In Pursuit of Penguins

  Sunday Transit day. Christchurch to Brisbane with Qantas. First we had a breakfast of leftovers, eggs, toast, tomatoes followed by toast and peanut butter.  Then finished sorting and packing. Managed to squeeze it all back in.  Returned our 19 year old Subaru Legacy rental…it’s served us well, tackling mountain roads, gravel roads and some off road as well as sheltering all our belongings for the last three weeks. Got a lift to the airport. Our flight to Brisbane was a bit delayed. It was a bumpy journey and a wobbly landing. Hired another car at the airport and set out for Binna Burra and our safari tent…home for the next 5 days. We were not prepared for the full on motorway traffic…such a shock after the empty roads of New Zealand. Also it was dark by 7 pm local time and we’ve been used to light evenings til 9.30. After we left the motorway there were miles of tortuous mountain roads.   The view from when we arrived at Binna Burra

  Saturday Well today we start shedding all our camping gear. First to go to a fellow camper was half a packet of muesli!  We got chatting to the guy, Buzz, who camped next to us. We gave him the insect repellent and the chairs and after chatting for a bit he offered to sell the tent for us! We said not to worry give it to the scouts or another charity. He’s insisted on trying to sell it so we’ll see.  We were sad to be packing it up for the last time. We had a message from Buzz to say our tent and mats have been happily donated to a scout troop.  Set off for the last epic drive through some of the most outstanding scenery. This time through the Lewis Pass. We must have been one of the last vehicles through as there was a huge forest fire that afternoon and the road was closed for hours. There are no alternative routes. We drove through the Waiata vineyards and stopped in the small town of Amberley. I notice even the smallest towns have a library. There was...

  Friday The guy at the Black Point museum told us about a ghost town; once a thriving mining town that we could visit. We spent the day wandering around and learning about the town and the goldmines. The town was at the end of a gravel forest track, with a steep drop on one side and a high bank on the other so quite an interesting ride.  When we arrived we were swarmed by hundreds of bees …they were huge but not at all aggressive. They were very irritating after a while.  We thought about another hike, but by then it was far too hot to get going so drove back to the camp.  Had a bit of time planning our next move and trying to find a good home for our tent as we no longer need it. It’s done sterling service. Not much left of the mining works  Cross section of the mines Amazing mural

  Thursday We walked to an amazing museum at Black Point. Such an interesting place with a man who knows so much about mining and its history in this area. We watched a stone crushing machine in action all powered by water. The stone is crushed to release the gold which is captured on a mercury bed…the beginning of the process.  He kept finding things to show us….”I’ll just show you this before you go..! “ The last thing he shared was the hospital admissions ledger dating from the early 1900s until it closed…so interesting too see the maladies and afflictions of those times.  After that we needed a hike so set off on a couple of adjoining trails taking us up the mountain and through the forests. The birdsong was beautiful. The path was a bit steep with big drop offs at intervals but such a lot to see and smell and feel. When we got back to Reefton we met an older man who started chatting and asked where we’d been. It transpired that he was the man who revealed and mai...