Snap!

Sundancer could have caught something like this 32lb snapper for us this morning (mounted on the wall here at Tipi and Bob's motel) as we trolled our way to Fitzroy Harbour this morning, but we didn't get any bites. Shame. So we had to forgo the fresh sashimi that Chris would have whipped up for our lunch, and instead made do with scotch fillet and chicken kebabs on the boat's bbq with his special kaffir lime, chilli and garlic dressing.

It was a misty, moisty, moody morning, all subtle greys and greens: none of that gaudy blue nonsense today. The Broken Islands were still spectacularly, well, broken, and rocky, with determined pohutukawas hanging off them somehow.

Then Tony showed us his obsession: ridding a peninsula of rats and rabbits so the birds would come back. It's working, but it's a major mission with traps and bait stations, constant monitoring and an electrified barrier fence that wouldn't be amiss at Paremoremo. Good for him.

Then Steve showed us his passion: an Indian teepee, where he and his wife sleep under his clever modified umbrella system. What fun! And good for him too, not to see why he shouldn't indulge such a whim.

He got quite poetical this afternoon, showing us over his island. "Not everyone can hear it, but if the Barrier speaks to you, you'll never gets its voice out of your ear." Beginning to understand how that works - even in the rain.