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