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Published: March 18th 2007
Getting Dirty
The group returns knowing a little bit more about New Zealand mudWe had our first real rain experience in Reefton. It rained more or less all week. The town river swelled considerably, completely covering the gravel bed that we saw when we first arrived.
On Thursday, I took off for a serious ride in the mountains. It had been raining hard all day but my wet weather gear performed admirably. My first stop was Black's Point Museum, a couple of kms outside of town. The place was deserted and I was treated to a private tour. The Museum is devoted to Reefton area history which has been dominated by mining. The museum has a working stamping battery which was used to crush the quartz so that the gold could be separated out (using mercury). Not many miners lived into their fifties - exposed to dust, mercury vapours and other toxins. Afterward, I took a ride into the mountains to explore some of the remnants from the mining operations. Most of the mines were closed in the early 1900s and much of the equipment was too heavy to be usefully retrieved from these sites which are hundreds of feet up into the mountains through very challenging terrain. My ride covered about 15 kms up 400 metres, through hilly terrain (including more than 300 stairs). The topograhical map that Graeme gave us came in very handy for navigation.
Astrid and I did our first shift at the aptly signed "Youth Centa" (hooked on phonics). There were several other adults milling about, including a lovely woman who weaved us a terrific basket out of flax she picked up on the way to the centre. We also met a couple of other adult volunteers (the local vet, a dairy farmer and a coal miner). The centre is a sort of controlled chaos, there was a fair bit of profanity (and pyromania) but on the whole the kids seemed pretty good.
On Saturday we (with two local kids) headed into Greymouth to do some cave rafting. Unfortunately, the recent rains had swollen the rivers in the caves such that it was thought unsafe. So we opted to try ATVing at the misnamed named "On Yer Bike! Adventures". Josh was too young to drive the ATV, so he and I took a "go-cart" (looked to me like a dune buggy). The whole lot of us headed out into the rain and mud and had a great time. Some of the kids were a little unsure of their vehicles at first, but ultimately got the hang of. We went through flooded farming fields, up into the hills, through a dense forest before returning back. Josh and I were covered in muddy water from head to toe. Our only regret was the horribly large carbon footprint we left behind.
Today, Astrid and I biked up to the Lookout (200 metres above Reefton). Astrid and her trusty steed Black Thunder performed admirably. The downhill portion was a first for Astrid and even though she had a minor spill, she is aching to return to the trails. This evening, a fellow doctor was over for dinner and she, Astrid and Adrianne tried their hands at weaving flax. Not bad for a first attempt (Karen Graham was sorely missed).
P.S. Josh had another injury this week. We were all bowling using the Nintendo Wii, which has a wireless controller that you more or less wave around in the air to simulate bowling. We were in the last frame and it was evident that Josh was going to win. As he was winding up for his triumphial last throw, I, in an innocent attempt to tickle him, intercepted the controller and somehow or another he ended up hitting himself in the eye with the controller. Situation Normal.
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junior
non-member comment
Situation Normal
What does SNAFU mean?