Deer herds were on either side of the path that I took to the beach. They stop and watch carefully. Andrew joined me down there and then he walked on down to the beach while I went back to pack up. We did pull out at 10:00 a.m. Our first stop today was at Bushman’s Center. They shared much of the local lifestyle and history of the area. There is such a problem with possums in NZ. They were imported from Australia and the numbers have grown to be such terrible problems for the environment. They are trying to eradicate them. They had one to show us as well as a baby that had been found. They had a wild boar like the ones that live in the area and are hunted. They are big creatures (300-500 pounds). We saw the tools used in the early timber industry here and techniques used to fell the giant trees. The fella that started this place once worked in the helicopter deer recovery program. They would jump out of helicopters to capture the deer for use in starting deer farms. Looked like pretty dangerous living!! They had bows and arrows used for hunting and knife and hatchet throwing. Those that wanted to could try their hand at it. Andrew and I decided this was the true "tourist trap" but it was interesting. They had a little café there and it was nice to sit out on the porch in the SUN for a few minutes! That’s just about how long it lasted today too!

From there we went to Gold-n-Trees Historic Gold Mining Site. This was our second tourist trap but fun as well. We got there about 1:00 p.m. Gold mining is what settled a lot of this country just like we found in our west. They showed us the site that they’ve been mining for over 100 years. One fella lived out there for 32 years. His little cabin etc was all there. The roof had just caved in three months ago so they don’t let anyone in it anymore. He had lived there till two years ago when he had to move to town for his health. The wheelbarrow that he had been using was on display and it was priceless!! It was like a rainforest again along the river where they worked. We were served a Barbie, which meant sausages, coleslaw, potatoes, bread and tea. After lunch we went to the river and they taught us how to pan gold. The river was pretty rough! We got to keep what we found in our pan in a little bottle. It was pretty amazing that it collects in the very bottom edge of your pan and you don’t even see it till the very end. I think the fella seeded mine when he showed me how. He kept calling me his Southern Belle and acted real surprised that I seemed to have more than most like I’d done a good job!! I played along. After you know how it’s much easier but sure is time consuming. We left there about 3:40 p.m. to pass through a little village to pick up someone. The village was Okarito and was a tiny place. This would be a "must" for me on another trip. It’s in the middle of nowhere close to a National Park area. Keri Hume, the author of "Bone People" lives there. There is a 17 mile wide lagoon there – one of the biggest in NZ. The kayaking is great. This gal had stayed in a ladies house for three days and LOVED her stay. It was a real peaceful getaway! We went into Okarito National Park and walked a trail up to get an overall look of the area! No helicopters are allowed in the area to protect the deer and pigs and no logging is allowed anymore either. It's a treasure!!