#731 Skipper's, Queenstown, New Zealand

View from the entrance to Skipper's Road from the Coronet
Peak Road looking back towards Arthur's Point, the back of
Queenstown Hill, Queenstown itself tucked into the valley,
and Lake Wakatipu with Cecil Peak behind.

Just out of Queenstown (#998) is an old miner's town, now a ghost town. It is also one of my favorite drives in the country. We have always had a 4WD, so it was the place we always took our guests. Now, most people go in on some kind of tour (cycling, jetboating, bungy jumping, etc!).

Skipper's is famous for its peaked brown landscape with tussock growing over the hills (this is very typical of Central Otago). While some parts of the region are slowly being taken over by introduced pine trees, I don't agree with NGO Wilding Pines' method of spraying them which looks worse than the trees and leaks poisonous sprays into rivers.

As Dangerous Roads says, the 16.5km 1880s road built to replace a small track during the gold rush days "is so narrow that if two vehicles have to pass each other, one vehicle might have to reverse for anything up to 3 kilometres of winding narrow road to get to a place wide enough to pass. It’s one of only two roads in the country where rental car insurance is not honoured if driven on. Skippers Road is mostly one-way, narrow and steep with sheer drops of several hundred metres." Soon after you cross the pass from the Coronet Peak Road, you come to the aptly named Hell's Gates, for example.

The canyon itself was carved glaciers over 25,000 years ago and further refined by the Shotover River. Significant numbers of settlers first came to the area in the late 1860s after Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfurn found 4 ounces of gold in 3 hours near the appropriately named modern spot of Arthur's Point. Near the subsequently named Maori Point, 300 ounces was discovered on one beach in a day after two Maori miners (Dan Ellison/Raniera Erihana and Hakaria Maeroa) tried to cross (almost losing their dog in the process). This area later became a boom town called Charlestown.

I once heard that the Shotover River had more gold mined from it than any other river in the world, and all the tourist websites in Queenstown love to say that it is the 'richest gold-bearing river in the world' except one which says it is the second richest, and another says that it's only the richest for its size, and another gives this fame to the connected Kawarau River, but I can't find any data online to back up this claim and wikipedia says since the quantity of gold was never accurately measured its impossible. It is true, however, that due to the erosion on the hills surrounding Skipper's and the alluvial nature of the river itself, significant amounts of gold could be obtained from panning, which is usually only used for prospecting.

Irishman "Skipper" Malcolm Duncan (who worked on American ships to earn his name) first discovered gold at Skipper's Creek, later to be Skipper's Point or simply 'Skipper's' and it was here and at Mt. Aurum Station that the most buildings remain. Working the claims until the 1900s, their water races, holding dams, sluicings and tailings are still visible today. Aside from this, the main sites to see are the Mt. Aurum Homestead, the Skipper's school and the cemetery.

It took around 20 years of horse-tracks and lost horses before demand for the road was sufficient. It was built over seven years by 4 contractors. Initially, motor cars were prevented from using it, and later, restricted permits had to be obtained in order to drive on it. It was made a New Zealand Historical Site in 2006. The Skipper's suspension bridge (2.2m wide, 96m long, 90m high) was not built until 1898, long after the main gold rush was finished. It replaced another suspension bridge built closer to the water.

Further up the Skipper's road was Bullendale, site of the first electricity used in New Zealand.

Skipper's School was renovated in 1992.

Inside the school house.

The schoolhouse before renovation

Skipper's Bridge before the trees grew!

Skipper's School house in its heyday.

Welcome Home Inn, Skipper's is no longer standing, but its chimney is!

The Otago Hotel in Aspinall's Terrace, half way up the Skipper's Road.

The restored Mt. Aurum Homestead.

Source: http://dangerousroads.org/new-zealand/55-skippers-canyon-road-new-zealand.html
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8598/shotover-river
http://www.larchhill.com/queenstown.htm

#742 Panama Viejo, Panama City, Panama

After pirate Henry Morgan (of Captain Morgan Rum fame!) sacked Panama in 1671, the Spanish moved the 1519 city 8km to its present position because it was more easily defended, and the old city fell into ruin and disrepair. Visible from the airport causeway in Panama City, it is a pretty spectacular location with marshes and sandbars stretching far out into the Pacific at low tide. The high-rises of the modern city are visible in the distance, with the 'new' old city (Casco Viejo) hidden behind. Much of the old city has been buried since 1950 (despite protection from the government since 1976) due to rapid expansion and poor residential settlements. Little remains of the magnificent most-important city of Spanish central America, but its peaceful tranquility is equally romantic.

The ruins are loosely fenced in and cover a large area. The cathedral's stone tower (offering magnificent views) remains standing overlooking the plaza (photo at right). The convent of Santo Domingo, the Iglesia de San Jose, the hospital of San Juan de Dios, and the city hall are all within walking distance, but only the larger walls remain.

 

Source: Lonely Planet Central America, 7th Edition 2010

#743 Ceuta & Melilla, Spain




www.marrocos.com

When I lived in Morocco, the two African enclaves belonging to Spain fascinated me. That Spain would continue to claim such a territory in a vestige of colonialism was crazy, especially with repeated calls from Morocco to return them. It is also ironic considering that Spain demands the return of Gibraltar (#877). Despite being strategic port cities, they have little appeal for most Spaniards to the point that the Spanish government had to offer them tax-free status in order for them to get people to live there.

Mellila according to www.paradiseintheworld.com

http://hablemosunpocodetodo.blogspot.com/2010/08/ceuta-y-melilla.html

They were a convenient place for us to be able to renew our Moroccan visas, but an unfortunate flat tire set us back so when we arrived at Mellila in the middle of the night, I felt bad leaving our Moroccan friend alone on the Moroccan side (with the rental car that could not cross), that I never even got there. I went to Ceuta, but my boyfriend didn't want me to leave Morocco, so it prevented me from really luxuriating and enjoying it. I think he was jealous he could not visit without his passport, and I suppose it was selfish of me to want to linger there with them waiting.

I remember Ceuta being a particularly unexciting little Spanish town, with the banks and shops closed because it was Sunday. There was a beautiful mosaic in the bank, however... funny how you remember these things!

Looking at photos of Mellila and Ceuta (known as Sebta in Arabic) I would like to return and see them again with adult eyes.

Source: http://paradiseintheworld.com/melilla/




#744 Lima, Peru

Lima is a sprawling desert city on the Pacific coast, with a mountain backdrop and awesome mists and fog. It has a huge square at the historic center, and many other famous districts with their own character, but getting between them can be a bit of an ordeal in traffic. An urban settlement for the Lima, Wari, Ichisma, and Inca cultures, it was settled long before Spanish conquistador Pizarro arrived and planned his city in 1535.

The city has experienced a varied past, rising from boom town to quiet administrative center only to return again. Wiped out by an earthquake in 1746 and again in 1940, after independence it shrunk in importance, in 1880 it was under siege from the Chileans during the War of the Pacific while in the 1920s it had a sort of 'boulevard' revival inspired by Paris. Heavy migration in the 80s and 90s filled shanty towns and helped bring the population to 8.5 million (2007). 1992 saw deadly terrorist bombings by Sendero Luminoso but recently it has had large public works in transportation, parks, and culture that have led to a revival.
The central Plaza de Armas is ringed by the Palacio Arzobispal (1924), the cathedral (built and rebuilt in 1551, 1622, 1687, 1746, 1940) and the Palacio de Gobierno (1937), which hosts a daily changing of the guard ceremony behind severe bars and gates. This area was grid-planned by the Spanish and the square as the Plaza Mayor, was the heart of the settlement. Not one of the buildings is original, and one of the oldest items is the bronze fountain (1650). Pizarro's much mutilated remains are inside the cathedral.


Cathedral of Lima



The old Post Office

Barranco, originally a 'resort town' as such at the turn last century, is a bohemian area with great restaurants and bars inside the grand casonas of the past. Located just around the bay, it looks back as Miraflores hangs on the edge of the cliffs.

The Museo Larco and the Museo de la Nacion are impressive facilities with uncountable relics of bygone eras. Each has well-organized displays, but more impressive are the enormous store-rooms of items.

The sunset from LarcoMar shopping center

Couples dance in a Miraflores square

Source: Lonely Planet Peru 7th Edition, 2010