Sluicings Cliffs
Cutie Patootie - Tobi
On Sunday Linda and her two children and I went for a little hike up to the Bannockburn Sluicings. The sluicings are the result of all the gold mining that was done here in the late 1800s. Well this dry canyon like setting is quite spectacular. Rabbit holes are everywhere and the ground is covered in wild thyme. The history, as I understand it, is that originally these hills and valleys were covered in vegetation and had rivers running through them. The Maori, when they first arrived, went on a hunting and killing spree of an extremely large flightless bird called the Moa. The forests which once covered the region were probably destroyed by the fires of these hunters.
Barren dry land but spectacular in its own right.
Then the next wave of settlers – the Europeans came in. They were the explorers and miners. But it was ultimately the miners that brought water and established settlements. And whether by design or by accident, they burned the rest of the native vegetation. It was in the 1860s that gold fever came. Initially alluvial mining, then sluicing, quartz mining and finally dredging were all employed in efforts to get the most gold out of the area as possible.
Linda and her two cuties hiking it up the Sluicings
The area we hiked was a result of the sluicing stage. It had an abandoned ominous feel to it. Rabbits holes were everywhere and it probably would be a great location to shoot the film Watership Down, although it did lack lush vegetation. Sebestian loved the game of looking for rabbit holes. The caves that were used both for exploratory purposes and shelter were still evident.
Well the kids were great sports with Besy (Sebastian), the 3-year old, walking almost the entire hike under his own power. However numerous times he did remind us that it was hard and he was tired. He is afterall only three.
At the top we came to the ruins of Stewart Village where the homes had been built out of stack stone, rammed earth or earth mud blocks. Some stackstone and rammed earth walls were still standing. Additionally the pear and apricot orchard from the Village heydey were still producing having been left alone. I took the liberty of climbing the trees and picking some lush pears.
Stackstone and mud plaster home - well what is left of it.
So all in all, it was a good hike and interesting history to boot. Once again some natural house building techniques show their endurance as well as the ingenuity of man.
That must have been a fun hike. I never see rabbits around here or maybe only once, and they are so cute. The kids look really cute too!!!
well without natural predators they are like rats.
YUCK! RATS!!!!
Rabbits, not rats !! :o)
Dont get me started about rabbits, they have taken over our cottage eating and destroying burning bushes to cedar trees, and they dont stand still long enough for me to put down my beer and pick up my pellet gun………they are cute though.
Cute perhaps and really tasty so I understand. Their coats can make beautiful coats or doilies. Oh oh, here comes PETA… Yes brilliance to introduce animals into areas with no natural predators. Another star for humanities grand intelligence!
Just catching up on your blog. Thanks for posting all the photos, details, people stuff, nature stuff, fun, worries ….. I can honestly say that this was the most enjoyable 30 min “coffee break” I had in the last few days! Maybe I’m living vicariously since we’re still at -10 celcius and snow, snow, snow (I do like the snow, but I’m ready for spring).
Thanks Irene, I seem to have a bit of a following which is very flattering so I am hoping to keep it worth the visit. Interesting experience it is keeping this blog. I am having fun coming up with topics – well that really isn’t the problem, it is trying to capture the thoughts before they leave my short term memory since so many fly in and out all day. Glad you enjoyed it. There is a reason I am following the sun and warmth, aside from the fact that I don’t have to carry as much clothing. New Zealand has been the coldest and likely will be the coldest of all the places I visit.