Ian Botham
The English cricket legend has walked much of the world for Beefy’s Charity Foundation but the countries he visits to put his feet up have one thing in common: fish.
QUEENSTOWN
Each year, at the end of February, I play golf in the New Zealand Open’s celebrity pro-am. My wife [Kathryn] and I rent a house on a hillside between Queenstown and Arrowtown with a view of The Remarkables ski fields and a winery called Wet Jacket at the bottom of the driveway. The air is so clean and fresh and the light is amazing.
We often meet friends at the winery and sit in the garden with a glass of wine and some New Zealand cheeses and pâtés.
Either side of the Open, I go fly-fishing with a gillie [fishing guide]. Sometimes we’ll drive – you can go 10 minutes or two hours – and sometimes we’ll take a helicopter to a remote mountain and get dropped off in the middle of nowhere. A guy called Bruce sets up camp and we fish a mile or so down below before working our way back up for a lunch of lamb chops. You’ll see a few deer – and hopefully some trout – and that’s about it. It’s so beautiful.
GALLE
I first went to Sri Lanka in 1982
– I played in the inaugural match when they were awarded Test cricket status – but didn’t get a chance to explore it then. After that, it was engulfed in civil war for many years but now that everything has settled down, it’s just the most wonderful place.
We rent a villa with a beautiful swimming pool on the beach near Galle. In the mornings, the chef from the house wanders along the sand with me and picks what we’re going to have for dinner – fresh crabs, tuna, prawns, you name it, brought in by local fishermen. At sunset, you sit there with a sundowner, looking out over the ocean. It’s unbelievable.
I’ve seen it in the worst of times, too. After the Boxing Day tsunami [in 2004], I went there with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and we ended up rebuilding a village called Seenigama, 25 kilometres from Galle, that had been wiped out. Kath and I try to get there at least once a year and always pop down to the village to see the people. They’ve never forgotten.
KJARRÁ RIVER
I love my fishing – I chase salmon around the world. So as a belated 60th birthday gift, I went to Iceland for a week with some mates. We spent four days in the mountains up north fishing just below a glacier and caught 30-odd a head. We were tripping over salmon; we never got bored.
The Icelandic people are so friendly and the scenery is something to behold. Down near the harbour in the capital, Reykjavík, you’ve got all these squares with wonderful restaurants. You can easily waste a day people-watching and enjoying the local food and ale.
We had to have darkened rooms because we were there in summer with 24 hours of daylight. I could handle it. I’m not so sure I could handle the three months of almost total darkness [in winter] – that, I think, would be quite bizarre.
I was so impressed, I’m going back next year and taking my son, Liam, as part of his 40th birthday present.