Day 28 - February 7, 2023

Day 28:  Reefton - Greymouth

It's gently descending all the way to Greymouth.  Pretty much a rest day!

First - some left-over pictures from last evening.  Right across from our accommodation is a giant sequoia tree.  Who knew??  The trunk on this thing is huge!

Here's our "nurses' home" where we were staying.  Quite comfortable, but not luxury accommodation by any means.

Like many of the small towns we have stayed in on this trip, its heyday was in the distant past.  In 1888, it was the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to be lit by electricity.  Reefton was a thriving gold mining town in the late 19th century; gold mining lasted from the 1870s to the 1950s.  Apparently a new one is slated to open in 2024.  Its economy today is based on tourism, forestry, coal mining, and farming.  The name was originally Reef Town, named for the rich veins of gold found in a quartz reef near the town.  

I had hopes for better weather today, but a look out the window first thing this morning left me wondering.  Low-hanging clouds, but a few blue patches as well.

Today's route called for a net downhill day - yay!  After yesterday's big day I was ready for an easier ride.  

A bit of a rude climb to start the day at about 3 km, but pretty mellow for a while after that.  Some typical views............

Sooo many cattle these last few days.

With skies like that, could the rain be far behind?  Nope.  Away went the camera for a bit.  Not long, though, and the sun came out again.

Sadly, I rode right by the Pike River Mine Disaster Memorial (more on that later) but I did see this collection of boards for the gold-mining site of Moonlight.

We crossed a number of rivers today (haven't a clue about their names).  I'm guessing they're all making their way to the ocean.

Then after a couple of little hill climbs we detoured into the small town of Blackball.  That could have been a day's worth of exploration unto itself.  To quote Wikipedia.... "Blackball was a centre of New Zealand radicalism and workers' militancy.  It is credited as the birthplace of the New Zealand Labour Party, which was formed following the 1908 miners' "cribtime" strike.... In 1925 the headquarters of the Communist Party of New Zealand moved to Blackball from Wellington.  The gold rush in the Moonlight district in 1864-65 heralded the birth of Blackball.  Blackball (then called The Plateau) was used as an overnight stop in the two-day journey from Greymouth to Moonlight.....  While most businesses and organizations have shut down in the town of Blackball, the hotel once named The Blackball Hilton is still operating.  It is now known as "Formerly the Blackball Hilton" due to a lawsuit by the Hilton hotel chain."

There is also a large exhibit dedicated to the Pike River Coal Mine Disaster.  It happened in November 2010.  To read the info in Blackball, the setup and management of the mine was just an accident waiting to happen.  There was a methane explosion on November 19th, followed by 3 more explosions before the month was out.  The accident resulted in the death of 29 miners and none of the bodies were ever recovered.  In subsequent years the government spent over $50 million attempting to gain entrance to the mine for recovery of the bodies, but those efforts were unsuccessful.  Very sad.

The Paparoa Track is New Zealand's newest Great Trek (the 10th) and it is accessible from Blackball.  Most educational lunch stop of the trip so far.  Also, judging by the mannequin yard and several other quirky houses and yards in the town, I think the citizens have a sense of humour.......

Back out to the main road, and off to Greymouth.  

About 3 km (and one hill) out from Greymouth we could finally see where the mountains opened to the ocean.

We had quite the headwind coming at us as we rode the final stretch into Greymouth, but we finally made it.  Here are a few shots crossing the bridge into town.

The rain held off for the remainder of our ride, but it absolutely poured while we were out for dinner.  "West Coast weather" they say.....  Tomorrow is a well-deserved rest day so I'll get out to explore a bit.  From my previous trip here in 2006, I remember it as a non-descript industrial town so I'll see if my impression changes at all.............

Stats for the day:

Distance:  81.1 km

Elevation (Garmin):  2035' up, 2620' down

Elevation (RWGPS):  2726' up, 3307' down

Weather:  13C - 23C.  Perfect riding temperature for me.  Despite the low-hanging clouds first thing in the morning, we got in 36 km before some light showers for about 10 km.  Clearing skies in the afternoon and some pretty strong headwinds coming in to the coastal city of Greymouth.