The old fisherman and the sea

The old fisherman and the sea

Old fishing boat named the Virgo

The old fisherman never tires of his expeditions on the sea .

I have some very old photos of my husband, my father and some deckhands in the early days fishing the seas. I figured I would love to write a blog of the memories I have of these happy times. 

Drawn by an unending urge, the ocean call is too strong for the fisherman to deny.

It never leaves him or forsakes him.

He arises a great while before even the hint of a dawn sky. Alone and cold he heads for the cool dampness of the fishing boat. A smell of salty air greets him and his ear hears a familiar sound, waves jostling too and fro competitors in a never ending race for the shore.

Finally a cold sun hits the eastern skies. Distant floating buoys of pink and yellow are spotted near the horizon with the naked eye. We drift awhile closer and closer with the silent tide.
The seabirds follow from a distance, waiting for their breakfast to be brought to the oceans surface.

Nets are hoisted and lines and hooks are pulled by swarthy hands.

Fish, from deep in the ocean, 200 to 400 metres straight down, as the crow flies, whoops…as an octopus swims.
Fish are sorted, cut and boxed, the mornings work begins in earnest. The day is long and hard, no lunch break, no morning or afternoon tea, the tides, the winds and the fish cannot enjoy any idle time.

As the sun begins to turn towards the west a deep exhilaration touches the cool fisherman’s heart, money made to keep the kids at school and a few bob for the wife to spend at the local drapers store.
(No apology here for the choice of older style language!)

No one who has fished the great oceans of the world will ever find a reason to not return
Happy days to say the least,

As he ages, the salty sea dog must now only visit the waves in a recreational way. But it’s still a repeat of the long ago, a reminder, an echo, a yearning to touch the waters, and catch the blessings the great ocean offers.

 

Setting off fishing in the morning old photo

Setting off in the early morning

Setting off fishing in the early morning Kaikoura mountains

A pink float and a pink sky.

fisherman out at sea

Out at sea on winters day setting the nets. As you can see many of these old photos are quite blurry, but stiil able to be enjoyed

Making nets for fishing

Making nets for the fishing days ahead

Old engine and fish
Untangling knots a fisherman out at sea

A winters day and the long line floats to the surface

Bronzed fisherman in the summer

A summers day and the long line floats to the surface. 

Killer whale swims by

A killer whale swims by. 

Out at sea a fishing day

Seagulls trying to eat the catch of the day!!

Fishing boat and Kaikoura mountains

The old fishing boat with the Kaikoura mountain range in the background.

Looking back…

Even these old photos mean something.  Nothing or no one can stop the relentless, fleeting moments of time. Maybe a camera can? A photograph can hold on to a cherished memory and a bygone era, stopping time in its tracks for a second or two. Fisherman have a strong connection to the seas as I have witnessed from my family members. These old photographs certainly do it justice, and make history a blessed thing..

 

 

Immigrating to Australia, why I now photograph the ocean!??

Immigrating to Australia, why I now photograph the ocean!??

Kaikoura mountain range.

The view out of my bedroom window back in New Zealand on a winters day, mountains covered in snow.

.

When we first immigrated from New Zealand to Adelaide, Australia, I found the landscape boring, mundane and lacking height. Lowlands everywhere and not a drop of water in sight. I mean around every corner in New Zealand is a mountain, a river or a lake, all clear, blue and very pure.

Blue lake in Southland New Zealand
A river in New Zealand
River turquoise and abundant New Zealand

Rivers, rivers everywhere and lots of drops to drink! Not so in South Australia we discovered!

 

OUR TREK TO FIND SOME WATER

Being unused to the South Australian landscape, on a 40 degree day we headed towards the hills (Mount Lofty range)….looking for rivers, lakes and lagoons so we could cool off and take a swim.

 

BIG MISTAKE!

I have never ever found any of those things in the hills in South Australia to this day!! 

As we rounded each corner of the winding  road up towards Mt Lofty, with those harsh nasty gum trees looking down at us sadistically, I glanced over into the back seat to look at my children. I saw three flaming red cheeked kids with moronic looks on their faces staring back at me……It was that look of, “ Why have you brought us kids to this God forsaken country, what terrible parents you turned out to be, we are definitely not your children? We are adopted that’s for sure!”

Eventually we did realise that the two words “barren” and “Australia” walk hand in hand. Disheartened and very hot we drove back home.

As the days and weeks progressed instead of going to the hills to look for lakes and rivers we headed in the opposite direction. We thought we would see what the coastline offered to this unfortunate family who were suffering badly from heat stroke.

 

OH MY GOODNESS…

Spectacular, beautiful and untouched stretches of beach, which were swimmable! Not too many beaches in NZ are beautiful and swimmable. Too cold, too rocky, too dangerous, too rough, too gloomy, or weather never permitting. You may be lucky to stumble upon a few sunny days in the middle of summer! 

 

WE FAST BECAME BEACH ADDICTS..

Those glorious blue beaches have found us surfing, fishing, swimming, boating, playing, and almost all year round I might add! 

I well remember when we first arrived here trying to put the golden sand into an envelope to send home to show them how amazing the beaches were. True story! (The sand in New Zealand is either non existent or grey.)

Early on with my first camera my photography was centred around photographing my sons surfing. Not a hint of hilly heat stroke on those long warm days spent at the beach with the waves continuously rolling in. Now I photograph  all aspects of the vast blue sea, which changes day to day and moment by moment. Variety and beauty endlessly! It is a genuine privilige to be able to photograph the South Australian coastline.

TODAY….

Whenever we have spent a day at the beach and evening approaches I have created a habit, as I leave any of our beaches, I stop and look back at the ocean and ponder and thank God for the genius of His creation. The beaches so idyllic, I will always miss my homeland but I have found something wonderful to replace those nostalgic longings.

Calm blue sea water
Isolated beach with white umbrella

Above,

This beach is about 2 kms long, I had it all to myself on a glorious summers day last January, crystal clear water and golden sand, no flies and warm weather, what more could a woman want?

Yacht in the summertime

The bluest of blue!

Yacht moored in pink sunset
Fishing boat staying out till the end of the day.

Above,

A boat stays out fishing till the sun sets and the gulls have gone home.

Swimming in Salmon inlet shaded such a brilliant green.

Above,

Swimming in this effervescent green water. Located at the back of Althorpe Island, South Australia, we discovered this unique spot on one of our fishing trips, quite remarkable in its colour and location. You can read my other blog about Salmon Inlet HERE 

Massive cliffs in the setting sun. Cape Spencer

Enormous cliffs tower over the breaking seas. Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula.

Stenhouse jetty

Stenhouse jetty.

Surfer jumping

Surfers, sailors, swimmers and sunbakers they all love it!

Surfing at West Cape, Yorke Peninsula
Turquoise beach and waves rolling in
Ethels beach and a pink sunset
At the beach till midnight

The water is warm as is the air temperature. In the image above it is New Years Eve  and these boys walked the beach till midnight in bathers and bare chests.

South Australia is a vast and hot country, a unique environment which definitely takes some getting used to. There will be many challenges to face. Initially I missed family and friends, we struggled to succeed in a new business venture and my children were extremely unsettled, but the hot dry weather, the lack of inland water and mountains. definitely had the most profound effect on us all. 
Today some 30 years later I love the place, can’t get enough of the beaches and strangely I have learnt to also love and appreciate the inland areas. The fields, the farms, the desert, the outback all have a beauty of their own. There is a huge variety of landscapes to photograph and as time has gone by I have noticed I am never bored with my photography.  Still hate the heat, but hey, who enjoys 40 degrees?

If I can encourage anyone on this journey, slow down and get an air conditioner, (first things first) so you can think straight and make good decisions for your future. You will ,  as you perservere find a very beautiful and very majestical country.