KEY POINTS:
You could call it the David and Joe show. New Zealand's latest celebrity is being stopped in the street by fans wanting his autograph.
He's on his way, with his minder, to stock up on goodies for a planned fishing trip.
It's Kerikeri, on Thursday. Joe Karam and David Bain are in town. At the supermarket there's a queue waiting at the checkout to shake both of their hands.
Later the pair swing by a menswear store to pick up some togs and a pair of shorts. They have a coffee. Curious locals wave and stop. There's even some hugging and kissing.
They swim in one of the bays on their way north. Karam says it's not warm but they'll be damned if they're not going swimming. Bain's had his first wine, and a beer.
They are, as the nation knows, in the Bay of Islands for a bit of R and R. Karam says they'll be staying at a friend's bach.
By Saturday there's talk the "bach" could be Kingfish Lodge, a swanky resort accessible only by water, and Karam's friend Auckland property developer Pat Rippon, is soon to be lodge owner.
Set in picturesque Whangaroa Harbour, where author Zane Grey spent time gamefishing, it's the oldest coastal fishing lodge in the country.
The Herald on Sunday are told it could be "neither confirmed or denied" that the double act had chartered Serendipity, one of the Lodge's impressive launches.
Rippin says he knows nothing.
Karam laughs, enjoying time away from the media for the first time in days. "We're in the Bay of Islands, but I'm not telling you where we are. There's dozens of bays up here. See if you can find us."
He stops mid conversation to wipe crayfish from his mouth. He and his protege have been fishing at the Hole in the Rock and were filleting the two dozen fish - mainly trevally and snapper - they caught when a "very kind" woman dropped in with a couple of cooked crays. It was Bain, he says, who caught the first fish.
