The gold rush

We made the most of our first morning of freedom by sleeping in. We walked to town soon after 10:30am.

We’re staying just on the outskirts of Queenstown; a good twenty-minute walk away. There is a steep hill between our AirBnB and town so no matter which way we walk, you can’t avoid it. On the way, we noticed a couple of houses with Irish and New Zealand flags displayed in the window.

We walked through the cemetery nestled at the base of Queenstown Hill. The ancient headstones tell stories of settlers from Scotland, England and mostly Ireland, which explains the flags in town. According to the information panel, many descendants still live in Queenstown nowadays.

Queenstown is now known as an adventure town but it owes its development to schist rocks, which contain deposits of gold. From 1862, when gold was first discovered here, thousands of people made their way here to make their fortune. The schist also provided the early settlers with building materials for houses, bridges and fences.

The Arrow and the Shotover rivers proved rich in gold and led to the establishment of nearby settlements. Two men stuck gold at Arthur’s Point – Thomas Arthur and Henry Redfern took 210 ounces (6 kgs) in just eight days. Some men decided to make their money by stealing the gold and did not hesitate to commit murder to acquire it. Gangs would often use force to chase people away from the best claims.

A few headstones tell of accidental mining deaths. Some of the earliest graves are unmarked and unrecorded; it is thought that they are graves of Chinese miners. In the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin, we’d read that the Otago leaders had invited Chinese miners to come and work the post-rush Otago minefields in 1865. Many thousands came over and by 1871, 4,200 Chinese were living in Otago.

I’m finding all this gold rush history particularly interesting, especially as I’m currently reading The Luminaries.

We crossed the road and had a tasty brunch at Bespoke Kitchen. From there, we went to Fresh Choice and Raeward Fresh and got supplies for the week.

We rushed back to town for our 3:20pm pick up. We drove out of Queenstown for about 45 mins, first along the road and then along a dirt road, which was built originally to enable supplies to get to gold prospectors. It is one lane with only a few passing points, which made it interesting as vehicles came from the other direction. It is a world famous road; there are no safety barriers, just sheer drops down the canyon. The scenery was beyond spectacular.

Skippers Canyon was also rich in gold and there was a mine there until the 1990s. There are rumours that gold is still to be found there but this was not the reason for our trip there.

We boarded a jet boat for 30 mins of pure fun. The jet boat skimmed over the water; at times we were going at 87kms a hour. The water is cold and when the sun catches it, it is the purest emerald colour. Our driver Ben did a few spins and drove close to the canyon wall. We had the biggest grins on our faces by the time we got back in the bus. For the journey back, we moved seats so we’d be on the canyon side again. Those three hours were my best in New Zealand so far.

Back in Queenstown, we went straight to The Winery. We got issued with two tasting glasses and a card. The idea is that you slot the card in a dispenser and you get a choice of three sizes – sample, small glass and large glass. There are various dispensers throughout, one per grape – pinot gris, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, etc. The biggest by far is the Pinot Noir. What an amazing place! You get to taste a variety of wine – all from New Zealand of course. And the prices are reasonable.

An hour later – and a combined eight samples later – we walked to Vinnie’s for the farewell group meal.

It’s odd to think that the bus is leaving tomorrow, from where we first boarded it, and we won’t be on it.