Richard Robinson and Bill Morris threw themselves into reporting their cover story on eels: icy streams, extreme slime, gear that still smells of smoked eel. The big lesson? “Never wear rings while handling eels,” advises Morris. Pictured here helping local iwi wrangle eels into the sea at Te Waihora, the writer didn’t notice until he was driving home that his wedding ring had slipped off in the ooze. He was back first thing in the morning—and there was the ring.

