New Zealand 20/20 trip: Day 6 Greymouth days

By the numbers

18.04kms

24,204 steps

The day started off chilly and it looked like a fog had rolled in and was sticking around. I wandered off looking for breakfast and was happy to find somewhere indoors before heading back to grab my bag and sort everything out before heading off. I met Bob who was my tour guide and I was the only person doing the tour that day. No idea if they actually advertise him properly or due to world events. There was a reason for the fog that was hanging around and its only happens in several spots in the world as it travels down the river from the mountains to the coast. The locals call it the Zero Degree Barber as it freezes your face when you walk out. I thought Greymouth was on both sides of the river and turns out to be two separate towns

The plan with the driver was to visit the Brunner mine site, which was considered to be the worst workplace accident site. The disaster even attracted Richard Seddon the then premier of NZ at the time who was helping there. He put through the old age pension during his time in power as well. He was an ex miner who became politician. I was dropped off at one end of the site as the driver would drive to the other carpark and meet up with me. I looked at the monument to those who died in accidents and realised I had seen this one in the Hikurangi museum. I cannot remember off the top of my head who made it, but I think it was made in that area and sent down to the Brunner mine location. There were a few mine entrances that I had realised were in the area, like the Tyneside, Brunner, Wallsend and so on. It is kind of weird when they are so close together and do have to remember things were different in those days. I walked past one of the locations and near shat myself when I triggered a sensor that started talking about the Brunner mine accident. The Beehive brickworks are only one of several examples left in the world, The bricks were apparently left outside for 2 years to age before being used. Some of the information displays were made from the Brunner bricks. The railway was used to haul the coal to Greymouth where it was sent on the ships  People could walk along the tracks and pick up the coal that had dropped off and would be used to keep their homes warm. The families who worked on the mines are still around today in the area. I would have loved to see the mass graves for the miners at Stillwater, but that wasn’t part of the tour.

The next stop of the day was Shanty Town, which is a historical theme town a little like Sovereign Hill, but way smaller. Some of the buildings are either of historic value or are replicas. It was good to have a look around once Bob the driver left me to my own devices. Admission was covered in the cost and I even got a ticket to pan for gold. I had the time before the next train ride departed as it was the site of an old timber milling area. The train itself was used in the coal mining for 70 years. The buildings told their own story about past trades including the surveyors on the West Coast of NZ. I did take a walk in the bush to what was said to be a trig monument, but it was really a trig point and I nearly slipped over on a plank of wood that was slippery in the bush. At least I stayed upright. I left the gold panning til last as it was part of the train ride. We went to the far end of the line and we were met my some Weka that were NZ bush birds type things and a baby one that kept hiding under the train. There were stories about the timber people and the work they went through. We were all taken back to where the saw mill operation was and the closest point where I could get to the gold panning section. I panned for gold and had to get rid of the larger rocks until there was nothing left apart from the little shiny ones called gold. I even got it in a little bottle for me to take home. Not long after finishing the panning my driver picked me up.

That was effectively the end of the tour, but I got to see what I wanted to see really as there was no other transport to get to the two locations. I was told the drinking culture had changed over the years as the town had basically sobered up once the miners left and the place I was staying, I would never have gotten any sleep. It is really weird as it has been really quiet on a Friday night. Sounds like Saturday might be the same. Once I got dropped off, I got myself some laundry detergent and took a walk to get lunch and watch a train go past. Then off to the laundry where I had no problems sorting out the machine with the prepaid card I had. The same went for the dryer too as it was all pretty easy and all I needed to do was wait around and read a book.

Once it was all done, I dropped it off in my room and went for a wander in the direction of the  river entrance. I gave my feet a rest from the boots and wore sandals. I didn’t mind the walk and ended up going past some locations like the coal field park that had information about the coal mining in the area and including trying to ship it overseas. The museum is closed so nothing could be done about that. Closed because it is earthquake prone. I did end up at the river entrance along the rock wall and it was interesting as there was an info board about the wrecks and how dangerous of an entrance it was. One of the most dangerous in the world. Nearby I found a restored pillbox that was used by the Home Guard during World War 2 as they feared Japanese invasion. By the time I got back to the room, it was well after 6pm and was worth being an afternoon walk. All that is left for me is to pack up and get ready for my trip tomorrow to Nelson by bus. I have to hang around for a couple of hours, but thats alright. I can have a coffee somewhere and read a book.