"There's gold in them there hills."

Well there was once but not any more, although the kids liked to think that the odd gold rock might have been a lucky find.

A few weeks ago now; circa pp ('pre Paige') as this is how we tend to define time at the moment, we had a fantastic long weekend away in Cromwell. For the first time we explored Bannockburn; enjoying a long walk amongst the old gold mining tailings, caves, dams and water races. We had no idea how much wild thyme grew in the area and it was amazing to walk amongst the thyme and to have the scent of it so strong in the air. We also came across an amazing ruin of an old cottage where we stopped for lunch. The fruit trees dating from the 1800's still fruit. The brothers who owned the cottage and lived in the area were smart and ahead of their time. They did not chase wealth through gold, they secured the water supply and then sold the water from their reservoir to the miners. Smart boys!!









No trip to Cromwell would be complete without the chance to get back on the rail trail. Taking the bikes away now (all 5 of them) is just part of the standard packing routine. Here we are with the Campbells ready to depart from Thurlow to head off to Lauder and them to Omakau and eventually for Alana and me to Chatto Creek 28km from where we set off. A great ride!