Gives a vivid image of life on the west coast during its early years. The people, the gold, and the bush all create the rough beauty and charm of early west coast life. Mona Tracy is an incredibly descriptive and poetic writer and does true justice to the magic of the coast, beyond all she is a true adventurer who gathered all the stories by being immersed in coast life and aquatinting herself with the old timers who were still there in the 1920s. As a big NZ history man, this book really spoke to my love of our land and the romance that I find in the mountains and rivers. MARIA I FINISHED IT, WE CAN READ EDUCATED NOW, ARE YOU HAPPY?