Recently, TRM and others have blogged about the importance of fly fishing as a healthy hobby to relieve the stress of modern city living. These were posted with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek as one of the healthiest persons I know, thriving on a well-balanced active life extending further every year in her 80’s, never goes fly fishing. I refer to SWMBO, of course.
She relies on other magic medicinal treatments from an impeccable source, to recommend to TRM inmates. This all came about yesterday when we had a visit from another “motelier” from Toe-Paw, Colin MacPhee. SWMBO was delighted to learn he had far wider experience, including a food and beverage management stint at another competing motel/hotel – Huka Lodge.
SWMBO immediately drew on her extensive dining-out experience, which included a memorable lunch at Huka Lodge in 2012.
As the lodge has recently been extensively upgraded, the photos may be obsolete, but they should be sufficient to provide the general impression.
At the time SWMBO was anxious to discover if there was anything we could learn from Huka Lodge. No surprise, we did not find anything comparable to TRM. Huka Lodge was simply exquisite.
However I managed to identify one advantage that they could not compete with. TRM is much closer to the Tongariro River. But I digress…
There is no argument that a healthy diet, away from “fast foods”, is just as important as healthy hobbies. So SWMBO was intrigued in the following revelation from Colin who waited on the Queen during her last visit to Huka Lodge. Naturally, we never reveal any peculiar preferences of guests, so this is an exception in the interests of good health and diet. On arrival, the Queen’s first request from Colin was for a refreshing drink, her standard tipple, which comprised 2/3 Gin and 1/3 Dubonnet on ice. SWMBO knows you really wanted to learn that. To qualify for the fly fishing connection in a TRM blog, the recipe had been handed down by her mother who was also a Tongariro River angler.
Occasionally when we have a wet, miserable day in Turangi, we get desperate for a good fishy story…
When SWMBO is away next week, I hope to report on my new health tonic…
Being a curious fisho I like to check on any medicines first with Dr. Google. Their advice is that Dubonnet is: French, a sweet, aromatised wine-based quinquina, often enjoyed as an aperitif.[3] It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of quinine),[4] with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol.
As my health tonic, it may be of interest to learn that Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, in response to a competition run by the French Government to find a way of persuading French Foreign Legionnaires in North Africa to drink quinine.[4] Quinine combats malaria but is very bitter.
Therefore it would be reasonable to assume the Royal Medical advisors were recommending this as a preventitive medicine to avoid any chance of the Royals catching Malaria when visiting the south seas colonies.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and Anopheles mosquitoes.
Adults with malaria tend to experience chills and fever, classically in periodic paroxysmal attacks lasting around six hours, followed by a period of sweating and fever relief—as well as headache, fatigue, abdominal discomfort, and muscle pain – all very similar to the fever reported that Tongariro anglers suffer from not fishing enough.
