IN SOUTH WESTLAND

Hokitika Guardian, 3 July 1929, Page 2

IN SOUTH WESTLAND

SEVENTH STACE. MO 810 BAY TO HOLLYFORD

Next morning I Was surprised .to find . the . weather jiad cleared and to see a pipe sky and good drying wiild. 1 .tried to awaken tb«i others but they pimply v.wouldri’t 1)0 woke- up, so 1 dressed riiyselfj taking : out all the Wet. clothing, bbotSj and saddlery to dry 6n : the ,I‘ocks. ~ Alfter ffap jacks and bacon with various ‘‘•afters I commenced to shoe the , horses while the others sorted 1 out •their fast-drying belongings. . As the provisions were sent‘dor. a party of ( six, we found it necessary to leave some behind. ; If . j • We left this 1 camp oil midday and after fording : the Awkruft river yve rode along’the Three Mile Reach, easily the , best beach I have seen on the West v tjoast. ’ Wliat'kn asset were it .neiir tJ ,spme East Coast town: We rode chains oht in thO gentle breakers. The

horses had received cuts and bruises during the last three days travelling and the salt Water had a healing effect '.Just Soiitji of the Awarua, 1 spotted, pitius insigntis growing on a small grass tableland. , I investigated and found it iB to be the Big Bay homestead formerly occupied by a fam-

ily named Green. It ip now the out> camp, otf ■ Gunn’s, the successors 'of the k JVlpckciizies at Martin Bay. It was well supplied with utensils and stores and surrounded with stock yards. Looking

„ ijp-Lhe: Awarua there, appeared to-, be ' a: huge extent of fiat land, bush covert ;'With the . Mjiifj jn the back- | group'd v beyou4“;'it^e i Valley,' the river'ipf'whi'dii, wO' to qross at its jupction with fcho IfplJyfQrd, a few days hence. ' These interesting Bed Hills have received shopt. visits in the past i tfy-geologists and prospectors' all who

have spoken' • optimistically concerning its future- place 1 as a mining centre 'im Hominibu; Thh last party (about J 922) Were ’ -searching for '* platanium it} jvhipj),they werp .unsuccessr 'f u I?,' Hiey "s t nick’ a wet spell and one member fS,f .^tljia^lpyry|>Qd;'•'•the mislfqiv tuna ■ to >. break* ’ Jus''leg* put an end • toi'the oxphdiiivin;', ,k' ;) '/ ’ .V • ■ knowh .tpbolieyefpto}bp -fa-ir quantities. Leafing' the'MnesF tnotpF ffwing heffeh; behind We point between Bigkßay;' and Martin’s 1 which jwaaya 'lypriety.; of, rough' >■ v ..and •' :avsplerijffts; ,of. ve^itatr years;',beeu ':Wt‘tto;hearly two chains' [ r jt ‘ was' 1 - pftssabler'.pn'|y . i We passed over a dozen dr more kingfern trees. We eventua|lyLpas,sed through; ” a'remarkable -set of slip rails over fourteen feet high. On the Big Bay side of the point I noticed a tent in the bush which we were afterwards told was,for the crew of the Governmgnt steamer to place the stores in v' it. was found unsuitable to land in 4- the shed on the far side' of ’tho Bay 1 : f Scion after passing the slip rails just mentioned, wo passed through and nhhigh crags and into view of . the •* Hbllyford Bay. This was a grand sight and out came the camera. A strong southern, was blowing with a

; high' mountainous sea. The northern • "Side was rock hound, into which the ;hijgh seas were bashing. Little hope * hrid a vessel of getting in under such An iron peg with a sign- | board attached in the centre of the s bar indicated to mariners where a

)• dangerous rock existed. The Holly- • ford is a ,wide stretch pf water with tf forest to the waters edge. It flows r. from Lake McKerrow three miles dis- | tant and is unfordable. We followed '/•up the river close to the waters edge

to a wide creek bed where a little

■ difficulty was experienced in finding iHhe right track, there being others. I !psoon struck a blaze which brought us f. to a bush track and we soon emerged

;i to a large paddock, at the; far end of | Which stood an old house known as »!.. “Georges”, named after its former

V.iowner, one of the settlers who came at i r ihe time of the early seettlement. [- Nearly two miles from the mouth on 'rthe far side a lagoon entrance could '{>')lie seeifi, which we judged to be the which gave boat access to the only residents in this disk' taut country. It was a beautiful restful spot, alongside a beautiful silent ;/!Viver. It was a grand evening and lithe song of the Bell bird and Tui re-

'echoed in the surrounding forest. The tjjSnterior of the house was snug 'and contained every camp oonvienoe. I :£■ is'oon had pancakes, scones and a soda underway. The place showed Slavery appearance of having had recent ■ji (visitors. and we learnt the following that Mr Gunn and two employees only that day. I felt the embers >, Jand found them still warni. New had just been erected. I was tu notice their straining post '|sNvere green fuschia a timber quite unfor such conditions, and un- • in a country where so much |s*uperior timber was available handy. fe’Mr Gunh afterwards told me he had I* yet to learn the different varieties and characteristics of the West Coast tim- ): her, ' 3i is farming experience being ' "learnt down Central Otago and only succeeded the Mackenzies at lonely outpost. -There was good fi>%t-ass here for our horses, also a few Jpeandflys to annoy us. m W A. DAY AT MARTIN’S BAY. *5; •. . ...The following morning was perfect and I. suggested we pay a visit to the and allow our mounts to freshWas agreed to and “H.” and myself set off, followed by the othprs. But “T” suffering from a bruised knee turned bock. Jock found

a short cut and you can imagine our surprise to suddenly meet him coming our way when we quite expected him to overtake us from the rear. We then made a beeline for the river through hush and shrub. The Gunn’s resided over two miles, distant, which necessitated our bringing a plug of gelignite and fuse. We fired this off with good results, for within half an hour, a boat appeared on the far side. We learnt afterwards the report of our signal scattered the cattle in all, directions. Mr Gunn and his staff did 'not show the usual excitement shown by outback settlers at the unusual approach of strangers but they treated us as if they intended us to stay or return again. It was a fine row to their homestead, through overhanging bush, in which rata bloom was present.

We landed and passed through paddocks overlooking the sea and soon the homestead came in view, surrounded by imported trees. It is a strange place for a homestead, situated behind sandhills and with a timbered swamp at the back is the last place for a homestead and certainly not central or suitably situated to work such a large area of grazing country. It had one advantage, that of being within view of shipping, though the only shipping is the Government steamer, for which they have to rely on for their stores and outside communication. Neither was it sufficiently well situated to allow a large quantity of provisions to land in McKenzie’s time, and later the landing of Mr Gunn’s first supply of provisions, to be landed unseen, with the result it was ruined, or the most part was, due to exposure to had weather, through neglect of the. ship’s crew to cover with a tarpaulin. Cattle dehorning was in progress when we arrived there and Jock photographed the operations. One large bull gave a good bit of trouble. This proved to be ndw and interesting experiences to “ H.” and Jock.

We had lunch with our hosts. The boatman who came across for us whom we will refer to as “Bill” was engaged in baking several large loaves in camp ovens which* . turned out excellent. After lunch I had a long yarn with Mr Gunn who outlined hid experiences in this remote locality and of his future development plans, which were ambitious. We were yet to see the improvement he had made to the Hollyford track and huts en route, during the short time he had lived in the district. I feel sure travellers on the HollyfordMartins Bay track will see and benefit by still better improvement next year. Mr Gunn told me he proposed to cut and make a track along the shores of Lake McKerrow, thereby avoiding the steep winding track to the head. This accomplished would make a vast difference to travelling, and would save much time. This track while penetrating some of the finest fern and bush

scenery I have ever' seen, is far too steep and rough to ride over and horses have always to be led. It was well and solidly made but very faultily surveyed and graded. I entered the bush with Mr Gunn in search of silver pine, an almost ever-lasting timber, but failed to find any.

We remained for tea and sat before steaming fish, beef and stewed fruit, quite a well-prepared meal for a batchelors’ gathering.

At nightfall, Mr Gunn and “Bill” rowed us back to George’s, at the same time equipped for spearing eels and flounders but our luck was out, only one eel was caught. As we expected “T.” was getting anxious fur our safety and was awaiting us with a torchlight. He listened to our experiences with interest and regrets at having missed so rare an experience. This time we entertained Mr Gunn and “ Bill ” to supper. We yarned well into the night until they bade us good-bye and rowed away over the wide street of moonlit silent water. We were the first travellers to call at Martins Bay since McKenzies left. The writer is of opinion this would make an ideal fishing camp.

EIGHTH STAGE. HOLLYFORD (“GEORGE’S”) TO PYKE HUT. We had arranged overnight to make Hidden Falls our destination next day, but the late night had the effect of rising late, with the result a late start was made and we failed to reach our objective, in fact it was dusk before we reached the Pyke Hut.

Leaving our beautifully situated camp on the riverside, we picked up the bush track after a short search, in the far eastern corner of the paddock. The track which was newly cut and cleared took us to the lake shore, where a good view could be had looking up the long, narrow, silent stretch of placid water nestling amongst low bush covered hills. The day will come when this beautiful lake will be made more accessible when thousands will thrill at their first peep at its still and silent waters.

For a mile or two we passed along its gravel shores where the beautiful kowhi grew luxuriantly. We passed the warm sunny bay, near which is Jamestown, a “map town” only, hut which once boasted a few residents, where nothing but bush is now seen and wonderful bush this is, a scene that must be seen to be appreciated. A mile beyond Jamestown, or where Jamestown was intended to be built, we entered a bush track, already partly described, and I must also add this must he seen to be appreciated. For fifteen miles we passed through gentle slopes and glades and countless large tree ferns

through which we got peeps of the dark waters of the lake below. . The sweet notes of the tui and bellbird were heard on all sides. It is on this shore of the lake tluit large deposits of asbestos have been said to exist. If this was correct (which probably it is, as it is found further north), there would be little cost beyond rafting it down the lake and river for shipment at the bay.

Some Mormons trout have been caught in the lake and river and should warrant a visit from a party of anglers. Whitebait also come up this river in endless shoals during the season and it would make a good canning base. On the other side of the lake towers snow-capped Mount Madalene. The track crossed a number of foaming cataracts, which in wet weather would prove an obstacle to travellers. At the head a clearing appears and an old hut made of ribbed Baltic pine, formerly a building erected during the early settlement at Martins Bay. Like all the huts on. the Hollyford track, all were well stocked with utensil's and provisions, the property of Mr Gunn who uses these huts frequently travelling out and while mustering. Cocksfoot and clover grew luxuriantly round it and a quantity of bush had been felled and awaiting the fire. We boiled the hilly here and added our name to the long list posted up on doors, walls, and cupboards. It was at this spot long before the. hut was built that Mr Barker (Pembroke) spent eight days held up without food many y'ears ago.

Mr Barker who is still • an active I farmer at Glendine Bay, Lake Wanaka, spent several years prospecting and exploring in this neighbourhood and

knew many , of the early settlers and pioneers. (To be continued.)