No Fixed Abode: Go west young man

Fri 05 Feb 2016 - Reefton and Blackball

Waking to another spectacular sunrise we were up and away driving in readiness for our planned walk, which started just the other side of the Lewis pass, the west side. Why don’t we learn: west = wet!

As we steadily climbed the remaining section of the east side of the pass the clouds grew heavier and hung down the sides of the mountains. Then it began to spot, then drizzle and then steadily rain. Light rain but steady. Arriving at the trailhead car park we went through the morning routine then decided it was pointless spending the day getting wet and not being able to see anything at the top. So, change of plan. Let’s head towards Arthur’s Pass back over to the sunny east.

Crossing these passes is like flicking a switch. The east is broad valleys with gentle, dry, grassy mountain slopes. Immediately you cross to the west you get steep, forested gorges - and it’s raining.

Anyway, the rain started to ease as we dropped below the clouds and before long we arrived at Reefton, where is was surprisingly hot and bright. With the day now at our disposal we stopped for a look around. What a fascinating place. It is a mining town that blossomed during the goldrush in the 1880’s then turned to coal, which was struck during the gold mining, when the gold diminished. The high street is like the set of a cowboy movie but rammed with cafe’s - goodness knows who sustains them.

The iSite has a fascinating set of displays with all manner of information about the history of the town and its mining past as well as the only mine remaining - a huge open cast gold mine that is steadily working its was through a mountain extracting a tiny amount of gold per ton of rock. Reefton’s other claim to fame is as the first town to develop an electricity grid that connected lights in houses and business to a small hydroelectric generator. We dallied there over an hour reading about the various people involved and problems they overcame eeking out a life for themselves.

Needing a dump station we looked at the map and found one at a small town a short diversion off our route. Turning off the main highway we followed a minor road (although most roads in NZ are pretty much the same) through some lovely countryside until we arrived at Blackball. Once we’d serviced the van we decided to drive into town, as we were there, and came across a small museum commemorating the origins of the labour movement in NZ.

Blackball had also been a coal mining town attracting many people from the UK pit areas (Durham, Yorkshire, South Scotland). The pit was owned by a ruthless Englishman, who never even set foot in NZ, and managed by his agent in Christchuch. The story followed the same path as other countries: workers get treated poorly, form a union, strike, leaders sent to prison, strike holds firm, eventually workers win concessions and leaders form the labour party. The strike in 1908 was over extending the lunch break from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Of course it wasn’t that straightforward with individual hardship, financial aid from other workers and fines paid by anonymous supporters. Of particular note was a fine imposed on the union leader. As he could not afford to pay it fell upon the members and the police were sent to grab possessions from the workers’ houses to put up for auction. However on auction day the burly miners ‘dissuaded’ anyone from attending and the whole lot was eventually sold to the only attendee, a striking miner, for a shilling!

Another noteworthy place in the town is the Hilton hotel. a period wooden building that would also not look out of place in a cowboy movie. The US Hilton corporation took them to court to force them to change their name but the court rules for them. Good old Kiwis. So we had to have a beer didn’t we. Chatting with the barlady and four locals, who were arguing about the government (what else).

By now the day was getting on and we wanted to visit a small lake on the way to Arthurs Pass. The barmaid had described it as ‘a playground for Cantabrians’ and she was right. Helped by the fact that it was holiday weekend (Waitangi Day,the day of the treaty signing) the area was busy so we drove on by and continued to pass cars towing boat trailers for the next hour.

Eventually we climbed up the steep Otira gorge, which forms the western side of Arthurs Pass. We could see blue sky ahead and sure enough when we crossed the summit the sun was blazing from clear skies and we descended to wonderful views to find an excellent camping spot in the middle a broad valley, next to a river and with gorgeous views all around. Our only concern was the three young French lads behind us, the box of wine on their table and the enormous pile of firewood they seem intent on burning tonight!