe across from the Alpine Lodge for breakfast. I devoured an apricot coffee cake along with a small cup of yogurt and washed it down with two delicious cups of English breakfast fresh brewed tea. New Zealand breakfasts were fast becoming a favorite.

After breakfast John, Brenda, Jane and I walked to the Nelson Lakes National Park Visitor Center. A very helpful young lady advised us on various hiking (tramping) options, and after much debate we settled on crossing the lake on the water taxi to the inlet and the Lakehead Hut. Instead of paying for a return ride on the boat, we elected to tramp along the Lake Shore Track. John purchased a fishing license from the man in the visitor center, and once the transaction was complete, I peppered the park ranger with questions about fly fishing in the area and more specifically the Travers River. He informed me that we needed a backcountry permit to fish the Travers River, and I could obtain one for free at the park office I was standing in.

Because of the recent heavy rain and the swollen nature of the streams that we crossed on our drive from Nelson to St. Arnaud, I was skeptical of the condition of the Travers River. The gentleman was persistent, however, and suggested that I should take my fishing gear and cast in the lake at the inlet of the Travers. He also mentioned that I was free to fish the river above the inlet for a stretch, before I reached the point where a trail crossed. Angling above the trail crossing required the backcountry permit that he alluded to earlier. His powers of persuasion were effective, and I resolved to wear my wet wading clothes and carry my fly fishing gear.

The four of us returned to the Alpine Lodge with a road map for the day, and I prepared to include some fishing time. We prepared lunches and reviewed our checklist of necessary hiking essentials, and then we returned to the car park and boarded the 10:30 water taxi. I struck up a conversation with a Swiss gentleman, who was also a passenger on the water taxi, since I noticed he carried a fly rod, fanny pack and net. He planned to fish upstream from the trail crossing, so I concluded we would not interfere with each other.

I wore my hiking boots and hiking socks, but once we disembarked, I switched to wading socks and wading boots. After I assembled my Sage One five weight and strung my rod, Jane was kind enough to carry the rod case, hiking boots, and socks back to the Lakehead Hut to stash, while I fished. We agreed to meet back at the hut at 1:30, and this allotted me two hours to explore the Travers River and Lake Rotoiti. I was about to embark on my first New Zealand fishing adventure!

We snapped some photos with the spectacular backdrop of the Travers River valley, and then we said our goodbyes, and I followed a worn trail that angled across some tall brown grass to the river. The high temperature peaked at 75 F, but large clouds blocked the sun from time to time. To this uninitiated New Zealand fisherman, the conditions seemed nearly ideal. But what about the water level?

It did not take long to make the pleasant discovery that the river was crystal clear, but running higher than normal. Actually since I never fished here previously, I was not knowledgeable regarding normal, but most of the channel was covered, and the runs and riffles seemed to rush along at a fairly high velocity. I cautiously ambled back toward the lake in an effort to spot fish. My sources in the US who fished in New Zealand told me this was the key to success, and all the articles that I absorbed proposed the same sort of approach.

After what seemed like twenty minutes of futile fish spotting, I crossed a braid and began fishing upstream in the main channel. I only had two hours available, and I could no longer restrain myself from making some casts. I started my pursuit with a size ten Chernobyl ant, and after I covered a reasonable distance with no success, an older gentleman appeared, and he slowly approached me from the right bank. He informed me that a guide named Hannah and her client recently worked up the left side of the river, and he suggested that I cover the myriad of braids on the right. He seemed quite knowledgeable, and after more conversation I discovered why he made this impression. He was an agent with the Department of Conservation, and he asked to check my fishing license! I extracted it from my backpack, and he wrote my name and number in a small log book. My annual license was reviewed within my first hour of fishing in New Zealand!

Once this official matter concluded, he advised me that I could fish up to a post along the left bank without a permit, and he pointed it out from our position downstream. I was relieved to hear this, as I was harboring some doubts that the man at the park office misinformed me. The DOC officer then kindly went above and beyond and implied that I should sample a nice pool a bit beyond the post. He casually commented, “I already checked your license, and I am walking the other way.” He even inspected my fly and offered that it should work, and then he went on to mention, that he spotted a couple very nice fish, as he walked the bank and warned me not to overlook shallow spots.

My optimism soared as he departed, and I worked my way through the braided area with elevated concentration. In spite of some long expert casts and superb drag free drifts, I never saw a fish in the quality braided section. I continued to some nice pools above a deadfall in the permit area since my friend promised to look the other way, but I could not spot a fish nor could I entice one to the surface with my foam ant. Next I reversed my direction and hiked downstream toward the lake, until I was beyond my initial starting point.

I added a salvation nymph dropper to my set up for the last thirty minutes, but this move was also to no avail. At 1:15PM I stumbled in some shallow water next to the bank and fell forward and completely soaked my slacks, shirt and front pack. Fortunately I was wading wet, and the air temperature was comfortable. With this embarrassing pratfall behind me, I returned to the hut and met Brenda and Jane.

After a brief snack the three of us hiked for three hours and thirty minutes along the lake on a intermittently muddy trail including quite a few dicey small stream crossings. I changed back into my hiking boots for this section of our adventure, but near the beginning both feet slid sideways on a pair of angled roots, and I once again greeted the earth with a thud. I now displayed a large bruise on my shin and created a severe bend in my trekking pole/wading staff.

As we moved along we noted many trees that displayed a dark black bark, and in many cases the bark attracted a significant quantity of wasps. The same trees also presented small yellow rectangular boxes or pink or yellow plastic triangles. Later on our trip I asked my fishing guide what these observations were all about. The explanation is quite interesting. The black bark is called sooty mould, and it exists on beech trees. Scale insects reside in the tree bark and suck sap and excrete a honeydew substance. The sooty mold fungi grow on the waste honeydew that runs down the trunk of the tree. The honeydew is a source of food for many native New Zealand birds, but it is also popular with non-native European wasps. New Zealand wildlife officials are concerned that the depletion of honeydew may affect the native bird population, so the yellow box and triangles are traps aimed at reducing the wasp colonies. It is amazing how a few observations lead to a new realm of knowledge.

Eventually after a steamy return hike through the rainforest, we returned to the car park and then the Alpine Lodge. For dinner on Friday Jane and I chose to cross the street to a takeaway (takeout) fish and chips establishment. Our food arrived wrapped in several layers of newspaper, and heat radiated from the newsprint surface. We carried our meals to an outdoor patio table by our room. Jane opened her packet first, and initially she assumed that the chips were in one bundle, and the fish were in the other. Eventually we determined that the fish was buried underneath a thick layer of french fries. The meal was quite good, but we concluded that one scoop of fries exceeded our stomach capacity.

Fish Landed: 0