Notown Cemetery

 

This photo from Find a grave.

About a year ago in late Autumn B and I visited an area about 15 minutes out of town. Notown Cemetery once was a part of Notown - a town that was once a flourishing gold mining place but literally turned into a ghost town. We drove about 15 minutes along a gravel road to get to it and as you can see it's surrounded by bush and mountains.

As you can see alot of the resting places are unmarked mounds of earth or covered by rocks.

There are alot of these places on the West Coast of New Zealand because many people came here in the Victorian area for gold mining which was popular back then. People still do gold mining here but not to the same extent.

Notown School surrounded by bush and gorse.

It was once a busy little town that included hotels, a church and houses but the cemetery is all that remains. Last 2 photos courtesy of West Coast Recollect.

Linking up with Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, My corner of the world, Wordless Wednesday.

Trotting along

On a recent visit to nearby Serpentine Beach we were walking along the sand when these two horse and riders trotted next to us. This is a very rugged and windswept place with loud waves and probably not suitable for swimming. I like horses but I haven't ridden on one for many years. As a teenager I had a friend with a horse and one day while I was sitting on him he tried to take off, so needless to say it's something I won't do again in a hurry.

It's been a while since we've seen this sort of mild weather. Lately by the time I get up in the mornings around 7am it's 1 degree but the difference in cold compared to Northland is it's more of a dry cold here, very crispy but the fireplace has been coming in handy and the cats are putting on their winter fat - I think the temperatures here were a bit of a shock to them at first.

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Paihia I-site

 

All around New Zealand we have little wee buildings that are designated as i-sites aka information places for tourists where they have knowledge on local places and businesses etc. This one in Paihia is located right next to the wharf and has a Maori carving (pou) on either side which were created by artist Tupari Te Whata from Tautoro which is south of Kaikohe. 

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Little old houses

There are quite a few little old houses in the far north of New Zealand where I live. These 4 are in and around Awanui and Kaitaia. I always like to imagine their history and memories that they hold inside.

 Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Napier's art deco sound shell

Napier has alot of really strong art deco architecture mostly because the city was flattened during the massive earthquake they had in 1931. When we were there in April 2021 I took advantage of all of the beautiful buildings by taking loads of photos. This structure is known as the Soundshell which is these days available for organisations to hire as a stage setup and performance area.

It was built in 1935 and designed by Napier architect J.T. Watson. The art deco sound shell was the first to be built in the country and it trumpeted the city's intention not just to rise from the rubble and ashes of the earthquake and fires but to reinvent itself in the process. Information from the city council website.

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Old Hokitika Fire Station

Down one of the main streets in Hokitika is this gem. The Old Hokitika Fire Station has been made into boutique accommodation consisting of 5 apartments. Apparently each of the apartments is named after a fire chief who once lead the brigade which I think is a nice nod to it's history.

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Fishing for Gurnard

While we were in Greymouth recently we stopped at the local marina where we saw quite a few fishermen/and women surfcasting off the rocks. We chatted with a couple who were there from Tauranga - the wife was saying she'd love to move to here whereas the husband said he wouldn't but they did say that the most fish they catch seems to be Gurnard.

We did happen to see a pod of dolphins swimming past at the same time so that was a huge highlight for us. Since then I've also had my booster shot and I'm expecting B and my 3 adult children to get theirs too.

And speaking of the West Coast I have some news. We have decided to move to Greymouth by Winter of this year. B's job has been gradually slowing down up here and he has been offered steady regular work down there, my adult children and I can transfer our jobs from here to there. Our goal is to buy a house as properties are alot less expensive there so we are really excited so that is going to be our forever place where we don't have to move again.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

The Giant Trout

In Taupo on the corner of Ferry Road and Tongariro Street near the boat marina is this giant Trout sculpture. The town is famous for it's freshwater lake in which the fish roam around. The sculpture was erected in 1999 to replace a previous trout sculpture built in 1985 for the Dawn Walker Trout Fishing Competition. 

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Dreams of flight

At my town's local sculpture park this work by Donald Buglass is one of many pieces of artworks. Names "dreams of flight" it's a playful interactive installation by the artist and also represents deeper meanings and various metaphors of mankind's desire for exploration/collection of knowledge. The figurehead represents the Haast Eagle.

Happy New Year for 2021. Our New Year's eve came and went very quietly, no parties, no fireworks and no screaming people. It's like it eased itself in without anyone knowing and I wonder what 2022 will bring? New dreams...new understandings. I don't normally make new year resolutions but I think the following 4 will work for me:

1. Take more photos

2. Read more books

3. Blog more

4. Spend less time on social media because it's a toxic dump

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Bay of Islands Vintage Railway

Earlier this week we were in Kawakawa where we decided to finally have a ride on the old vintage train at the railway station. 

The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust is a heritage railway. It is the only working railway in New Zealand where the trains travel down a state highway and through the main street in town.

The railway is a volunteer run not for profit charity and the most northern railway in New Zealand. It is now celebrating 150 years of rail in the north island. This station was built in 1911 to replace the first one that was destroyed by fire and is recognized by the Rail Heritage Trust and Far North District Council as being of heritage significance.

This plaque says "To commemorate the centenary of this, the first use of railway transport on any part of the New Zealand Railways North Island System". Erected by The railway enthusiasts society (Inc) and unveiled on 2nd March 1968 by Hon JB Gordon, minister of railways.

We sat in the front carriage just behind the engine and this is our guide Dennis. He travels 5 days a week from his home in Whangarei to Kawakawa just so he can tell people all about the railway and trains. All of the people who work here are volunteers.

The above 3 photos show some of the scenery we drove past and through. 

At one point we had to stop and get off the train so that the main engine could turn around on the tracks and join up to the opposite end so we could go back the way we came.

And this is why. This is the Opua bridge - normally in the old days the train would've travelled across this all the way to Opua with coal and passengers but now the bridge is classed as being unsafe so the railway society has been trying for the last few years to get council approval and funding so that it can be fixed and made safe. The bridge is believed to be the oldest surviving curved rail bridge in the Southern Hemisphere.

The back carriage which then became the front on the way back.

This is the middle cart which connected the front and back carriages which was built in the 1950s.

And back through the main street of Kawakawa to the station again.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.