Saturday 18th – Monday 20th April 2026
After doing a little shopping in Greymouth, we headed cross country on State Highway 7, hoping to get out of the rainy weather. The weather definitely improved along the way and we were able to stop and explore places of interest en-route.
Brunner Mine:
The free-to-access Brunner Mine gives a fascinating insight into working conditions for miners lured here from the UK to work the high-grade coal deposits found here.
Access to the main site is across the suspension bridge with the river in full spate:
There are also the remains of a large coking plant onsite. The coal was of a high quality, and suitable to making into coke, used for the smelting of metal.
The mine is known for a major disaster which occurred there on the 26th March 1896, killing 65 men and causing potential destitution for their families, who faced eviction in favour of replacement workers. Across New Zealand, people were moved by the plight of the families and £32,000 was raised in support. A great deal of money in 1896, but the disaster left 43 women without husbands and 169 children without fathers.
The memorial, which is based around a huge statue of miner, has plaques which commemorate not only this mining disaster, but many that have happened since in New Zealand.
New Zealand, like the UK, has a long history of mining disasters, the last one occurred only in 2010, not far from Brunner, at Pike River Mine, when 29 lives were lost.
A little further along the road, there is a steam engine on a bank, raised above road level:
This locomotive was used for the movement of logs from the bush, to the sawmills. It was one of the last of its kind.
Reefton:
The attractive and quaint town of Reefton was founded as a gold mining settlement. A heritage it displays with an impressive mural on one of the building walls:
There is also a steam engine here. This one is a Fairlie Engine, designed by Robert Fairlie in 1878, in Avonside, England. It was designed for use on the tight corners found on tracks in Wales and was one of 28 engines bought from the Avondale works. After an amazingly long career, the engine was finally retired in 1948.
Our onward journey took us through some nice scenery:
Hanmer Springs:
Just getting to Hanmer Springs is a bit of an adventure. The single-track bridge just doesn’t seem to be sturdy enough to take traffic such as motorhomes …and it is a long way down to a deep torrent:
We overnighted at the Top 10 campsite, near the centre of Hanmer Springs, which is known for its thermal pools. We did not sample those delights (I had forgotten my cozzie), but did enjoy an excellent meal in one of the restaurants.
The pleasant town centre is quite spread-out and there is a mixture of trees and shops/restaurants. There is a clear focus on tourism, but it was not too busy when we were there.
As we made our way towards Kaikoura from Hanmer Springs, we saw some nice autumn colours:
Kaikoura:
Kaitoura is a small seaside town on the east coast, famed for the fact that you can see whales, dolphins and seals, off shore. We had a wander around in the evening and saw seals, but sadly no dolphins or whales.
There are some amazing rock formations here:
We had planned to take a trip by boat to whale-watch, but sadly the weather had followed us across country and the forecast was so poor, we didn’t bother. In the event, I think this was the right decision as the rain was constant from midnight with 100mm falling by mid-day, with high winds. The whole local area lost power, which limited our options further.
We later managed to go for a walk along the peninsula to the seal colony, which was enjoyable, despite the weather. We saw some Fur Seals and some Gannets, feeding.
That is all for today. TTFN and see-u-later.
"See-u-Later" 