Woke up at 4 pm today after sleeping post night shift and was invited along on a Paua Hunt. Paua (NZ black abalone for those of you who are non kiwis) excite a level of fanaticism among seafood-lovers. They are hard to get unless you are near a good spot or you know someone near a good spot - poachers and legal harvesting have long depleted stocks and nearly everything, legal or otherwise, goes out of the country (to Asia, sadly, where canny marketing has punters convinced they will live longer if they pay $$$ for paua).
So after a little brain warm-up over Texas Hold-em Poker at Tim's place (I lost), off we swanned in the mayoral vehicle to pick up friends until we were five in number, and then we indulged in a spot of bush-bashing downhill towards a "secret spot" (a tip from the CEO of the City Council apparently) where paua were found in great abundance. It took me no time to learn the flick with a screwdriver trick, and there was no problem finding paua above the size limit. The goods came at a price of course - scratches from gorse on the way down, and a few scrapes on the hands from over enthusiastic assaults on rock pools. It'll all be worth it tomorrow night, when we indulge in a huge paua cookup - everyone will do their fave recipe.
We returned to town in just enough time for me to make my night shift, and Tim to make his show...
