Tbh we used bugger all berley down here ....or I dont , because mostly I catch Blue cod and they are not at all fussy about bait and greedy as hell ....pretty much if they are there you will catch them . They are a bit territorial and can be patchy but once you've found them ....
Im getting a bit bored with them , Id really like to catch Trumpeter or gurnard , kahawai are good fun but I not that big a fan ....but then I have not tried smoking them yet . A decent smoke house is on the build list . I also want to smoke some meat ...maybe make some jerky ...I like "Jacks" that you can buy in the shop so I should have a go . Thinkin about buying one of the electric smoke generators , and Mitre 10 has a whole isle of different wood chips .
There are some decent rocks (Pig Island ) that I want to get up current from and berley back to and either strayline or try some softbaits around them . Mostly I want to make berley to get rid of my freezer full of frames and be able to process any more frames instead of just chucking them in the bait freezer .
Biggest issue I have is just getting on the water. Boat has been parked so long (again ) that I will have to un-mothball the motor ( paint a bit of engine assembly lube on the camshaft and followers, prime the oil pressure and fit a new cambelt ) before starting . 🙂🙂

Shows you how much I know ...I thought it was smoked dry 🙄😁.
I would like to cold smoke chicken pieces . You used to be able to buy Tegal whole chooks but now only smoked Tegal breasts . Local butcher does them but not as good .

Used to buy bait fish when we lived in Nelson ( thanks Big Blue ) circa 2001 to 2014 and now when I go to P&S I see the same fish frozen in the food fish section ....plus lots of other imported baity looking stuff .
There are Mullet in some estuaries round here but it seems they are mostly caught in nets ...which puts me out . I know fresh is best but squid bait from shop is easy for cod but once I get some berley I will fish the Aparima estuary for KY coz they are def there ,and maybe squeeze in between the kids at the wharf and try sabiki's for some fresh baitfish ......or buy it off them 😁.

Cold smoked chicken sounds like a great way to lose a bunch of weight real fast. I wouldn't cold smoke anything I wasn't prepared to eat raw.

Oh gawd ,sounds like yet another repurposed fridge cabinet on the horizon ,I have one for all my ammo , another upright freezer for conditioning home brew ,another upright freezer for actual brewing .
The upright freezers are good coz they come with the fan and shelves ,add a budget t/stat and a old style defrost element ( yeah I used to fix domestic refrigeration and appliances )and you have a temperature controlled insulated cupboard .....food grade too 😁.