Our tour guides often remind us that Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. I have not watched it, but our boys love that movie. The clouds started to move in and it made Karen and I nervous flying over the mountains. Our pilot, Pete, was excellent and took no risks. On our way home, he followed the water and didn't go directly over the mountains until the clouds dispersed.
Pete landed in Poison Bay and Frazier got his wetsuit on. He was in charge of collecting crayfish for our lunch! There were many sandflies on this beach, so we opted to get back in the helicopter while Frazier went into the water. Frazier told us that often when he is "fishing," Pete searches the rock field to look for jade rocks. Pete's wife is Maori and he made her a pendent for her birthday which happened to be the day of our helicopter ride. He was very proud of his skills and showed us pictures of the necklace. It was IMPRESSIVE!
Wetsuit from head to toe....the water is COLD!
Loaded his basket with crayfish...cold water lobster! Dang, I didn't get a picture of the
spiny sea urchin. Frazier said the Maori people really enjoy it, but it is an acquired taste and he said he is not fond of the flavor either!
Pete shows off one of the crayfish. Notice his tattoo? Many Maori people have them. They have lots of meaning. Not sure if Pete's tattoo has a cultural meaning or not.
We landed on the lawn of Fiordland Lodge Te Anau to have our crayfish lunch.
The seafood platter!
The RED meat platter!
The dessert platter!
It was WAY to MUCH!
Pete, our pilot & Frazier, our diver! Frazier told us where to find George, or Yourgie...owner of "Broken Heart Gin at the Village Gardens....more on George later!
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