Biker's B & B

 

In Stillwater, about 10 minutes away from where I live is this bed and breakfast named "Biker's". When I took this photo it was early Winter so there wasn't alot of colour especially in the garden where they have roses growing. Apparently it use to be the old Stillwater Hotel aka The Junction Hotel but it was moved in the late 1940s nearer the local railway station. All of the Greymouth region was and is still well known for it's gold and coal mining history.

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

More Autumn scenery

We visited a friend so that Bug would have a playdate with her dog and this is the scenery we saw along the way through Sillwater, Ngahere and Nelson Creek. We are near the coast so we don't get as vivid red colours as other part of the country gets. Most trees in New Zealand are evergreen so they stay green throughout the year but there are still portions of trees that are deciduous and do lose their leaves. This photo above is up the road from us, not my house but one of the neighbours.

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Autumn colours

 

This photo above is taken looking down my street and the rest are photos taken here and there between Ngahere and Stillwater.

This photo taken while we were waiting at roadworks of the Grey River with mist over the mountains just outside of Dobson, about 10 minutes from home.

This one was taken from the side of the road about 15 minutes from home near Ngahere (this is not where my house is, we are nearer into town). 

Other news: we have a new neighbour. A blue house on one side of us had been on the market for about a month. The previous elderly owner was a blind lady who went into a care home, her family spent a couple of weeks tidying up her property. The new owner is a middle aged man by himself and so far he has been pretty quiet which is nice, no parties. I gave him some fresh eggs from my chickens after we introduced ourselves.

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Brunner Mine Disaster

 

About 15 minutes out of Greymouth is this historic site which once operated as the Brunner Mine and known as the country's most productive 19th century mine. It was a major producer of bricks and other clay products.

Across the bridge crossing the Grey River from the carpark is where the actual bricks were made.

This is one of the areas where the bricks were made. There were 5 kilns here in total and each one was able to make 2000-3000 bricks.

About 12 men and boys worked in these buildings, the clay dust would've been unbearable  with the only ventilation being through open windows in the mill building. Temperatures in Winter were below freezing - no insulation at all in winter while in summer those working in the sheds with it's underfloor heating really felt the heat. No human rights conditions in those days.

This is how the mining site would've looked back when it was in action - note the bridge on the other side shows this was taken from the hill which now has a road leading to the main highway looking behind the sheds. Photo by H. Yeadon 1880s - both mines were shut down in 1906 and 1908.

A memorial set up to remember those who died in a mass explosion on the site that ripped through the mine on 26th March 1896 killing 65 men, 53 are buried in a mass grave at nearby Stillwater Cemetery and 33 in a single grave each. Two men who were sent in to investigate were later found unconscious after inhaling black damp, a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The official enquiry afterwards found the cause was a detonation of a charge in an area of the mine where no one should've been working. Some said that methane gas produced by coal had accumulated because of an ineffective ventilation system.

Photo from Te Ara showing the first bodies being taken out of the mine from.

 

The mass grave as it was being filled back in 1896. Photo from West Coast History.

The memorial and mass grave surrounded by Victorian iron railings as it looks today in such a peaceful quiet place in the country.

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Arnold River Dam Walk

When we first moved to Greymouth we lived for a few weeks just out of town near the Arnold Valley. This is one of the walks in this area and it is one of the nicest I have done along the river and dam.

It's roughly 2.1km and starts at the beginning where we could see some old structures that were built during the depression era.

Near the top looking out over the valley and river and is a popular area for kayakers. 

The river was originally known to Maori as Kotukuwhakaoka, the name of a chief from the north island who had followed it upstream to the lake. According to legend, the chief was attacked by a Taniwha which later became one of the 2 islands in the lake after it was killed by his son. 

 

The time of year we were there was late Autumn so there was plenty of fungi to see.

The orange markers seen throughout the walk are there to show people which way to go through the loop.

 

This little blue mushroom is hallucinogenic. It's name is Entoloma Hochstetteri aka sky blue mushroom.  

Someone had left this little painted rock near the entrance, sometimes you can find these left by people - I think it's clever.

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Railway House

There are lots of little old abandoned houses on the West Coast, probably leftover from the goldmining days of when miners or farmers lived in them. This one is in Stillwater, about 25 minutes from town right next to the railway depot.

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

Bush walk with Bruno

Most of Greymouth and the West Coast is covered in bush. We have been staying in temporary accommodation and at the back of the property is a small bush.

When I'm at work my daughter, R goes and collects pinecones for kindling for the fire and she noticed Mr Bruno tagging along with her.

On my days off I went walking with them and saw numerous toadstools and different kinds of fungi, these ones are Amarita Muscaria and quite poisonous.

And here's the boy himself looking quite proud and smug, He seems to like jumping on old logs and climbing trees.

Of course we had to take one of his play toys for his amusement.

 So many native trees and creeks. We are nearly entering into Winter here so the fire has been used most days.

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