Gathered at Wanaka after completing the Goldfields
Cavalcade on Saturday are (from left) Linda Barnes, Les
Bayne, Toni and Bob Fairhurst and Brenda Harland. The group
has been on all 18 cavalcades. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
Hundreds of spectators lined Wanaka's main street on
Saturday, for the homecoming parade of the 2010 Goldfields
Cavalcade, one of the biggest since the event's inception in
1991.
After up to a week following the trails blazed by
19th-century gold-miners into inland Otago, the travellers
converged on Wanaka for the parade and finale celebrations,
which included a market day in Pembroke Park and a sold-out
hoedown at the Lake Wanaka Centre.
Nearly 600 horse-riders, wagoners and walkers were greeted
with applause from the welcoming crowds as they made their
way down the length of Ardmore St during the noon parade,
before heading to the final camp sites on their journey.
Walkers in the Winding Road to Wanaka Cavalcade were
accommodated at the local rugby club rooms, while riders and
wagoners stayed at the Wanaka Rodeo grounds.
Cavalcade co-ordinator Roberta Laraman, who is ready to
retire from the role after 16 years, said trail bosses and
travellers rated Wanaka as having one of the best parade
routes and biggest parade turnouts in the history of the
event.
"There were people the whole distance [of the parade route]
so that was pretty amazing for them.
They were all feeling very proud after what they'd done and
were all riding high and proud," Mrs Laraman said.
Whether first-timers or seasoned campaigners, most travellers
this year agreed the opportunity to view scenery usually
inaccessible to the public was the Cavalcade's greatest
appeal.
Zelie Allan, of Oamaru, travelled in the Cavalcade for the
first time this year with the light wagon group and said the
experience was like being in a Western movie at times.
"It's countryside that a lot of New Zealanders will never
ever see," Mrs Allan said.
This year's Cavalcade was the eleventh in a row for Rob
McGregor, of Earnscleugh, who rode his horse alongside the
heavy wagoners.
For him, it was the comradeship among the travellers that
kept him coming back year after year.
"And you're away from the hustle and bustle. It's very
relaxed."
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