Land and Sea Adventures at d’Urville Island

The craziest 4×4 drive yet!

Again, we are always surprised about what these vehicles can do – but this time we are going at a faster speed! Laura’s bouncing around in the backseat, laughing like a maniac (which you have to be to enjoy this sort of thing), while Robin is just holding on for dear life. Ash, who used to race cars and often likes to catch some air when by himself, claims he is going much slower than usual. But he has his own fun, driving through bushes on Robin’s side of the car so Robin sh*ts himself. Even if we weren’t to stuffed to stand right now, we couldn’t have missed this crazy ride up the mountain!

d’Urville Island views

And here we are… The view! We can see all of one side of d’Urville Island, which then extends behind us. We see the South Island, and on a clearer day than today, we would have been able to see Wellington on the North Island.

The scenery on the way back down the mountain is pretty exceptional too, looking down onto the wilderness resort from a height.

Relaxing d’Urville style

Back at the resort, Robin rolls out of the Jeep in relief. We now have some time to relax, whether it’s on the jetty or sat by the fire outside. Either way, it’s peaceful, it’s serene, we love it.

After a lunch of seafood chowder and hot chips in the sun, Ash is getting the fishing boat together as we prepare to leave the island. Nooooo, we don’t want to leave! But… We want to go fishing… So conflicted!

On the edge of d’Urville Island

Seal spotting!

Before casting lines and taking names, we make a stop at a small island between d’Urville Island and French Pass on the South Island. There’s a small seal colony sunbathing! Wah, seals are so cute! They barely care that we are there, as they look at us, roll over, and carry on sleeping. There’s even a seal wedging itself between two rocks while talking to another seal, for whatever reason.

A man and his land

At French Pass, we pick up a guy who has driven from Christchurch to have a look at some land on d’Urville Island that he wants to build on. Ash is giving him a ride over to the island, but the thing is, this guy doesn’t really seem to know where the land is. We release him into the d’Urville wilderness, perhaps being the last time we see him…

Laura’s battle with barracudas

Let’s go fishing! Since Laura is an experienced fisherlady now, she casts her line and gets the two fish limit she can get (due to the regulations of the area to keep fish populations high, see Fishing in New Zealand for details). While reeling the second fish up, a barracuda leaps out of the water to pinch the catch off Laura’s line! We’ve also attracted some cheeky shag birds too.

Robin’s biggest catch of the day

Robin is giving fishing a try for the first time. Virginia gives him a quick lesson, and he catches the biggest catch of the day… Then he struggles for half an hour trying to get his second one…