Croesus Track
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Croesus Track
The Croesus Track is a historic miners trail to the south of Paparoa National Park in the Grey District of South Island of New Zealand. The route crosses the Paparoa Range from Blackball in the Grey Valley to Barrytown on the Tasman Sea coast. The first section, starting from the Blackball end, is shared with the Paparoa Track which follows the route of the Croesus Track to top of the Paparoa Range. This section is shared-use between hiking and mountain biking. History From around 1864, there was a gold rush in the Paparoa foothills, leading to the establishment of the town of Blackball. Miners first developed a rough track up Blackball Creek to access prospecting sites. This track was gradually improved into the pack track now known as the Croesus Track between 1881 and 1899, and reached the Paparoa tops. The gold was found in quartz reefs, requiring ore-crushing machinery for extraction. Following the discovery of a reef high in the mountains above Blackball, the Croesus ...
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Paparoa National Park
Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The park was established in 1987 and encompasses 430 km2 (166 sq mi). The park ranges from on or near the coastline to the peaks of the Paparoa Range. A separate section of the park lies to the north and is centred at Ananui Creek. The park protects a limestone karst area. The park contains several caves, of which Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave is a commercial tourist attraction. The majority of the park is forested with a wide variety of vegetation. The park was the site of the 1995 Cave Creek disaster where fourteen people died as a result of the collapse of a scenic viewing platform. The Paparoa Track, one of New Zealand Great Walks, New Zealand's Great Walks, runs through the park. The small settlement of Punakaiki, adjacent to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes tourist attraction, lies on the edge of the park. The park is also located near the towns of Westport, New Zealand, Westport, Greymou ...
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Blackball, New Zealand
Blackball is a small town on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, approximately 29 km from Greymouth. Elevation is approximately 100 metres. The town was named after the Black Ball Line (trans-Atlantic packet), Black Ball Shipping Line, which leased land in the area to mine for coal. Blackball was a centre of New Zealand radicalism and workers' militancy. It is credited as the birthplace of (the predecessors of) the New Zealand Labour Party, which followed the The 1908 Blackball miners' strike, 1908 miners 'cribtime' strike, at ten weeks the longest in New Zealand history. In the 1913 Great Strike, Blackball miners were the last to return to work, in 1914. During the strike they had picketed miners in nearby Brunner, New Zealand, Brunner and had burnt down the secretary of the 'arbitration' (scab) union's home. In 1925 the headquarters of the Communist Party of New Zealand moved to Blackball from Wellington. The pit closed in 1964. Histo ...
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Barrytown
Barrytown (originally known as Seventeen Mile Beach and Fosbery) is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Barrytown sits on and is north of Runanga, on the Barrytown Flats. Punakaiki is further north. The town is near the southern end of Pakiroa Beach. The Māori name for the region is Paparoa. History The land is originally Māori, and the local hapū is Ngāti Waewae of the iwi Ngāi Tahu. Pakiroa Beach along the Barrytown Flats was an important food source for local Māori, and middens of tuatua shells attributed to the iwi Waitaha have been dated to 1500 AD. A gold rush in the 1860s led to workings at Seventeen Mile Beach and Canoe Creek, and by 1879 about 2000 miners were living in the area. In 1880 the township serving the miners was officially named "Fosebery" and a post office opened. The following year, however, a government opinion poll of residents and miners was held to choose between Fosbery and Barrytown. The 130 votes were unanimous ...
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Tramping In New Zealand
Tramping, known elsewhere as backpacking, rambling, hill walking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand. Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country. Trampers often carry a backpack and wet-weather gear, and may also carry equipment for cooking and sleeping. History Alpine climbing has been a recreational activity from the early days of European settlement, and possibly earlier. From the 1950s tracks, huts and bridges were built in the forested areas of New Zealand to support hunters culling introduced deer species which had become a threat to the biodiversity of New Zealand. As tramping became popular these facilities were increasingly used by trampers. In later years tramping has become popular for both local and foreign tourists. Tramping clubs were formed in many towns, cities and universities with regular trips being organised. The clubs sometimes own a bus to transport club members to the tracks. Tramping tracks A n ...
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Trail Running
Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, however, include paved sections. Trail running normally takes place in warm climates, or on good paths, or tracks which are relatively easy to follow, and does not necessarily involve the significant amounts of ascent, or need for navigating skills, normal in fell running. Unlike road running and track running it generally takes place on hiking trails, often in mountainous terrain, where there can be much larger ascents and descents. It is difficult to definitively distinguish trail running from cross country running. In general, however, cross country is an IAAF-governed discipline that is typically raced over shorter distances. The number of organized trail races grew 1,000% from 2008 to 2018, from 160 to more than 1,800 globally. Runners ...
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Grey District
Grey District is a district in the West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, Blackball, Cobden, and settlements along the Grey River. It has a land area of . The seat of the Grey District Council, the local government authority that administers the district, is at Greymouth, where % of the district's population live. The Grey District is on the West Coast of the South Island. It stretches from the south banks of the Punakaiki River in the north, southeast to Mt Anderson, north to The Pinacle, southeast to Craigeburn, in a southeast direction to Mt Barron, southwest to Jacksons and following the Taramakau River to the Tasman Sea. The district is rich in history and character. Key industries are tourism, mining, agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and services industries. The main hospital for the West Coast is in Greymouth. Demographics Grey District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. live i ...
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South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers , making it the world's 12th-largest island. At low altitude, it has an oceanic climate. The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps which run along it from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook at . The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The main centres are Christchurch and Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture and fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services. ...
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Paparoa Range
The Paparoa Range is a mountain range in the West Coast Region, West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It was the first New Zealand land seen by a European – Abel Tasman in 1642. Part of the range has the country's highest protection as a national park; the Paparoa National Park was established in 1987. Within that park, the Cave Creek disaster occurred in 1995. History The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first (known) European to come to New Zealand (Aotearoa), which he named ''Staten Landt'', and he first encountered it on 13 December 1642. Tasman had 110 men under his command and was travelling with two ships, the ''Heemskerck'' and the ''Zeehaen''. It is believed that the ships were off Punakaiki and if so, it was the Paparoa Range that they saw. Significant coal deposits have been found in the Paparoa Range, with the Blackball Branch, Blackball Branch/Roa Incline and the Rewanui Branch railways built to provide access to the mines. Although these branch lines ...
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Paparoa Track
The Paparoa Track is a shared hiking and mountain biking track located in Paparoa National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The track was created as a memorial for the 29 miners who lost their lives in the Pike River Mine disaster. The track is the tenth Great Walk to be created and has been fully open since 1 March 2020. It was the first addition to the Great Walks in 25 years. Gold mining history From around 1864, there was a gold rush in the Paparoa foothills, leading to the establishment of the town of Blackball. The gold was found in quartz reefs, requiring ore-crushing machinery for extraction. Following the discovery of a reef high in the mountains above Blackball, the Croesus Gold Mining Company was formed in 1896, to attract the investment necessary to pay for the machinery and the development of a mine. In 1901, the Garden Gully Company took over the operation and in 1904 they moved a large stamper battery into the range. Insufficient gold was recove ...
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Hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A History of Walking'', 101-24. NYU Press, 2004. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg056.7. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions. "Hiking" is the preferred term in Canada and the United States; the term "walking" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling , hillwalking, and fell walking (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term bushwalking is end ...
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Mountain Biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into five distinct categories: cross country, trail riding, all mountain (also referred to as "Enduro"), downhill, and freeride. This sport requires endurance, core strength and balance, bike handling skills, and self-reliance. Advanced riders pursue both steep technical descents and high incline climbs. In the case of freeride, downhill, and dirt jumping, aerial maneuvers are performed off both natural features and specially constructed jumps and ramps. Mountain bikers ride on off-road trails su ...
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Stamp Mill
A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation. Description A stamp mill consists of a set of heavy steel (iron-shod wood in some cases) stamps, loosely held vertically in a frame, in which the stamps can slide up and down. They are lifted by cams on a horizontal rotating shaft. As the cam moves from under the stamp, the stamp falls onto the ore below, crushing the rock, and the lifting process is repeated at the next pass of the cam. Each one frame and stamp set is sometimes called a "battery" or, confusingly, a "stamp" and mills are sometimes categorised by how many stamps they have, i.e. a "10 stamp mill" has 10 sets. They usually are arranged linearly, but when a mill is enlarged, a new line of them may be constructed rather than extending the line. Abandoned mill sites (as ...
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