HAYES HISTORICAL ENGINEERING WORKS, OTUREHUA

Hayes Engineering Works.

Left to right, original homestead now a cafe and AV centre, office now used as a museum and the workshops in the background.

Workshops are still in working order, originally powered by a windmill then later replaced by a water driven Pelton wheel which turned fast and loose pulleys for the machines and an electric generator which provided power for both the workshop and the homestead.

Stables & harness room.

Long bed lathe, like most of the machines all made on site.

Bird poop & pulleys.

Blacksmiths

Still being sold and used around the world!

Milk separator in the dairy, something she can relate to.

The homestead, all built from mud/dung/straw bricks which were made on site. The van in the background belongs to the custodians, our friends Vic & Marg.

East side of homestead with all the garden paths and borders still there. We would love to have the job of developing the gardens back to their original state but it would all have to be done on a voluntary basis which we can't afford to do at present.

Hallway

The first flush toilet in Maniatoto

OCEANA GOLD, MACRAES FLAT.

Macraes Flat

(No comment required)

The main pit. Each bench is 12 metres high and there are another six benches which are not visible to the bottom of the pit.

A very large water tanker trying to do battle with the never ending dust.

Haul Truck, payload 191 tonnes, cost from memory 1.7 million dollars. They have 19 of these.

Haul truck tyre, 3.3 metres diameter!!

Impoundment pond. This is a an old mining pit where the waste from the processing plant is poured. This contains a lot of chemicals including arsenic. It is then treated and purified and the leachate from this then transferred to another lake where trout are kept to ensure that the treated water is pure. Once the pit is full it is covered with topsoil and reinstated to its original natural state.

Processing plant where the gold is refined and made into ingots. Of course we weren't allowed anywhere near there.

TOTARA ESTATE (OAMARU)

Totara Estate, the birthplace of the New Zealand meat industry. It was here in 1882 that this country's first shipment of frozen meat to the other side of the world was prepared for export.

Slaughter house.

Audio visual display in the slaughter house.

Horse & Me

Harness room, note the names of the horses above each harness.

Wheat fields, blowing in the wind (awesome).

Resident Highland Cattle at Totara Lowlands Cherry Farm.

OAMARU HERITAGE WEEK

Roses, Oamaru Gardens

The official opening of Oamaru Heritage Week at the Oamaru Twilight Race meeting.

A record crowd of 2000 people!!!

Studying the form.

A country squire.

Penny farthing race.

Harbour Street steam train.

Classic car and caravan.

Sculptures in the Park

Old time rugby.

Steampunk exhibition.

MOSTLY FISHING (unsuccessfully!!)

This was a BIG fish (well that's my story). Went to lift it out of the water and my line broke.

BUGGER!!!!

First fish! I think I might have been happier if the fish had been bigger.

Our wake up view from the "Truck" on our way over from Tekapo to Oamaru.

Lake Pukaki looking up towards Mt Cook.

My fishing spot on our overnight stop at Lake Aviemore, Tekapo to Oamaru.

The 18 resident ducklings at Oamaru Top 10.

TASMAN GLACIER LAKE, with ICEBERGS

The Tasman Glacier Lake. To get an idea of perspective our two 15 man boats are in the bottom left of picture. The icebergs in the picture are nowhere near the biggest.

The above two pictures are of two of the bigger icebergs. This is as close as we could get to them as they topple over from time to time as they melt which can of course be dangerous if you are too close.

300 year old piece of ice.

From the white to the blue hues.

Us and an iceberg

The "B" team in the other boat

LAKE ALEXANDRINA & OTHER STUFF

Mealtime for our neighbours for a night, German exchange students and very well organised and behaved they were too.

Light snow at Tekapo, the pictures below were taken the next day note the contrast in the weather which seems quite typical around here at this time of the year.

Freaky tree roots

Forever (unsucessfully) fishing!

Baches as they should be.

Baches & boats.

Paradise!!

Row boats only allowed.