b'SPEARFISHINGEPIC SHORE DIVING one, an incredible sight and somethingbeautiful blue sky, had we not looked The coastline is relatively accessible,you would never see on the mainland.at the weather map we would have from Oban its best to rent a car, takeButterfish, blue moki and cod becamebeen none the wiser, but with the a map and choose a spot that looksa common sight during my dive as Iincoming weather we set off to hunt sheltered and start driving. There is onlyexplored the incredible kelp forests thatsome fish. This time in a little red MAC one road on the island and the speedthe South Island is famous for. Beforeboat lent to us by the accommodation limit is island speed, so go slow andlong, the cold was getting to me, so Iprovider. Wheeling it down the road we watch out for Kiwi. Arriving at my firstmade a beeline for the shore havinglaunched and headed off on another location a sheltered bay west of Obanalready been more than impressed withmini adventure. Rounding the headland, I pulled on my 5mm suit and wanderedthe abundance of sea life, the storieswe were greeted with beautiful bays down the isolated sandy beach intowere true! That afternoon howeverpacked full of bull kelp, offering the water. a weather warning came in casting aprotection from sharks and cover for Taking a deep breath I dived in, kickingshadow on the trip. Powerful windsfish and shellfish.off towards a few rocky outcrops in thefrom the south, rain and swell wereDrifting amongst the kelp Sam shot a corner of the bay. Before long I wasexpected a few days from now, with lesscouple of monster butterfish and blue swimming amongst huge strands of bulltime than anticipated it was time to getmoki, the southern staple, before we kelp and under every nook and crannysome serious diving done. gathered a feed of paua. The crayfish had paua stacked on top of each other,The next morning, we were up earlywere plentiful but with more than some places you could not fit anotherand greeted with crisp chilly air andenough fish for a feed we decided to 56FISHING IN GODZONE JULY/AUGUST 2022'