School holidays were looming and, after another lockdown, we were keen to get away.
“Let’s go to Queenstown,” my husband pitched; I shuddered at the thought of being anywhere near an airport, let alone stuck in a plane! We had a great boat—why not use it?
So we looked at options around the Sounds for something different and settled on d’Urville Wilderness Resort. With a safe mooring, a comfy bed and dinner options, it ticked all the boxes for holiday criteria.
We launched out of Okiwi bright and early, cruised up the western side of the island and fished all day—it was magnificent! The list of different species was impressive: cod, gurnard, perch, kingfish, snapper, kahawai and, of course, ‘couta and shark. When we pulled into a glassy bay to tidy up, the kids caught piper and an opal fish that we had never seen and required assistance to ID.
It was late when we arrived at the lodge and no-one to be found anywhere. Eventually, we roused the keeper and settled in for the night.
We were off again early the next morning and, being mid-week, we virtually had the place to ourselves! There were dolphins and more magnificent sights before the weather closed in. We caught more fish in less favourable conditions, but still had the best time. That night we roasted marshmallow on the fire, supped drinks and relaxed while the kids ran around trying to catch a weka. By morning the rain had set in—good thing we were cruising home. Following a leisurely breakfast, we slipped through the mighty French Pass and headed for Okiwi, where a grumpy local scowled at me, “You shouldn’t go out in these conditions.”
I couldn’t tell him of the fun we’d had because I was concentrating on getting the boat back on the trailer.
Heartened by the fresh sea air and wonderful experience of d’Urville Island, we were in a happy mood heading back to the shed for clean up. The wash down and tidy up went smoothly—the truck loaded and the big gear bag hoisted onto the dog box… is that tied on? Decided not to be the nag-bag wife for a change but, in hindsight…
The last leg home—around the roundabout —the truck picked up speed heading into the 100km zone and Phil said, ”Oh! Did that just….”
Too late, the bag had rolled off the dogbox! We were committed on the motorway, there was no option to turn around, the mood was tense. It was a quick trip to the Nayland Rd off ramp to retrace our route. All eyes peeled, where was the bag? Nowhere! Vanished in less than five minutes. We were dismayed, baffled and then my mind wandered to the terrible contents: dirty fishing clothes destined for the laundry. Uh oh, imagine the smell to greet the person opening the bag!
I filed a police report, catalogued everything that was missing and I kept searching the roundabout every time we passed. Things were hard to track down, all those little useful things in the toilet bag were annoyingly missing. No luck with the police report, so we lodged an insurance claim—best to get Lucas’ glasses sorted for school.
Six months passed and the phone rang—it was the police, they had a bag matching our description in their lost property shed, could I please identify it? My heart raced—after all this time. Yes, it was our bag but we couldn’t take it due to the insurance claim. After a bit of to & fro, it was approved that we could claim the bag, it was only minor incidentals and spectacles.
So the end result is we have plenty of outdoor clothing for the next few years! We also have duplicates of our favorite games which can now stay on the boat. Lucas has a spare pair of glasses which will come in handy and of course, we also have an additional gear bag—to tie down!
