Sunny Ross to Lake Mahinapua DOC Camp
Friday 9 October
A quiet night in Ross - just three of us at Pete’s POP. We packed up fairly early and headed down into Ross itself.
Spent a pleasant morning wandering & exploring in the spring sunshine. The blossoms in town were glorious against the blue spring skies and while Louis was dumping our overnight grey water, I tootled over to check out St Patrick’s Catholic Church - built in 1866 to service the spiritual needs of the largely Irish Catholic miners who flocked to the area during the gold rush. Loved the carved wooden ANZAC poppy bowl, crafted from native wood by Jimmy Gordon in Hokitika ❤️
The manmade lake, a former open cast goldmine, which was filled in after the miners left was looking serene and reflective. Also swung by the house with all the US car rego plates and then the Chinese Gold Miners Memorial Garden - what a lovely spot!
After a decade of planning and 6 years of construction, this tranquil commemorative space opened in 2023 - commemorating the hundreds of 19th-century Chinese pioneer gold miners—mostly from Guangdong Province—who lived and worked in Ross and the surrounding West Coast from the 1870s to the early 1900s. The garden features marble tea settings, a plaque to honour the miners, marble lions at the entrance, an entry pagoda, a marble bridge, decorative planting and a visually pleasing hexagonal red pillared pagoda by the lakeside.
We were not the only visitors that morning - a pair of Honk-Wah ducks were in residence but obviously found our presence threatening so gathered up all their stripy ducklings and swam off in a big arc around us.
The plants all around the garden were so pretty in spring - including pussywillow, blossom trees, kowhau and other bee friendly flowers.
We had a giggle at the corrugated iron miner at the crossroads, then left Ross heading on up the coast for about 15 whole minutes to the Lake Mahinapua DOC camp. Last time we came here in January 2025 it was absolutely pouring with rain, soggy & grey so it was lovely to arrive in glorious sunshine this time!
We got a distant lake view spot and unhitched to head into Hokitika for fuel, a food shop at New World and a fossick in the op shops as my winter wardrobe was not coping with the 18-20*C sunshine we’d suddenly encountered! Loved the cute mural on the SPCA op shop - I got a floaty top there then splurged at Vinnies on jeans, shorts, sleeveless top, cute jacket and a T-shirt! At least now I have warm weather gear to get me back to CHC at the end of the month… cue rain, wind & cold weather ahead!!! You know you’re on the West Coast when New World gives you a voucher for Bushbuck to reward you for your big spend - hunting, camping & rugged outdoor gear!
Sadly by the time we got back to the lake it was somewhat cloudier (though still humid) so after lunch & a wee siesta we set off for a walk along a couple of tracks (Swimmers Bay and Jum Michel Track) around the camp & this side of the lake. Not super exciting, but a good leg stretch!
Lamb chipolata sausages for dinner in Banjo as we settled in for the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors 🤣 Goodbye Amol... how long can Richard E Grant possibly last?!
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