A TRIP DOWN SOUTH.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 262, 21 January 1879, Page 2

A TRIP DOWN SOUTH.

(Contributed.) (Continued from No. 261.) In our journey to Queenstown, we saw the lake in a storm, but the day we left

was as fine a day as it is possible to conceive.

The Remarkables looked indeed worthy of their name. They are 7500 feet high, but do not look it. Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis are two mountains in the neighborhood about nine or ten thousand feet in height.

The steamer called at a place called Half-way Bay to land an old settler.. He gave tne a long history of Queenstown in the olden days. He said at one time there were belween twenty and thirty thousand people living there.

At length we reached Kingston once more, where we met two gentlemen who had intended to visit the lake, but Bradsliaw's guide had led them wrong as regards the days on which the steamer goes to Queenstown, so they had to forego their trip and return with us to Invercargill. Moral: Never trust Bradshaw. They are now building a very fine steamer for use on the lake. She will be ready in about six weeks; she is an iron paddle steamer, and v|ill be fi f ted with very powerful engines, and will also have excellent accommodation for travellers.

We arrived once more in Invercargill,* having enjoyed our short trip to the lakes exceedingly. Our Civil Service friend and his daughter had contributed not a little to our pleasure. Invercargill is a very nice town, and I believe it will now pi ogress very rapidly. Its streets are wider than any in Christchurch or Dunedin, and this gives it a very imposing appearance. It is laid out in the form of a parallelogram, and there are some very handsome buildings in it. We went over the Athenaeum, and I think I never saw such a pleasant reading-room. It is very light and cheerful up-stairs, and at the corner of a street. There is a very handsome statue of Brittania at the top of the Athenaeum. They say it cost £400. I think the money might have been more profitably expended in books for the library, but as they have gone to so much expense, I would just like to suggest that they should put the statue into a leaden tray to prevent the rust spoiling the face of the building.

There is a very good theatre in Invercargill, but it is not quite finished. Rodger's, one of the finest retail shop, for the sale of fancy goods, is also to bs met with there. We spent two hours looking through this establishment, and then we did not see all there was to be seen. From the top of the house we obtained a capital view of the town. We could also see Stewart's' Island and the Dog Lighthouse.

Next day we bid farewell to Captain Heywood, our host, and to Invercargill. I think the three things in which it excels are wide streets, music, and hotels.

In travelling to Dunedin, we noticed at one of the roadside stations a board containing an invitation to travellers to come and see Mrs Muir, and get a cup of good coffee. I was not long in finding out Mrs Muir, but unless you wish for an emetic straight away do not on any account be beguiled into taking her good coffee. She poured Borne stuff out of a bottle, which she endeavored to keep out of sight, filled up with warm water, and then told you to " sturr it." For this delightful concoction 6d was demanded. The best cup of coffee I ever tasted was at the Waihola Refreshment room, and that was really good and most refreshing to a tired traveller.

Being New Year's .Day, as the train beared Dunedin we began to get a great number of passengers. There were over 400 altogether.

Watson put himself about very much to accommodate us, as the town was so full. He had been refusing people all day long^

We then heard that the Bangitata bridget was down, and that it would be impossible to return to Christchurch for a week except by steamer. This I determined not to do if possible as I am such a dreadful sailor.

On the 2nd January I went to the Caledonian sports, and enjoyed myself very much indeed. The sports themselves were not of much interest to me, and besides that there was so tn uch time wasted between the events that to anyone who only went for the sports it must have been tedious in the extreme. I found greater sport in watching the different games that were being carried on outside the ring. One man had a Camera Obscura, or, ache had it marked up in large letters, Camara Obscura. It was well worth the price "of ■ admission to hear him enlarge upon the benefits to be derived by paying a visit to his tent.' He said you can travel 150 miles for'6d-.-* What he meant by that I don't quite understand, but it certainly was very good, and astonished more than children. I would advise young ladies to be careful how they conduct tbeiase.lves when in the vicinity of one of these instruments. We saw lots of kissing going on behind tents, which were never meant to be witnessed by anyone. " Ihe fairest game on the course," I heard one man exclaim. It consisted in a lot of tin horses swinging round on a pivot. Thero was a figure supposed to represent the judge, and whatever horse happened to stop opposite that gentleman took all the pool except what he had to pay the proprietor.

There appears to me to be a great absence in Dunedin of the aristocratic element. I only saw two carriages the whole time I was there. The ladies do not dress so extensively as the Christchurch ladies.

At the .sports, although I see by the papers that over 20,000 people were present, yet there appeared a very small portion indeed of the " upper ten."

There was tremendous excitement at one time about a wrestling*-match between two men named respectively Tiffin and Tyson. The former was a very little man, and the latter a 15 or 16 stone man, but although the little one could not throw the big one, he so managed it that Tyson could not throw him.

We went to hear the Kelly and Leon troupe before leaving Dunedin, but I must say I was very much disappointed in their performance. Perhaps I had been led to expect too much.

We found that the news about the Rangitata bridge had been exaggerated, and that we should not bo obliged to remain any longer than we chose in Dunedin, as communication with Christchurch was once more restored. So the next day wo took our places in the Christchurch express, which also carried a supplementary English mail for the Tararua. I had my usual luck all day, being quite sea sick—was very thankful to get to Christchurch at 7 p.m., and I am happy to say we found all well at home.