"Amid the treasury of winning attractions across the West Coast, sampling its spoil of historic pubs, steeped in character and heritage is an irrepressible draw. They are keepers of the past and bridges to the present, proudly speaking to our pioneering history, of heady gold and coal rushes, and trail-blazing development. A starring specimen is Formerly The Blackball Hilton, located at the foot of the Paparoa ranges, just 29km from Greymouth."

"From Blackball, it’s a short drive to one of the most powerful heritage sites on the West, the Brunner Mine Memorial Site. In a region wrenched by many a mining disaster, this magnificently preserved site is a memorial to New Zealand’s worst mining disaster of all. Strung along the slopes of a deep gorge carved out by the Grey River, Thomas Brunner not only named the river, but the mine bears the name of this intrepid overland explorer, who discovered the vast black coal seam in 1847. Straddling both sides of the river, and crowned with a dramatic suspension bridge, every twist of the pathways around the 2km-long loop walk leads you to vestiges of the old mine."

Read Mike's full article here.

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