Well, after spending a very enjoyable time at Strahan, we had a long drive ahead of us to New Norfolk. Our first stop in breaking up the ride was at a lookout over Queenstown.
This was our normal travel mode, Chuck riding shotgun, Linda in the back, and me driving with the aid of our GPS.
This is the type of rugged, forested hill country that is natural to the West Coast area.
We stopped at the lookout on the far side of Queenstown to have a look at the effect of mining operations over the last century.
There has been some regrowth because of citizenry environmental activism, but the ground cover of vegetation is still scant. Toxic fumes from the mining (copper, mainly) had managed to kill off almost all of the vegetation in the Queenstown surround. These hills are several km from the mines.
To get a real feel for the environmental devastation caused by this irresponsible mining operation, this is a view of the area around Queenstown itself. The amazing thing is that with the slight regrowth of vegetation since some environmental controls have been put into place, some residents have complained that Queenstown is losing its “moonscape” character.
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