Need a lift? Dargaville to Pouto to Helensville

Fishing with Cambodians

Friday, 17 October

What a day!

The plan today was to ride 66km from Dargaville to Pouto – basically a spot on the map at the end of a long skinny peninsula of the west coast north of Auckland with a few houses, a public toilet, beach and not much else there! From Pouto we hoped (key word here) to catch a fishing boat across the expanse of water that is the Kaipara Harbour.

The plan:

At 8am we called the boat and Sheryl answered. A fishing boat could pick us up at 1:30pm today or else we would have to wait til Monday. Since Monday would set us back by several days, our choices were: 1) ride fast and get to Pouto asap to catch the boat by 1:30 that would take us down to Helensville, or 2) ride way out of the way to go around the huge bay (maybe a 2-day ride?). I didn’t want to do option 2..., and option 1 sounded like fun, so we got ready faster than any day previously and hit the road by 9:30.

Ewoud had doubts from the beginning and thought it was really risky to try to make it to Pouto by 1:30 today (he was right, it unarguably was…). He wanted to turn back just after we started and bike the other way out of town - the way out-of-the-way route (which I did not want to do at all). I persuaded him that if we kept going, someone would stop for us and we could make it - it would be an adventure. He reluctantly agreed (I can’t blame him for being reluctant…), and we biked a bit more.

By 10:30 it was pretty clear to me that we (and by that I mean I) would NOT make it to Pouto by 1:30 by bike alone. We had covered less than 10k, and since Sheryl told us the last 25km was a really difficult gravel road, I knew that if I was going to make it I needed to find an alternative way to get there. Ewoud… well he probably could ride all the way if he wanted to, but I had to find a lift. So I stopped – we stopped – and held up our thumbs for a while. A couple cars stopped here and there, but they were either going in a different direction or were too small to carry a bike with panniers.

Ewoud decided he would keep riding because there was a better chance he could cycle there on time, and there was a better chance that I, a single female, could catch a lift without him. Turns out that’s very true.

After 10 minutes or so of biking slowly down the road with my thumb up, Joanne (in a pick-up truck, or a “yute”, if you will, stopped to see if I was ok. Bless her. She was going home – about 20ks up the road, and said she could take me – and Ewoud – up that point. We piled my bike and bags in her car and a picked up Ewoud a few more kms up the road (I think he was impressed with my hitch-hiking skills). Joanne was, in true Kiwi-like fashion, very kind and told us about her family’s farmland and the hundred of Angus cows they raise. She took us past her house to get us over another hill, and from there we reassembled and started peddling. 30kms down, 40kms+ to go. I thought at this point that we at least had a slight chance of cycling to the end.

After 10km or so of cycling, a huge empty logging truck came lumbering up the hill behind us. We put our thumbs up again and the truck stopped. Steve, the most relaxed, kind, cool and friendly man I think we’ve met so far (which says a lot!) jumped out and said: “Load ‘em up! I’ll bring you up the hill to the yute (translation: pick-up truck) and call my wife and have her bring you to the end at Pouto.” So we put our bikes on the back of the truck, jumped in the truck and we were on our way again making record time.

After being passed by all the huge logging trucks all day, every day, it was a nice change to actually be inside one!

Steve dropped us off at the yute, we loaded our stuff in, and within 15 minutes his wife showed up to take us the rest of the way. Cath was just as cool, relaxed and talkative as her husband. What a couple. She told us about all the calf-roping, horse-riding, and rodeo sports her family is involved in, about her Maori culture and the upcoming derby they would be hosting over labor day at their house. She was incredible.

We arrived in Pouto literally 5 minutes before the boat got there. They were 30 minutes early, and even if they were two hours LATE there is no way under the sun we would ever have made it close to catching that boat if we didn’t meet each of those people at just the right time.

But it gets better.

When we jumped on the boat it was full of guys fishing. The skipper (as you would imagine) had a big white beard. He introduced himself as Rod – or “fishing Rod” as people call him. Really friendly old guy who has lived his whole life in the region. He told me he’s only been to the south island three times – two times to the same place to check out some boats, and once to Christchurch for a week for a wedding. Amazing to live your whole life in one place!! J

The other guys were fishing. Jamie, a Kiwi guy and fishing expert, chartered the boat and took along a bunch of his Asian friends who he knows from work. The first guy I met was from Laos – Luang Prabang, where I was last month. Another guy was from China. Turns out the rest of them – 5 other guys – were all Cambodians who have been living in NZ for 7-9 years! They were all very surprised to find that I live in Cambodia and speak Khmer, and it was really fun to talk with them – instant connection.  

By the time we got on the boat, the guys had already caught 76 Red Snappers and a shark of some sort, and the boat was headed to a new area to fish for Kahawai fish. We didn’t know we’d also get to join a fishing tour (and to see some seals along the way).

Jamie hooked Ewoud up with a fishing pole and as Ewoud fished for awhile (and caught quite a few), I chatted with Rod, the skipper and drank tea – it was sunny but cold as the boat moved.

Eventually they asked if I wanted to give the fishing a go, so I took Ewoud’s pole, assumed my position in the back of the boat, folled the instructions to drop the line, and within two seconds (quite literally), a nice Kahawai was on the line and a few more seconds later up in the boat. I told the guys that THAT was how it’s done!

Maybe five or ten minutes later I reeled in my second catch. This time it wasn’t a Kahawai at the end of the line, it was a Hammerhead Shark! Pretty incredible. It was a fun catch and a very fun and humorous group to be fishing with.

After a good 3 or 4 hours on the boat Rod dropped the fishing group off, and then Ewoud and I off with our bikes on the pier in Helensville, a small town with not much there. We rode a short ways to a campsite, set up the tent and cooked a big pasta dinner. We couldn’t believe the day we had and how it all worked out seamlessly. The day could have easily turned out a bit differently… I’m glad we took the risk!