Blogs from Reefton, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

We've settled back into a routine following our Easter trip. The Fall weather has set in. Many of the trees have changed colour and there is definitely an increasing chill in the air. On Monday I headed out to a new track - the Croesus Track: a route through the alpine landscape of the Paparoa Ranges which separates Reefton from the West Coast. As with many trails in this area, the track runs along an historic mining trail passing through several historic locations, including the sites of two hotels which were located high up in the hills catering to the miners. Just off the track there is a hut dating back to the 1930s. The walls were covered in a waterproofed calico (a canvas material), the rest was made up of corrugated iron. One can imagine ... read more

ANZAC Day - 25 April - is one of New Zealand's most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War (in Gallipoli). The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The day is a national holiday marked with commemorations throughout New Zealand and Reefton is no exception. There are in fact two ceremonies in town. One at the crack of dawn and another community ceremony at 10:00 in the morning. We attended the latter. There was a short parade which lasted from 10:00 to 10:03 (Adrianne and Josh marched in the parade - Avery was ... read more

Regular followers of the blog will recall that last Monday, I took on but wisely did not finish the Blackpoint - Waitahu Valley track (it was late and recent rain had made a required river crossing a bit risky). The fact that I was not able to complete the circuit niggled at me all week. We have had 5 very fine days without any rain, so I determined to set out much earlier this time to conquer this trail. I left around noon but blew out two tires (or tyres) in a row. It turned out that the tire had a cut in the sidewall and needed to be replaced together with a new tube. The Reefton sports shop was able to sell me a replacement and I hit the road just after 1:00. I climbed ... read more

Astrid was off to Greymouth again today to have a look at the emergency department there. The kids were back in school. The uniforms make clothing choices very simple. The kids are given fresh fruit in school every day through a government program to promote healthy eating. Normally, the kids stay at school for lunch, but we gave them lunch passes today. They popped in just after noon. Astrid was back early from Greymouth and we all had lunch together. Hopefully, a harbinger of things to come. With the kids back to school, I had a spectacular nap. I had given up napping for the trip over, but elected to indulge today. I was very tired, slept soundly and awoke refreshed. Of course Churchill was a great fan of the mid-day nap. When the kids came ... read more

Today Astrid went into Greymouth again to get some general orientation with the District Health Board. She was up and out by 8:00 a.m. They have given her a relatively new Toyota station wagon. It is about the size of a North American Corolla. She seems pleased with it. At the orientation, she was advised (very prudently) that frayed rugs can be a serious safety hazard in the workplace. I supervised the kids getting out to their first full day of school. They are still staying up late, but I suspect the mixture of anticipation and fear that accompanies entering a new school mid-year got them going. I walked them to each of their respective classrooms. I found myself vicariously anxious at each stop but I left them in apparent good order, and returned to a ... read more