Cycling
On Yer Bike is about 5 miles north of Greymouth. It is a tourist business that offers quad biking through a typical native forest on the west coast. The business started in 1997 by Mike and Sue Roper. Before the business, Mike Roper was a taxi driver in Greymouth. The adventure business is highly recommended by past visitors as shown on tripadvisor.
The farm where the business is located has been owned by the Roper family since 1917 when Micheal’s grandparents, Charles and Violet moved to the area. During the 1960s and 1970s, Micheal’s parents ran a chicken farm, but this ended in 1978 when new regulations made the business unviable. Cattle and sheep have always been a part of the farm’s operations and still are, although it is a small part these days, considering the success of the quad business.
During your adventure, you are likely to come across some of New Zealand’s native birds, such as Weka, Tui, Kereru (wood pigeon), Fantail, and Pukeko.
Another side aspect of On-Yer-Bike is the cafe where customers can stop by for a cup and just to add another rope to their loop, Sue Roper crochets and with her other engagements everything keeps her busy.
More than 100 years ago there was a school near the area. It was called “The Camp School,” the name of the district. No one knows how it got its name, but it’s probably because the first sawmill on the west coast was in Coal Creek and “The Cap” may have referred to the men who worked at the sawmill.
Coal Creek is a flood prone area. Water sometimes comes up the road near On-Yer-Bike when the stream is flooded with the volume of water coming down from the mountains.
Before the airlift was built, traffic would have to cross train tracks and look in all directions to see if trains were approaching. As far as we know, there was a train / car accident before the bridge was built. However, during the 1968 earthquake, a vehicle collided with the edge of the bridge while moving up and down, resulting in the death of the driver.
Coultard / Hall Memorial
Just before Runanga is the Coultard / Hall Memorial. This was the scene of the Runanga payroll theft on November 9, 2017. The pay car left Greymouth that morning with the miners’ wages and salaries totaled almost 4k. Just as the car was about to turn the corner, it ran into an obstacle in the middle of the road. The driver Coultard got out of the car to remove the obstruction and at that moment a masked man appeared from the bush shouting “Hands up” before shooting Coultard. He died at the scene. The thief ran to the car and asked for the cash, but Hall, who was the mine employee, refused to obey and fired two shots with a revolver he was carrying. The thief shot Hall at point-blank range, so close that Hall’s clothes were on fire when he was treated after the robbery. James was shot by the robber and hit on the thigh and back. The thief secured the money before escaping across the train tracks and out of sight.
Runanga
The Municipality of Runanga was formed in 1904 as a coal mining town. Before the formation of Runanga, the area was covered in native shrubs, but the houses that were built to house the miners were built with wood from the trees that were cut down to make way for the municipality. The city prospered with the opening of several coal mines in the area. A railway line was built between Greymouth and Runanga to transport the coal out of the area. The train also operated passenger services. Runanga had its own train station, as did Rerenui, which was close to where one of the mines operated.
