Born to be wild - must stop in Barrytown

One of the stops on the Stray tour is a little, tiny place called Barrytown. It is so small, it doesn't even have a section in the Lonely Planet - the centre of this 'bustling' metropolis is a tavern and a few houses.

The real attraction is a knifemaking course by a local artisan, Steven, who is quite the character. We started out the morning with just a strip of carbon steel. We forged (yep - I forged!), and a full day of cutting, grinding, glueing, bashing the crap out of it, more grinding, and sanding - we all made really great knives. Cutlasses, daggers, carving knives - I have a beautiful trout filleting knife. And what's better after a day of making sharp objects than Steven sharing his famous home-made rot gut alcohol, nicknamed White Lightening. This stuff is evil. Apparently no one else in town is willing to drink it any more, but backpackers never turn away a free drink. Steven sent us off well and truly wobbly back to the Barrytown taven.

And if I thought that was the end of my fun in Barrytown - boy was I wrong. After getting a bit to eat, and grabbing a pint in the tavern with my fellow knife-weilding drunkards, I got to talking to a few of the locals. And - not kidding - a woman bursts into the bar and says - "guys - you gotta help - Elmo's fallen down a mine shaft." Before I know it, in flip flops and holding my pint, I am swept out to the parking lot, packed into a van and I am off to resuce Elmo in a mine shaft.

Stopping to get some supplies, we whip onto the highway and up the steepest driveway up to the edge of a ridge over town. Barrytown used to be gold mining territory, and there are mineshafts all over the hillsides - Elmo had just found a new one. The guys jump out of the van, torches, ropes, and luck of fools head into the dense bush, Elmo's cries for help in the night air. Sarah (Elmo's girlfriend) and I wait on the driveway (what am I supposed to do in flip fops?).

Well - probably the quickest rescue ever - in about 15 minutes the guys come out of the bush, whoopng and laughing and dragging a very wet and happy Elmo. Elmo had fallen down a 40 foot mine shaft, with over 20 feet of water in the bottom. He'd crawled his way to within 10 feet of the mouht of the shaft 3 times trying to make sure people could hear his cries for help. Boy - was he lucky to be alive, and other than a huge scare, and some very nasty bruising and scrapes, none the the worse for wear. After a hot shower, and a beer or two to relive the tale in his kitchen - we all hopped in the cars and went back to the bar. Elmo was the man of the evening - tale was told and re-told - how he lost his dress gumboots, how he never touched the bottom of the shaft, the intrepid rescuers, and quite the party was had by all that night. I missed the bus leaving the next morning...

So with plenty of time on my hands the next day a few of the local guys adopted me for the day. I had been walking by a gorgeous Triumph Bonneville 750 motorcycle in the Tavern/hostel complex... and when I mentioned I hadn't ever gotten the opportunity to ride on my Uncle's Triumph, Tomo, one of the Tavern owners, picked up a helmet, grabbed some leathers and took me on a spectacular ride over the ridges and limestone canyons hugging the magnificent west coast highway between Barrytown and Hokitika. I think it might be the most gobsmackingly beautiful drives I have ever gone on in my life. They also took me whitebait fishing. White bait are these tiny little fish that are considered a real delicacy in New Zealand - a white bait fritter will go for over $30 in Auckland at a restaurant. They are fried whole in an egg and flour batter - very delicious! Not bad for couple days in the middle of nowhere... I might even go back.