Backpacking and Spearfishing the World

Hey Guys,

I've been on an extended vacation through Europe and have recently kitted up and started the spearfishing part of my journey, which will hopefully be a big part of this from now on. I will eventually end up in a few other decent spots outside of Europe, hence the thread in the Other International section.

I hope to be able to hook up with other spearos around the world and experience some great diving and local vibes.

Cheers,
Kolt

I've started a blog with photos from my travels: http://koltfish.tumblr.com

So here is a quick recap of what I've been up to since leaving NZ:

I went back home and shot a fish or two in Florida, that was nice (as always).

Then I went to NYC and Sweden and Amsterdam, blah blah blah.

Then I went to Spain. I got a new kit and hit up the Costa Brava, based out of L'Escala, one of the Med's famous anchovy ports. Got to dive Cap de Creus, which was awesome. Great underwater territory, 25 meter vis, and among other species,
got to nearly touch a school of about 30-40 large dentex, say 3-5 kg. CdC is a natural reserve, so no spearing...

Spain requires all spearos to have a doctors exam saying you are fit to dive, diving
medical insurance, and a license, all just to chase a few tiny fish around. So, next stop France. The spearing laws are a lot more relaxed, so I got myself a gun.

I quickly moved from Perpignan to Nice to meet up with some divers and get some water time. Things weren't so awesome there, so after seeing a few nice fish in Nice, I was excited to move to more exotic locales, so here I am in the birthplace of Napoleon, Corsica.

My first shore dive was near the tiny village of Erbalunga. The bottom is very flat (not great) so I ended up a long way offshore, which was not a good thing considering I had no float and was diving from the port. Anyway, just before my second dive in about 14 meters, I see this huge thing cruising the bottom. It was a 45-50kg bluefin tuna. I did a quick dive straight down hoping it would swing around to investigate, but after turning blue on the bottom waiting and hoping, I gave up. Needless to say I was not expecting that!

I had a few dud dives after that, so checked out the sat imagry to find some better spots. I found a good spot north of Erbalunga and that has been the focus of a few dives now.

After a bit of work and some patience, I was finally able to get my first Mediterranean dentex.

The weather has been horrible for the last three days, so I've been doing a bit of recon. This is one spot that looked ok.

The wind has finally subsided and the northeast coast is diveable. Went out this morning and had a decidedly average dive - vis is down, swell is still there, and the fish have found someplace else to chill...off to the west coast tomorrow.

I would love to see somebody polespear a dentex! It's certainly possible, but you would need a world class breathhold.

Finally got in the water again today. I've been plagued by wind for a while now and decided to go anyway. Ended up seeing lots of fish, but the fish were super wary (it was a well known spot close to town). I did end up getting a very nice goatfish, which will make a nice dinner.

Have been diving a lot and I will post some updates soon, BUT, I'm off to Bali in 10 or so days!!!!

I'll be with two Kiwis and we are looking for any good contacts, tips for accommodation, boats, etc.

Ill have Corsican updates soon.

Awesome I'll be in touch ASAP.