Jessie Casson

I write this in the car as we head up to Northland for the last 10 days of the trip. Yesterday I shot subject number 35, a champion bow-hunter specifically a winner of the World Koi Carp Classic held annually in Huntly. This classic competition involves shooting Koi Carp (fish) with bows and arrows to try to eradicate the introduced pest from the waterways.

We have just driven through Auckland for the first time since we left in December. I felt slightly overwhelmed by the urban sprawl and traffic volume and that desire to move away and bury our heads in an organic garden with free range chickens pounded strong.

We spent 3 days instead of the planned one night last week with Emily, a shearing world record holder. Her family let us park in their about-to-be-open café car park and invited us to banquet with them every night with 10 others. They took us caving into a kilometer long cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites lining the walls and ceilings like a sugared cathedral. They sent us on our merry way with a bag full of greens from the garden and some bacon from the farm. I would like to think we will see this family again, either because they live 90 mins from Auckland or because we have fled the city and bought a piece of neighboring land.

Our week in the East Cape was shortened to 3 nights as time was catching up with us. However the 2 nights at John’s basic, ‘Sea Level Park’ made sure we got the beautiful East Cape experience. John’s camp was a field with a make shift long drop in the corner. The location was meters from the sea and an eclectic collection of small lean to shacks operated as John’s living quarters. On the first night while I was shooting Christine, a record holder for ladies fishing, John joined Matt for a chat and gave us a bag of fruit. I was introduced to John the following day and we talked for about half an hour about the beauty of slow living verses the city’s rat race. Every anecdote and story that John told I wanted to capture and record. That evening on returning from his fishing trip he handed Matt 4 snapper for our dinner and then appeared later with a whole smoked Kahawai and another bag of fruit. Smoked fish that was still warm with fresh lemons, we felt like kings. The following day we were treated to stories of his father, the traveling world champion woodchopper. We left promising to write to let him know before we return next time so that he can catch some crayfish in advance of our arrival.

We have 3 weeks left before routine house living sucks us back into her four walls. I choke up just thinking about it. We must stand still and inhale the deserted beaches and morning swims, 2 hob cooking and candle lit nights.