With the legendary outback diver Matt Kingi Crockett, back in the land of the long white dole queue, for a few days, we took the opportunity to head to the far side of Great Barrier. With the Westerly wind building on Friday, we headed off from Omaha at about 2pm in the Black Scallop. It took about 1 hour 40 to round The Needles in a 15 knot following sea, accompanied by a few playful dolphins. We immediately headed down the east coast and anchored up at Harataonga Bay. The sea was flat and calm, and after a couple of hours we both came back with a few 3-3.5 kg snaps. Moored the night in the calm bay of Korititi, feasting on fine canned food, and Aussie Shiraz. After a leisurely start the following morning we dived straight from the boat at Korititi. Coincidentally the next door bay is Awana, home to Navy Seals pets. I headed that direction, and Kingi the other. Korititi has a white sandy bottom, with some nice weed lines. While crossing the bay I saw what I thought was a big snap on a V shaped weed line. With all the stealth of Kim DotCom at a local council buffet, I dropped into the depths. Hiding in the weeds, about 10 mtrs from the prey, the large snap morphed into a 5-6kg Boarfish. Decision time…………large Boarfish in relatively shallow water (about 5 mtrs)………….do I go for the drop in on its blind spot from above, or try an snoop up to it, keeping in mind that there was about 5 mtrs of open ground from the weeds to the fish. Decision………..In shallow water it would see me coming from above………….stealth is my only option. With cat(fish) like abilities, I pull myself silently through the weeds…….I’m at the edge of the weeds, it hasn’t seen me, but the gap is too far to take the shot………thinking………..thinking………don’t stuff it up………….thinking……….thinking ……..thinking I’m running out of air…………..my only option is to carefully approach from the weeds. As I came into the open, the fish was onto me, it slowly turned and began to swim away. My only option was a quick burst forward, and to take the shot. Did so…………….on target……but fell short. Trophy fish swims away. Bugger! Hoping it had stopped somewhere near, I search for the fish. No deal. Bugger! Time to get some crays………….off to the Awana zoo round in the next bay. It was then that one of the most action packed events occurred in my 12 years of diving. I had been checking every gut, and behind every large boulder, for an hour for big snaps. Master Snoop had always told me to stay focused, so I give myself an underwater uppercut as I start to get lazy. Rounding a large boulder in about 3mtrs of water, I come face to face with a Big Snap. We are both shocked (exchange phone numbers, and agree to meet for lunch in a couple of weeks). I instinctive shoot from the hip, with the spear crashing into the fish, just above the gill plate behind the eye. You know the bit where the hard skull is. The spear briefly lodged then falls out. NO! The fish swims away…………..slowly?…………..so slowly I can keep up with it. I must have hurt it bad, the game is not over! Sure enough the fish swims for about 20mtrs and goes into a cave, with and entrance about 1mtr wide, at a depth of 3 mtrs. The cave goes into a large egg shaped boulder about 10 mtrs by 5 mtrs. I calm myself down, breath up, and drop into the cave. Can’t see a thing, the hole is 4 mtrs deep, all murky from the entering beast. Returning to the surface I check for other exits, nope none, my prize is still in there. I drop into the cave again, with my trusty cray torch (no gun, it better not come out at me). In the murk I see it, up against the back of the cave, taking panadol. I re-surface, give some time for the dust to settle, and enter the cave with gun and torch. Lined it up, and pulled the trigger. Bingo. It took some time, to get the beast and spear from the cave. Kept getting jammed on the cave walls. There was a point when oxygen levels were running on reserve, but I was not about to let me best snap yet get away. (its at this point I put in the bit about the giant octopus and hot mermaid, for my kids) Nek Minit, on the surface hugging the fish. Elated, wooping joy, with no-one to hear (the best kind of wooping I rekon!). Checked out the Cray spot, with only one in residence. That colony has never recovered from John Dangers and Navy Seals great pillaging of 2010. I recall I did tell you to stop! Back to the boat, snap weight in at 7,5kg (17lbs). Stoked. Dived the rest of the day, getting a few smaller models. Hid from the building easterly winds under the cliffs in Rangiwhakaea Bay. More canned delights, Bourbon and fine Shiraz. Short dive the next day, for trevs and butter fish. Kingi plays Cat and Mouse with a few biggies. After fuelling up at Whangaparapara lodge it off home at 2pm, and manage to get Kingi to a 6.30pm international flight. Not bad into a 15 knot westerly. Great fun weekend, with memories of a lifetime. We live in a very cool country. - Porae