If you’re driving into Reefton from Greymouth, try not to choose the first café you see. Go further down the main road to “The Broadway Tearooms”. Don’t be put off by the word “Tearooms” – you won’t get weak coffee, greasy chips and stodgy pies here! We had excellent coffee, simple great tasting home-baked food and friendly service. The ‘local’ vibe is fantastic…
….this place has a ‘old world’ feel about it with rows of beautiful glass lolly (candy) jars behind the counter and windowsills lined with ornate handmade tea cosies. (Nothing nostalgic about the coffee machine though – state-of-the-art.).
Recently, after finishing our coffee here, we headed across the road to the Bearded Miners Co Ltd and the Miners Hut. You might be forgiven for thinking these guys have come straight out of one of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films, but there’s nothing fake here folks, so no pulling those magnificent beards! These bushmen are walking history books,they know their ancestry and they love to chat about the region:
There’s a certain dignity in having lived a hard life and let’s be honest, these ‘national treasures’ have lived life hard. (A miner’s life is only lucrative for a selected few.) We could smell the coal smoke on their clothes and certain…unidentified beverages. But the knowledge these guys have and the stories they’re passing down to future generations, is priceless.
The replica 1870’s Mining Hut you see in the background of the above photo, is made of cedar slabs and packed with memorabilia, complete with a resident possum clutching a can of beer and a cheerful fire burning in the hearth:
…the men are happy to pose for photos..
..but I think the most photogenic of them all, is Max, the resident dog. Little Max also has a world-weary look about him; a survivor with his own story.
Happy travelling.
