Moving on to Reefton

Heading towards the West Coast, we decided to stop for the night in Reefton.  The discovery of rich gold bearing quartz in the hills and valleys around town, soon gave rise to the nickname Quartzopolis.  The other claim to fame is that Reefton was the first town to “see the light”.  Reefton Power Station supplied electricity to the very prosperous gold mining town and was the first power station to supply municipal electricity in the Southern Hemisphere. It started operation on 4 August 1888.

On our way

Our  trip took us through the Upper Buller Gorge turning off at Springs Junction. I seem to have a bit of a thing for interesting bridges, and although this one had a height restriction, I’m sure it is tall enough for trucks and buses to pass through along this busy road

An interesting bridge

85km later, we rolled into town.  We had not been here since our 2012 trip, quite a while ago now.

Almost there

This time we stayed at the Reefton Hotel, which offers free parking to caravans and motorhomers. Several other vans were there already, and there is a dump station across the road.   Robin went into the bar to make sure it was OK to stay here, and the reply was, “We are happy to have you, please support us”.  Of course we did.

Parked up at the Reefton Hotel

It was another stinking hot day and I left Robin having a wee snooze while I walked the short distance up town to see what I could see.  “Trucks of Quartz Mural” is a tribute to the vital part that horses played in the early days of mining towns.

Mural in town

On our previous visit I was keen to visit the Bearded Miners at the Miners Hut.  The replica 1860s hut is still in the centre of town and the bearded miners welcomed visitors to learn about how miners lived when the promise of gold lured thousands of prospectors to the area.  Today the buildings were locked up tight, not a single bearded miner in sight.

Where the bearded miners hang out

True to our word, we supported the Reefton Hotel with our patronage.  Fourzees was spent in the cool of the shady garden bar, chatting to our next door neighbours.  Then we went into the dining room for dinner, roast for me and a huge burger for him, certainly very good value for money, although I wished I had ordered the small instead of the medium size.  On the menu was a large roast, goodness knows how huge that would be.  There were other vanners inside to chat with, so it was very pleasant evening indeed.

No cooking tonight

First job when we were ready to go was to use the handy dump station across the road down by the river.  But….the potable water tap had a “boil water” notice attached so we left that well alone. Hopefully we will pick up some fresh water shortly.

Across the river

This river side road had quite a history.  The Strand was Reefton’s early business centre and was lined with handsome buildings.  Some time later the businesses moved from the Strand to Broadway, which became the main street in town.

The Strand in it’s hey day

Murchison

The drive along SH6 to Murchison was through forested areas, a very pretty drive indeed.  116km later, we pulled into the Murchison NZMCA Park over Property.  The size of the park has certainly increased since we were last here several years ago.  Fresh water, rubbish facilities, and a dump station available, and $10 a night for two people.  We arrived at about 1.00pm so at that time of day there were plenty of sites available.  It was stinking hot, and as we found out later, the temperature was 30 degrees, no wonder we needed cold drinks and some R&R on arrival.

NZMCA at Murchison

Originally known as Hampden, the discovery of gold led to the establishment of the town.  Several old, rather interesting buildings are still standing, and right next to the NZMCA Camp is  the old Commercial Stables building.  Now it trades as Dust and Rust Vintage Store, selling all sorts of bits and pieces.

The old Commercial Stables

There have been tales of gunfights at this hotel on the corner in years gone by.  Things seem much more law abiding now.

Hampden Hotel

Murchison lies close to the Alpine Fault, and in 1929 a powerful quake centered in Murchison was felt throughout the country.  The town as evacuated, but 17 lives were lost, and the surrounding area was left in ruins, causing the Maruia River to gouge out a new channel, creating the Maruia Waterfall. 

An advertisement for “The longest swing bridge in New Zealand” caught our interest.  A 15km trip along the Upper Buller Gorge, and we arrived at the destination.  The swing bridge is only one part of the operation.  Jet boating, flying fox rides and gold panning are also on offer.

 

We decided the swing bridge would be enough excitement for us.  Goodness me, at 110m  long, and suspended 17m high above the Buller River, off we went.  Of course we had to stop in the middle to take some snaps of the river.  The Maori name for the river is Kawatiri, meaning “deep and swift”, and it certainly is.

Taken from the middle of the bridge

We made it across without any mishap, and a friendly person waiting on the other side kindly took our photo.  That wasn’t too bad at all, Robin managed very well with his knees.  We spent some time there watching streams of people walk across, eventually returning ourselves.

No problem, we made it

Not everyone could face the swing bridge – we were chatting to one young woman who decided she just couldn't step onto it, and stayed put as her family crossed over and took the flying fox back.  We bought a drink each and watched as the flying fox came hurtling back.  What a racket it made as it hit the arrestor wires and was brought to a sudden stop, it truly sounded like the passengers had smashed face first into a brick wall!  A group was getting a lesson in gold panning, and we could hear the throb of the jet boat engine as it was getting ready for a trip.  And more and more people made the trip across on the flying fox.

Driving back to camp we saw a whole long line of large containers up against the side of the hill.  Obviously there for protection after a major land slide, I imagine.  Still a work in progress, it seems.

Holding back the land slide/rock fall

After two nights here in Murchison, we are moving on again, next stop – Reefton

Boxing Day at the Beach

Boxing Day at the Beach is a Kiwi institution.  Kaye and Jan’s Christmas household full of rellies took off to Marahau Beach, and we followed them a little later after we had done a few things.  The day was hot and sunny, but the cool sea breeze cooled the temperatures down while we were sitting on the golden sand.  There was plenty of action happening off shore.  Several people were enjoying para--sailing, with the wind carrying them along at a great rate of knots. 

There they go

There were a few yachts sailing around, the sea kayakers were out in force, and we could see the Water Taxis tooing and froing as the carried people to various walks in the Able Tasman National Park.  And what’s better than paddling in the water on a hot sunny day?  Parents and toddlers were having fun, and adults were walking way out into the water, but the shallow beach combined with an outgoing tide made finding deeper water always just out of reach.  This is a very safe beach indeed.

Marahau Beach

With the cool breeze at the beach, we really didn’t feel that we were getting sunburnt.  Of course, we should have known better, and later in the evening many of us were sporting sunburnt legs, arms, and noses.  Kaye and Jan had spent many happy summers camping in this area when their children were younger.

At the end of the road is one end of the walkway through Able Tasman National Park, and is marked by a beautiful Maori  carving.  The name Marahau translates as “windy garden” and the whole area was an abundant food gathering area.  With cockle beds, plenty of fish available, and birds to catch in the forests, there was food galore.  The carved entranceway (Waharoa) tells the story of a group of families who journeyed to Marahau from the North Island in the 19th century.  The Waharoa is carved from totara, sourced from the West Coast, by Nelson carver Mark Davis.

 

The entranceway

On the way back to Richmond something stopped Robin in his tracks.  What is that thing, we wondered?   It was some sort of flying fox which started way up on the hill - maybe it is no longer operational, we presumed.

Flying Fox in the middle of nowhere

On Tuesday morning we were moving on.  The caravan tank was filled with fresh water, the steadies wound up, and the car hooked on.  We were presented with fresh new potatoes from the garden, and I was encouraged to take some of the abundant grapefruit from the tree – all very much appreciated.   It was time for thanks, and goodbyes, with promises to call in again on our return to the ferry.  We certainly enjoyed our five days spent here in this lovely rural property.  Next stop – Murchison.

Kaye and Robin

Christmas Day in Sunny Nelson

Christmas Day dawned beautifully sunny and warm, just the sort of weather we would expect in sunny Nelson.

Parked up here for several days

We prepared our traditional Christmas breakfast for everyone, croissants with ham and cheese, and took them into Kaye's house to heat through in her oven.  They were certainly delicious.

Ready to Heat and Eat for breakfast

Two  surprise family guests on Christmas morning, so the place was buzzing.  We all sat out on the large deck with cool drinks  and nibbled away on cheese, pate, smoked salmon, dip and crackers.

Christmas morning nibbles

Kaye’s daughter Hannah with her Mum

Jan’s younger brother and his wife were traveling across on the ferry so Christmas Dinner was held back till they arrived.  And what a spread it was.  The stars of the show were Kaye’s glazed ham, and Robin’s BBQed stuffed lamb shoulder.  And there was a great selection of salads too, plus freshly dug baby potatoes from Kaye’s garden.

Robin and Jan slicing the meat

Family friends arrived too, bringing food for the table, it was a veritable feast indeed.  And the desserts were just as delicious, trifle, meringues, ice cream cake, cheesecake, something to please all tastes.

Plenty for everyone

Boys talk - family and friends

As the evening slowly darkened, the brazier was lit, and the flames flickered away.  It was certainly a lovely Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas to all our readers.  If you are traveling, please take care and stay safe on the roads.

Mapua Wharf, and the Moutere Inn

What’s on our sightseeing list today?  First up was a revisit to the Mapua Wharf, quite the trendy place, we remembered.  Originally a fruit shipping port, the old cool store buildings are now home to shops, galleries, and cafes and restaurants. 

Cool store buildings on the wharf

The wharf was a hive of activity, splash, splash, with locals busy jumping into the water and climbing back up the ladder.  Teenagers, adults, and quite small kids were all having a great time.  We watched as a young lady and her dog both jumped into the water and started swimming to the shore, oh so effortlessly, and several times in a row.  Perched at the end of the wharf was a life like  sculpture a white heron, created by local man Arthur Hawke about 10 years  ago.  This is in memory of Hamish, who visited the Mapua Wharf each winter from the 1980s till 2010.

Hamish the heron

Views from the wharf

Eating fish and chips on the wharf from the Smokehouse is a great casual lunch, and one we were keen to repeat after our previous visit several years ago.  The fish of the day was Ribaldo, not one we had ever heard of before, and yes, it was delicious, covered in tasty crunchy batter.  The Smokehouse also specializes in smoked fish, and I purchased some salmon pate and smoked mackerel to take home.  We noticed a couple of day before Christmas panic buyers rushing in to purchase several packs of smoked salmon for their Christmas feasts.

Fish and chips for lunch

My copy of the “Great Kiwi Pub Crawl” book is tucked away in the caravan, and we discovered one of the featured pubs not too far away at all.  So of course we had to stop at the Moutere Inn.  This pub is a contender for being the oldest pub in the country, construction started in 1850, and it still bears the authorization of the license from the original grant in 1850.  Cordt Bensemann and his wife arrived from Germany in 1843 and built and ran the pub for many years.  The exterior has had a few small changes, the original dormer windows have gone, and the timber shingle roof has been covered over with corrugated iron.

A group of enthusiasts purchased the pub in 2008,and decided that it should reflect the history, removing the pokies and jukebox, and updating the interior.  It was decided to source only local wines within 10km radius of the pub and sell contract brewed German style beers.  There was a wealth of history, photos and newspaper clippings adorning the walls.  It’s good to get another one of the pubs ticked off in my book.

While we were busy taking in the sights, Jan and friends had been out at the crack of dawn to go line fishing, and arrived back with several rather large snapper.  As non fisher folk we were most impressed.

Then they set to and busily got filleting – it was to be fresh snapper for our evening meal tonight.

Jan and Conrad hard at work

We ate our meal out on the deck, delicious crumbed fish, salad and chips.  What a great way to end the day.  As an extra bonus, we were given a bag of  vacuum packed snapper to put in our caravan freezer for a later meal.

Fish for dinner

Moving on to Richmond

It was time to move on, so farewell to Higgins Heritage Park in Wakefield, and hello to Richmond.  The trip was via the dump station, where it was pouring with rain.  With that job done, we were heading to Robin’s sister Kaye’s new to us home in the country -  Kaye and hubby Jan had moved here two years ago. Look for the red barn, she said.  This rustic old barn had seen better days, and had a previous life as an apple packing shed.

The old red barn

We needed help to get the caravan parked up, there just wasn't room enough for Robin to swing the van around.  It  was Jan to the rescue with his trusty digger, which luckily had a tow ball in the front.  Although we had to watch out for the rotary clothesline on one side, and a row of fruit trees on the other. 

Help from Jan

Finally we were in place, with room to pull the awning out.  And facing the right way for our departure in a few days time.

Our home over Christmas

We'd had a bit of a disaster several days earlier when our modem up and died.  So Robin had to hot-spot my phone to give us internet.  Why my phone?  Because I had whole lot more data than he had, I didn’t know that.  But now I do know how to do hot-spotting, so that is something new learned.  A phone call was made to Net Speed to relay our problem, and we were promised a new model would be couriered out to Kaye’s address.  Seems there has been a couple of upgrades since we purchased our modem 5 years earlier.  We can’t complain about the service as the parcel was ready and waiting for us when we arrived.  The new modem is much bigger than our previous one.  Robin spent quite some time setting it up, putting in passwords, and wondering where it’s new home will be.  It won’t fit where the old one was, and he may well have to purchase a longer cord, he thinks, to set it up elsewhere.  In the meantime, it is just popped up on the window ledge behind the sofa. 

The size difference between the new and the old

We’ve been out and about doing a little shopping, and  braving the crowds who are hell bent on getting their last minute Christmas things too.  Jan had given us a “two for one” voucher to visit the Nelson Classic Car Museum, but by the time we arrived there, we both decided to just have lunch in the café, and save the visit for another day.  Robin’s knee was rather painful, and my back had decided that enough was enough!  What a pair of poor old crocks we are.  Never mind, we will hopefully come back later to look at all the cars.  Meanwhile, I took a few photos of cars on view, just to show we had been there.

View from the café, across the pool

Look at this beauty displayed in the gift shop, a 1909 Packard, in elegant white with brass accessories.

How about a spin in this!

This 1988 Excalibur was on display outside the building.  It is known as a Neo Classic sedan and was styled after the 1930 Mercedes Benz.

1988 Excalibur

The weather here has been rather changeable so far.  Warm sunny weather, then the sky clouds over and the rain pours down.  Fingers crossed for a sunny Christmas Day.