Wow what a December!! It turned out to be a really great month, weather wise, fish wise, and nature wise.
Because of all the holiday makers on the river December is normally not a great month for fishing; the fish don’t bite because they are scared away by all the boats going up and down the river. This year was different, no real rush until Christmas and then the madness started.
We had been catching fish steadily, with the numbers decreasing slightly, but the size increasing. By Christmas we were catching Grunter of up to 5kg, many in the 4kg class, which with all the disturbances is uncommon for this time of year. Listening to reports from others it seems as if only our guests were catching fish, which goes to show that the fishing techniques that we have developed really do work.
Grunter Mike led the way with a fish of 4.7kg, only to be beaten by Black Boettie with
a fish of 4.8kg, then young Louis (all of 11 years) came along and caught the biggest grunter of 5kg, amorous Andy caught the most fish of over 4kg. Luckily every fishing guest and some guests who were into other activities also caught fish, which must be some kind of record for the holiday season.
The weather played ball with very few windy days and no rain. According to Murphys Law we always get rain on New Year’s Eve, but not this year.
There was a bit of surf at Infanta to keep the surfers happy, and the mountain bikers did not have to contend with strong head winds, which kept them and the walkers happy. Kite surfing seems to be taking off at the mouth of the river, and is definitely a growing sport.
The Mudlark had a wonderful traditional Christmas Dinner, and according to the comments in the visitors book the New Years Eve Party went down a treat. Hilary truly excelled herself in the kitchen with assistance from Tracy and Audrey. The New Year was welcomed in with the traditional firing of rockets and flares by all and sundry in the area, as all know it is against the law, clearly the rebellious spirit still runs strongly among many local inhabitants.
Our Cape Clawless Otter made an appearance in front of our boat house, much to the surprise and delight of all. He played in the shallows for about 30 minutes before setting off up river. The Mudlark Spotted Genet arrived on New Year’s Eve, we had not seen it for over a week, and it calmly sat on the roof of one of the bungalows unperturbed by the camera flashes, a great end to the Old Year. There were even 2 Southern Right Whales in the Bay.
The New Year has started on a positive note. Let’s hope the recession is over and that life will get better for all. We wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2010
Contact Hilary or Tim on 028 542 1161
www.mudlark.co.za |
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Great White Shark Cage Dive for 2 people sponsored by 
