Sashimi yesterday, crays today
The things I force myself to eat and to think I am just a poor person on the pension. Yeah I know, yeah right.
Poor maybe in that we don’t have ready cash but yes we have assets and a tour guide when I can be bothered to push the business does okay. But sashimi and crays come about because a number of years ago I jumped in the deep end by leaving city life and heading to the provinces. No set plans except I knew I loved fishing so picked an area that I knew going fishing was not hard to do.
In the big smoke (city) you cannot buy genuinely fresh fish for sashimi. Reality if fish shops and supermarkets sell fish that was caught out at sea a minimum of 24 hours prior and reality a number of days prior. Packed in salt ice until the trawlers are loaded up and ready to come back to port.
We are lucky Xiaoli and I, we both love fishing so we can enjoy our sashimi 1 to 2 hours after we catch it. We reality is sometimes we slice it and enjoy while still out fishing. Sometimes we forget that in the store for Snapper you pay $30 to $40 a kilogram yet in our house it is abundant. On occasions if we have to much even for us we deliver to the elderly in our local town.
Xiaoli and I try to be self sufficient in life. Grow our own vegetables. Obviously catch fish. We run about 50 plus hens, numerous ducks, geese etc etc. Our food supply is well taken care of.
The crayfish was tonights dinner. A gift from a friend who sets his own pots from time to time. We have pots also but never seem to get around to setting them.
My recommendation to everyone, leave the cities and explore what life offers in the provinces. If you need the cities for work, then start spending weekends further afield.
Prior to me moving to the far north of New Zealand I bought a caravan at parked it at a campsite at Pakiri, north of Auckland. Every Friday night we would head there. Stay there until 5pm Monday morning, then head back to Auckland for work. A great lifestyle. Every week it made work life easier and you had the weekend to look forward to.
Often the weekends were walking the long beach there. Sometimes surf casting, sometimes catching crabs. Sometimes just collecting shells. Weather conditions permitting, sometimes it was night spearing for flounder. But importantly we had a ‘life’. No longer tied to the city. We had weekends we couldn’t wait to come around so we could disappear again. The friends became closer friends as we would tell them to join us for the weekend. Rent a motel or cabin at the camping grounds. Live ‘life’.
During the day if we are tired of the beach head to the local farmland, find watercress and other greens that grow freely. Worst scenario, visit a local vineyard. Downside to that was having to dress up.
We are lucky to be able to enjoy our fresh fish and Crayfish. But then we can because we chose a lifestyle that allows us time to harvest our own food on our doorstep. And have fun doing the harvesting. Life is what we make it.
People say to me ‘where’s our meaning their fish’? The same place ours was. In the sea. Buy yourself a rod and reel. It doesn’t need be expensive and go catch your own fish. Believe it makes a fun and rewarding day. Sometimes you wont catch any fish, but it doesn’t matter as the day would be enjoyable anyway
Peter and Xiaoli Tours 