Mtamvuna Estuary Fishing - From the Waters to the Pan

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The Mtamvuna River forms the border between the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal.
Southerly it's the start of the beautiful but rugged Wild Coast that once formed part of the Transkei.
Mtamvuna means Reaper of mouthfuls, and is named thus as it does a huge amount of damage to crops during storms.
The approx 160 kilometres long river has a wide mouth that runs into the Indian Ocean just south of the coastal town of Port Edward.

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MTAMVUNA FERRY SERVICE PRE-1966
I remember when I was a child how our car would be driven onto a vehicular ferry and taken across the border on trips to the Wild Coast fishing waters at Port St Johns and Coffee Bay; always an exciting adventure for us kids!

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MTAMVUNA RIVER
The Mtamvuna Bridge connecting the two provinces was built in 1966 and is the second longest single span steel suspension bridge in South Africa, with a span of 206 metres; the highest point is 35 metres above the roadway.

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We stayed at the beautiful eco-friendly Caribbean Estates this past week for a short breakaway and enjoyed the walks through the subtropical vegetation down to the estuary's tranquil fishing jetty.

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One can catch a boat ride from here to the Riverside Beach Bar where you can take in a slow River Cruise inland or take in more exciting water sports.

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The first fish, a Snapper Salmon caught by none other than a woman, my sister in law Mandy;)

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Not to be outdone, my son followed suit with another Snapper Salmon; a good day all in all!

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The beginning of sunset, but no worries as the pathway is well lit as is the fishing jetty.

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Night fishing yielded a couple of bites, but no fish caught!

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We decided to leave when this lone Egyptian Goose turned up to bed down for the night.


PAN-FRIED SNAPPER SALMON

It was also time to get those fish into the pan for dinner.

As the fish were quite small, approx 1kg each, I decided not to fillet them, but rather make a couple of slices across, cut off the tail, season, dust with flour and dip into beaten egg before shallow frying slowly.

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Drained on paper towel and it's all ready for plating.

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BON APPETIT FRIENDS!

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Original Content by @lizelle
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15 comments
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what a gorgeous view of the bridge over the river, and to be able to fish there as well, no wonder you stayed till so late.

In typical Hong Kong sytle, I would have steamed the freshly caught fish, but your pan frieds one look so yummy as well.

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I really enjoy steamed fish as well, you've just given me a very good tip as hubby and our son tell me I've overfed them this past week so now they want to go on a diet; steamed fish will be perfect!
I'd love to see how you do it Hong Kong style;)
It was a glorious week indeed, I used the haveyoubeenhere app but deleted this waypoint as I wanted to add better photos but then had internet issues. I was hoping one could delete a pic & add a different one but that functionality doesn't seem to work? Will pop into Discord some time.

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Making Hong Kong style steam fish is really easy Liz. Place the cleaned, descaled and gutted fish whole on the plate - we keep the head and tail as it looks nicer, but you can remove that if you want. Cut some ginger into matchstick sizes and layer on top. Steam the fish for around 9 or 10 minutes, depending on the thickness. If it's a smaller thinner one, 7 or 8 minutes will do. Check to see if it's done by sticking a fork/choptick/skewer in to see if it goes through smoothly. If not give it another 2 minutes. The trick is not to over steam the fish as it will go all rubbery, you want to keep it moist and succulent. Remove from heat when done. Finally, prepare some scallions/spring onion into match stick size, spread on top of the cooked fish. Heat up about two table spoons of oil till its sizziling hot, pour on top of the spring onion and add a dash of soy sauce. Viola! You're done.

The cooked oil and soy sauce is one of the best part of the dish and complements the fish perfectly. Hope this helps!!

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Thank you so much @livinguktaiwan, this sounds really delicious and very different, but I will certainly try steaming fresh fish like that next time, really appreciate the thorough description:)

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What a gorgeous view of the bridge over the river, and being able to fish there as well, no wonder you stayed till the evening

In typical Hong Kong style, we would have steamed the freshly caught fish, but your pan fried looks yummy as well

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Yes, this is a beautiful part of the country, and indeed I was there already!!

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We are blessed indeed with a beautiful country, the lower South Coast will always be my favourite!
Thanks for popping in @rynow.

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Another successful break and still cooking, presenting delicious fresh fish @lizelle

Very special piece of coast, brilliant photography capturing the history along with essence of life here in KwaZulu-Natal, exceptional part of our coastline.

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It really is our favourite coastline here in KZN, best swimming beaches and fishing waters as well. We braaied most of the time as always when holidaying, but had to cook the 'catch of the day';) It was a really special time as family joined us and we took Mom with so our Cynthia came with to help Mom get around; her balance is really bad now.
Thanks for the visit Joan:)

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Wonderful that you could all go, with the views from the cottages Mom would not need to go far and enjoy the company. Gives everyone some time to enjoy what they love doing in spare time away.

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Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1005.

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Lovely images of the view out there. Wow! the fish are freshly caught that you pan fried, the pieces looked so crispy. My recipe for fish would be cooked it with vinegar, garlic and olive oil, spice with salt and ground black pepper plus long mild pepper a bit of water and simmer for a bout half hour until soft. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

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Oh crap! You had me at the cover image and then you cooked the catch of the day. I've never seen someone one-up their own self but you managed to pull that off too.

Congratulations on all the traction you're receiving around here @lizelle. Well deserved young lady!

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