Panning for Gold & other tidbits

Leaving the Remarkables and Queenstown behind - the only mountain range in NZ that runs completely north/south, we headed over to Arrowtown, an old fashioned gold-mining town, one of many in the south island that rose up in the late 1800's.    We headed to Dudley's Cottage which boasts a child-friendly chance to pan for gold, with a full lesson.  (without having to stake a claim and head into the mountains, which you can do if you want to!)

 

 Step 1  Wash the stones and gravelly river bottom sediment with a bit of water by shaking the pan back and forth tumbling the rocks side to side, this allows the gold to fall to the bottom because it's heavier.
Step 2  Start swishing the pan forwards, dipping it into the water and pulling back so that the larger stones tumble out of the pan.
Step 3  More side to side shaking, then forwards and back to get the smaller stones to tumble out as well

Step 4  You should have black sand remaining and by using a magnet under the pan pull the black sand away to reveal the gold flakes at the bottom of your pan!  

 Step 5  Tap your wet finger on the gold flakes and put them into a vial already full of water, they will sink to the bottom.  Take home your gold!! 

They even gave the boys certificates to prove that they found real gold in Arrowtown.  FUN

 Heading up through Central Otago . . .

 We had a few pit stops along the way:

Bungy Jumping!  (As observers only I might add)  This is the bridge where the first commercial bungy operation began. 

 

Mount Cook  at Lake Pukake

(Mount Cook is up there in the clouds somewhere)

 
Beautiful lupin wildflowers - reminds us of PEI - they were actually past their peak here, but still very spectacular in some places.

We stopped at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lake Tekapo.  It was a busy day there and a couple was inside meeting with the minister to discuss their upcoming wedding so we didn't get a photo looking over the alter (with the cross) and out through the picture window at the front of the church spanning the lake and mountain vista . . . that's really the million dollar shot.  But the church architecture itself is lovely too.
 

This was the end of our camping for awhile.  We wanted to have a couple of weeks at home to chill out before the boys started school and my parents arrived for a visit.  Luckily for us the weather in Nelson had settled and we're into our third week of lovely summer weather mid-twenties every day.  One more blog and you'll pretty much be up to date with what we've been up to!  (Don't worry, I'll just keep posting anyways)

Milford Sound - It's all about being there!

Before we arrived in Queenstown, we booked ourselves on a bus tour and boat cruise to experience Milford Sound in style.  Well, actually you have much more style (and $$$) if you take the coach in, cruise around and take a helicopter ride back to Queenstown to save the second 4 hour drive.  But, alas, that's not us.  We did think though that a 4 hour drive into Milford and 4 hour return wasn't fair to Dave  i.e. "keep your eyes on the road" instead of letting him appreciate the scenery.  Since we were trying to squeeze so much into our little 5 night trip, the tour bus was worth it.

 The road to Milford is one of the most highly ranked drives in New Zealand.  Really, it's all about the 360 degree views.  Just to be in the mountains and Fiordland National Park is stunning.

 We refilled our water bottle from this stream behind Xavier - the water is filtered through the gravel as it pours down the mountains.  The little waterfalls come down the cliffs and disappear underground, with no pools of water and collect again in the river.   Refreshing!

 We had the most beautifully sunny day they've had all summer at Milford, being on the west coast of the country it's often quite rainy - which makes the waterfalls look lovely, but we quite enjoyed being in t-shirts and starring at the icy, snow-covered peaks and rejoicing that we don't have to shovel this year . . .    :-)

This part of the journey was a big deal for us, as Milford is remote, with only one road in, and two hours away from the nearest town.  Dave and I had visited here on my first visit to New Zealand -  14 years ago!  It was simply soooo cool to be able to "make the effort" and get ourselves back to this once-in-a-lifetime place.

This is the famous Mitre Peak.  The steep walls of the fiord (not actually a "sound", although the explorers named it Milford Sound because they had never seen a fiord) are hard to take in.  Luckily for us a cruise ship wandered in and provided a sense of scale to our photos later on!
 

 Yes, more New Zealand fur seals!   No dolphins on this boat cruise though, personally I think the fact that there's now at least a dozen different boat companies sending cruises out every 2 hours means that they've left to find a bit of peace in the ocean.  

The steepness of the walls and the fact that they go straight down under the water means the boat can get very close to the sides . . . and this waterfall . . . it's like the Maid of the Mist kiwi-style.  We were warned that we'd get wet, but guess where the boys wanted to stay??  Outside on the bow.  Where did Dave go with the camera??  Inside of course!  Who got left to make sure the boys didn't fall overboard without their life jackets? (And who was too tall to crouch down on the seat and hide behind the wall of the boat?)  Good thing it was warm and sunny and that I was wearing a black t-shirt that day.  

    Mom & Jackson sharing a moment.  Sometimes I try to make sure that he's aware of how special it is that we are seeing these things and spending this time traveling.  He often responds to the new things we see and do with "That was great, when can we do it again?"  I figure in another 14 years, he can come back on his own and have a gap year.  I can make no other promises.



On the bus ride home, Jackson continues reading (at least 3 books that day) and Xavier fell asleep.  The Nintendo DS were also played until the batteries died.  I'm sure the backpackers who shared our bus (yes, we felt old), think it's a breeze to travel with kids.  The boys were really well behaved the whole way back and Dave and I got to sit together in peace and quiet for 4 hours. 

(OK, I might have I bribed them with some candy, can't quite remember . . . )