A Day Deep Sea Fishing in New Zealand

We've made a lot of great friends while living in New Zealand. And a lot of our friends have fun hobbies and great talents that they have shared with us. One thing we were really wanting to do while living in this country was to go fishing, on a boat, in the ocean. It just never happened until just recently. This is our day deep sea fishing in New Zealand!

Our 10 year old, Gavin, had Year 6 Camp for a few days at a nearby regional park. But we decided to take our other 3 kids out of school for the day to have fun out on the ocean. We're rebels like that ;) It was a gorgeous day with little wind and the sun was shining! We packed a bag full of snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen, towels, hats, our camera gear, and bait. We all also took some motion sickness medication to avoid making a mess of our friend's boat. I can get a bit nauseous sometimes when driving on windy roads or on boats and I didn't want to take my chances!

We launched the boat at a local dock and headed out to sea. We have all been on a boat plenty of times on Lake Powell. But boating on the ocean is quite a bit different than boating on a smooth lake! It was awesome being out there on the open water and zooming across the waves. We kept our eyes peeled for orcas, but no such luck. We did see dolphins though! It was cool to see them in the zone swimming fast through the water, on a mission to get somewhere.

We stopped the boat a few times to have a go at fishing. Our first stop, we caught a few bites right away. But the little buggers took the bait and ran. After having no luck, we drove to another location to try. We did this a few times until we were successful. Then once the fish started biting, we just kept reeling them in! Each of us had a turn reeling the fish in. We caught 9 snappers in all and had to throw back 4 because of the size. But it was so much fun to have a successful fishing day!

The kids loved being on the boat. Our little 5 year old, Reese, loved being at the hull of the boat playing around in her secret home. The boys loved being out in the sea breeze and watching the sea life. There were a few times that I got pretty nauseous and had to pray, and breathe, and keep my eyes on the horizon. But I survived and loved it! Cody was totally fine and loved chatting with our friend and having a go at driving the boat.

Once we got home, Cody got right to work watching a youtube video on how to fillet a snapper. It was a beast to do without the right tools and lack of experience, but it was so worth it because our dinner was extra delicious!

Our day deep sea fishing in New Zealand was a blast! We're so glad that our friend took the time to take us. It was something we'll never forget.