Sunday: Goldmining in Reefton, Seal Colony at Cape Foulwind, Pancake Rocks

We drive 50 miles in the fog to the gold-mining inland town of Reefton.
                                      
                                      
                                       

Gold found in the 1860s brought miners from all over the world - Americans, the Chinese, the Aussies. Paul will be our main guide in Reefton

and he introduces us to Graham who describes how they mined for gold, and not just panning for it in the river.

                                     

the collected quartzite is crushed, then mixed with cyanide which turns the gold to liquid form, etc. It's a fascinating process.

The rock crusher

The museum is filled with all sorts of artifacts from the miners' era. The best thing of all is we're invited to touch everything!

We stop for an interesting cup of tea brewed by miners at the Bearded Mining Co. Such characters...

We hear the story from Paul of how Reefton became the first town in the southern hemisphere to have electricity in 1888.

Lunch is served at a local cafe -- squash soup, veggies, and lamb pizza!

We're making a loop today as we now turn seaward toward the Tasman Sea and hike at Cape Foulwind to see the seal colony.

I know they're hard to see, but trust me, there are at least 5-6 seals in this photo. (There's one on the right side in the middle.)

The sun has come out and the beach is beautiful. Before we again board the bus, we see a bunch of Weka birds.

Our last stop of the day is hiking and viewing the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki.

It's been a long day and we're all tired and hungry. Some of us eat in the Ashley Hotel restaurant, because we think we might get run over in the dark crossing the road where drivers drive on the left side of the street... I have "rib-eye steak, egg, and salad." What a surprise when my order came... here's looking at you, kid...