Day 19 Hokitika 27-02-16

Having told you all yesterday that we had a plan for today, it all fell apart during the night… Those of us who don't sleep too well knew in the early hours that we would not be going flying !! The weather had turned on us.. it was blowing a good storm..thunder, lightning and a massive downpour of rain… Though this would not affect the plans of the girls going jewellery making it would have an adverse effect on the "fliers". Dee & Pat were up first and when Paul joined them and saw the rain and low cloud he had the pouty face of an unhappy bear !! Shortly after Lis joined them and she too looked a bit glum but resigned.. A little while longer Trev walked in and was an unhappy puppy as well.. As it was obvious we would not be going on the plane trip the "girls" banded together as a pack and decided Lis would now go jewellery making. As John joined us they voiced their plan and this left the "boys" in total limbo as to what to do !! Typical "we're alright Jack attitude !" ……… Once they had eaten breakfast and were ready for the off they even had the audacity to ask for a lift as it was still raining quite heavily !! Women - Ha !! So they had their taxi ride to the Jade shop and the boys were then left to work something out for themselves - difficult I know !!!!

Today was the day that Pat and Dee had arranged to make jewellery and as Lis was now not flying today she was able to join them.

We started by looking at several books full of ideas and after lots of changes of mind , we finally chose our own designs which we then had to draw . We were then shown all the different colours/ types of jade/greenstone . Once we had chosen the one we wanted to use, we then had to cut out our design and transfer it with a permanent maker on to the piece of greenstone/ jade .... Easier said than done !

Then the fun began, armed with ear defenders and large plastic aprons , (guess had had the huge PINK ones ??) they let us loose with drills and grinders , all of which were squirting water at the same time ! Our expert was called K ( he had a very long Maori name ) and he had trained in stone carving for 3 years at Rotorua. He was so patient and very good at explaining how to use all the machinery but it didn't make it any easier ! Several times our nails had a quick manicure with the stone grinder ! Gradually our designs began to take shape and then it was time to do the fine sanding and polishing . After over 3 hours of sheer enjoyment we all felt delighted with what we had achieved . Once we knew the skill involved , we really appreciated the intricate designs of the beautiful things for sale in the shop more .

If you or anybody you know are ever here in Hokitika and fancy having a go, I cannot recommend Bonz 'n' Stonz enough. They were amazing at encouraging you to ' go for it ' and helped in every way to make sure that they got the best result possible . I am sure that every time we see our little necklaces, we will smile remembering what fun we had making them. Brilliant fun !

Whilst the "boys" , back at 'home' were huffing and puffing and bemoaning their luck John spotted an advert in one of the local magazines that he had found in a drawer.. It said that there was an Industrial Heritage Park not far from the airport.. It said it was only open to the public on a Saturday and showed all sorts of old steam engines, machinery and workshops where volunteers work tirelessly to rebuild and refurbish the machines back to working order… The "boys" now had a plan for themselves…..

Once the "boys" had showered, shaved & shampooed (yes I know there is another one , but children read this blog !) done the washing up, hung out the washing on the airer under the patio overhang and got themselves primed they jumped into the van and set off… It was only about 5 minutes away by car so did not take long to get there. We found it easily, parked up, popped our rain jackets on and grabbed the cameras… by now it had just about stopped raining and as we were getting out of the car an elderly guy in dirty overalls greeted us and asked if we wanted a tour.. "Yes please" we said and two more of the volunteers appeared.. We knew we would be in for a good tour as the banter started immediately, "Where are you guys from ?" "You certainly picked a good day !" "You have got the best weather !" and so on ….. We were handed over to one of the guys who proceeded to show us into a shed full old machinery that they were trying to bring back to former glories. They had a couple of very large old 'engines' that had been restored and were working but now were started by compressed air !! The size of them for the power output was ridiculous compared to today's engines !! As we were being shown round it was blatantly obvious that these guys were dedicated to their voluntary tasks !! They explained everything in great detail and were a little apologetic that they could not start the restored engines for us as it was something they didn't do too often, usually needed more visitors to justify it and did not have enough air in the reserve tank to start them anyway !! However, as we were about to leave that shed and go to another one a lovely guy called Keith who had lost all the fingers on his right hand called across and said to our "guide" - "If you wanna bring them back in 15 mins I'll have the air ready and we can start them up !" - Brilliant….

We went off to another "workshop" that had actually been burned down and rebuilt where we were shown all manner of other projects that individual members of their group were undertaking to restore… Keith… popped his head round the corner and said he was ready if we were.. which we were.. so we went back with him and he explained how to get the engine started.. as he was going through the intricate start up routine a question started to burn into our brains - What was going to happen in 20 years time when unfortunately these guys would not be around to continue the work they had started ?? A question for later !! He lovingly got the old girl started and it ran like a dream !! Put modern technology to shame…

It was then time to have a look round the rest of the buildings which housed all manner of machines from yester year and lo and behold we were shown into a shed full of old fire engines…. Well you can guess which one of us was now in his element (although he tried desperately not to show his pleasure .. look at the album of today !) Once again he took a lot of ribbing but soon John was engrossed in a particular unit !! At one point Trev had climbed inside to find a registration plate and then proceeded to tell the guide all about different engines through the ages !! There will be a job for you soon Trev !!

We were then shown around some more of the sheds and even where a 'JCB' was digging out huge buckets of earth as they plan to expand and build a model railway, complete with station and other rail oriented buildings. A few more bits and pieces and the tour was completed… We were asked to sign in the visitors book as they get their funding from all sorts of charity type schemes such as the local lottery and gaming machine revenues which sometimes require justification as to why they should fund the projects… No worries, Trev signed in for all of us !! As we were saying our thank you's and good bye's Keith, who was now sat in the office said "Hey fellas, one of you wanna open the 'dunny' door before you go ?" - On the desk there was a small wooden model of approx a foot high and 6 inches on each side.. There was obviously a door with a small brass handle on it to open the door with !! Trev immediately sidled to one side, Paul, at the rear of the group, went even further backwards but John said "Oh ok … it's up to me then !" He leaned forward and reluctantly opened the door, at which point it obviously triggered a mouse trap and the little model disintegrated into bits all over the table.. John took one look at it in pieces, valiantly made an effort to resurrect it, but decided against it and left the model, in bits, for the volunteers to remake.. They, in the mean time were falling about laughing …. It seems that it is one of a number of "trick" items they are building for a visit of school children, in the near future, as part of their fundraising efforts !! In the office we noticed they had a picture of a young girl, on the wall, and she appeared to be doing something with one of the 'engines'… we were told that she is the daughter of one of the guys and she is getting really interested in what they do and she can even start some of the machinery, with their intricate start routine, by herself… In one go that had answered the question we had all wished to ask and John said that we wondering who would take over in say 20 years !! It seems the Industrial Heritage Park, which was extremely interesting, although at this stage quite small, is in good hands and has a future….

The weather now had cleared and it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. It was questioned amongst ourselves that we wondered what the "girls" were up to ? Surely they had finished by now but where were they ? We drove back to the "house" to see if they had returned. No movement from inside indicated that they had not.. Let's drive into town and see if they are still making their jade jewellery !! No.. Trev went in and was told they had left about 30 mins ago !! So we drove all around town in an effort to find them !! No luck on the move, we decided to stop outside 'Stumpers' pub to check in there ! Trev went in and came out… No not in there… He went to the superstore but again.. No not in there !! As Trev was walking back to the van John noticed that we were parked outside of the bakery (that had been shut yesterday) and remarked to Paul that perhaps we should get a pie, return to "home" to see if the "girls" had walked along the beach in the now sunshine.. It did not take much persuading to get Trev to agree so we popped into the bakery, got our Pies, Thank you very much John, and went "home"

When we arrived still no sign of the "girls" !! Where could they be ?? No worries, indoors, cup of tea, eat the pie, wonder about them after… Just finished the pies and the "girls" come waltzing up the driveway, smiles as broad as the proverbial Cheshire Cat, "Quick, hide the evidence !" is the shout from indoors…. So the plates are quickly popped into the sink and the bags rapidly disposed of in the bin !! The "Girls" shimmy in through the back door, still smiling, and professing what a wonderful experience they had !! Probably still thinking we had remained indoors like grumpy old men and moaned the day away… They showed us the pendants they had designed and made, which were really quite good !! And Pat said that one of the pieces of stone that Paul had picked up yesterday was actually Jade !!

"Where have you lot been ?" we enquired, "We have been looking for you", "We have driven round town", "Asked at the Jade shop when you left", "Been to the pub to see if you were there", "Looked in the superstore", "and then come "home" bewildered"… The "girls" told us they had been for a drink of tea and a bite to eat (pies) ….. "Ohhh, that's nice, where are our pies ??" said the "boys" !! Too late they were rumbled !!

After explaining to the "girls" how our day had gone Pat wandered off on to the beach and came back loaded down with more 'rocks' A little while later Dee, Trev, John & Lis also went off to the beach to comb for goodies !! Not long after though John and Trev returned as they could not keep up !! Before long Lis & Dee came back with pockets stuffed full of 'rocks' and the "girls" started to wash and sort them out into piles of good rocks, bad rocks, rubbish rocks….. They were all now Jade experts !!! Tee Hee !!!!!