Hokitika and fossicking at Goldsborough

Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Tue 6 Jan 2015 21:55
42:40.541S 171:07.484E
Sunday 4 January
Hokitika was high on Helen’s list of places to visit. There was a reason—jade or pounamu, as it is known by the Maoris in NZ.  A successful visit, as far as Helen was concerned, was followed by walk around the town
along the beach, but not on it —sand flies beware!—where all the drift wood comes, not from out at sea, but from the rivers behind the town with the tides and currents then depositing it on the beach
We called in at Ross where they still quarry for gold and spent the night at the Dept of Conservation site at Goldsborough an old mining town, no longer, which was about 10km further on. It was a lovely site, as indeed have all the D of C sites.
and Helen went fossicking in the adjacent river
We always thought one panned for gold but the word round here is fossicking. Soon we were both fossicking in the river, Helen using the kitchen mixing bowel and mixing fork
and Mark his bare hands until he got prospector’s finger
Needless to say no nuggets were found so supper with a few weka that were wandering around the site picking up scraps
and in the morning a look at the cemetery which stands alone where presumably the church, hotel and mining buildings had once been sited.