IN SOUTH WESTLAND

Hokitika Guardian, 4 July 1929, Page 2

IN SOUTH WESTLAND

,v: ; 'j -{m: '■ ... BIG BAY' TO fJOLLYFORD! (bontinued). After leaving this comfortable hq,t we rody up the river It’d, crossed aUll reerosst'd,' and • again entered a bush track through 1 mofh glorious busli sceneiy bitt of a, different kind. 'Hie soil was .rich; ipidj rib&mvood and nigger head Jfera dominated. It was, getting late >and ; <.>ye. found it necessary to make' speed iy’liicfi was/:/ 1 not difficult; as the track ; was good' and had been . recently ■). ‘.‘scrubbed’ ’ by workmen. Presently.' - the Pyke river t came in view, Whifch under favourable may ’be; folded Oh horseback. Biit' the ford is -rough and bouldery, apjd'»tayo. need 'lje taken. The track continues Up the Pyko yal.ley a mile or inure upiil a.wire chair is seen, on which travellers can pull themsevbs over on wire ropes.

Fortunately Mr .GjLrnn. had; a few days previously, rowed a boat up for use in crossing. This yvp used, swimming the holies behind- The first trip, “T” and Jock rowed. We narrowly escaped getting swept down a rapid. Jock, went oyer. to the hut, a delapidated'-little hovel and got a fire going ■ far “Hi” nhd^the.v ; o|;her hoyses. It wap quite dark . by ,th«< time horses were hobbled;! and .turned io - graae on a iDMß‘.'of sweet clover and gfiwS. This' Ms Va A '.wild and mountainous spot and well; Iwortib rlsiting on its own a clear blue river, flpwst|rbin r tb^'north;, v.rising .in the Red Hills hills, It flows through • High- 'jpyeolploes and cliffs, black with age and covered here and thfere with vegetation. A short distanoe up through this gorge by a fair /bush track the traveller will come in, view of Lake another beautiful 'sight to' behold. Arrangements could probably be made with Mr Gimn’lto qse’ Hjs boat for an excursion up to Alabapta or dovyn tp the • Hollyforij.'. and Mfiak© 'both itips; Ve ‘m'ii^ij: I /hopo, the■ ■ day: mAy>nqft; be; far pfiF. a . ekouisions •'rfjirojfjpMy these- "• / beauty, sp’ots.,*: .• ; ‘..'Ww •■>•! . '■;! ' ■ Around the'Jhgt ;theyp is ■'eqnje-.fijne black ’pirni trees’,' aj ßo -.a few red a'tme- only :’to ,T>e seen in . ' the Aftywata‘and |yajiey|3 on the Vjfeßt Coast.: 1 ! lYp. arrjyed tpo late, to bake bread! jso jihilOcl. ripe ahd, pripies, ojir chief'^iet^'4'. t . '■

" hiKith WAGE. PYKE HUT TO MEDDLE HUT. ] - ’ _ • / \ ' . - ' iNext morning “H.J’yand Jock took the boat to ita' moorings bn the other side returning by the' 1 {wire chair. While preparing • for our ‘ departure we were surprised, by,the appearance of two {youthful trampers, brothers, the youngest in his ■ early teens. They had come from;Hidden Falls hut that morning, a good six miles over Homer Saddle^;,They walked up to.. Alabasta and then returned to Hidden Falls arriving :as we were having lunch. The track from the Pyke hut to Hidden Falls cannot be called good. In many places we had to lead our horses, and many parts were boggy. The track leaves the river and crosses over Homer Saddle, again striking the Hollyford at Hidden' Falls, another fine camping site and a good well Btocked hut in a fenced paddock. Time did not permit a trek to the Falls which is accessible by a branch track. There is a large area, of good ribbonwood country around here. Throughout the journey up the Hollyford experienced no annoyance from mosquitoes. It had been ■ written that sandflies and mosquitoes deprived‘.much of the attractions and I cannot dielp but think there has been som© mistake. Sandflies may be but not in hordes. The na-

ture ' country does not indicate the presence of mosquitoes in large ' numbers. We failed to get a glimpse of Mt„: Tutoko (9.042 ft) and its icefields, mentioned aa (being seen from Homer Saddle (Mr G. Moir’s hook) but repeatedly heard distant avalanches probably from Tutoko and Madaiena. The track to Middle Hut •was good and through fine bush and we arrived a little over two hours. The hut faces the river on a, bank and is surrounded with second-growth lightwood with large * silver birches in the background. ’ Being out of bread I .soon had loaves made. Our friends, the trampers ’ were. with us, which necessitated some of us sleeping out. I chose a Bpot on a bank of a bend of the river under which it whirled some sixteen feet in depth. The others found a good bathing pool up-stream. The rugged peaks of Darran Range towered in front of w. ""•* ■ " TENTH STAGE.

MIDDLE HUT TO TxLKE HOWDEN. Another perfect morning when we sot out for Howden and again another short stage. IJowden was to have!;been our stage the previous night hut the late start and slow travelling from Martin’s Bay was responsible. Shortly after leaving the hut we forded the river, re-fording

again: a fetv hundred yards up at a bjihd. Tr&ihpcrs usually continue on the north side, passing round a bold bliih by a foot track. We passed mbre fine hush hut not equal to that fiirlher down/ We passed the Ronteburn track branching off on our left tb Lake Harris and Saddle, said to bb an exoellent walk but unsuitable fob horses. The panorama from the top of' this track, I am told beggars description. We failed to notice the grave of Donald Keith, who died from starvation in the early days. Shortly after this we left the track and crossed the river to flats on the fpr side. I booh detected burnt tx-ees in ilm distant which I assumed was the shelter that Mr Gunn mentioned. Here was more tinned meat, utensils, tools and firewood.! Some recent work had.been done clearing the bush for pastures as a holding paddock. The* young grass and clover was knee deep. After lunch we repressed the river, and ngnin entered the Ibush to Howden. We crossed several large, noisy bouldery creeks, one of which was the underground outlet of Lake MacKenzie. Presently we began to rise up a narrow steep zig-zag track. At one point an excellent view may be had looking back down the Hollyford with Mount Christinia (8675 feet) towering on our left. Also could be seen numerous gullies glistening a silverj blue -in the hot sun. A mile before reaching Howdeil we noticed the track on our rgiht to Homer Saddle, and Grave-Talbot Pass to Milford Sound, and other trips. Howden is nicely situated near the outlet of Lake Howden. It is the centre of several tourist tracks. It is a spacious building! though said to be taxed to its fullest at times. Our tramping friends had arrived before us, benefit-* ting by an early start, a wise practice , when exploring these forest opd r mountain tracks* A note left at the hut mentioned a party of ladies, popducted by a Queenstown guide, had left for the Homer Hut; and'requested that the letters left be taken out tq, civilisation by the first travellers. The words “to” civilisation .us seemed contradictory, as we could nqt help feeling we had jpst arrived >. at civilisation. I was surprised nn. importa.nt Government Tpqrist bu|ldipg like lapked q,; bound visitors book, {s<l consider tjiis an oversight ])y-.th'e Tourist Department. The place sadly hpeded a horse pnd4ock. *

ELEVEjNTH SJAC|E. BOWDEN TO ELFIN BAY.. ; ' • «• v. .' *; : , Parsing along the shores of Lpko Howden and through avpnues of clematis in full bloom wo came to Lake McKellar, the surce of the (Greenstone ’river. " After passing this lake' we McKollar, the source of the Greenstone Valley, and enjoyed the change to open valleys. (in our left was the iAilsa Mountains. The snow in the upper gullies glistened" in the and the many coloured vegetation on the lower steep mountain sides were a picture on such a perfect summer’s morning. Our horses appreciated the soft turf after so many days on stoney and boggy tracks, and stepped briskly along. Towards mid-day we saw cattlemen mustering. One asked us to keep well back as the cattle were -wild. This amused us, as they appeared quite inquisitive to know us better'. They were certainly not disturbed by our presence. I wondered if this ,musterer had ever any experience with real wild cattle. We ate our lunch by the side of a creek while sand-flys ate us. Wo crossed the river, and continued down the north side. I caught a three-parts grown paradise duck, one of a large brood I took by surprise. This one seemed paralysed, but soon lost that complaint when I put it on the water. Half-an-hour’s tramp saw the river-takes a sharp turn to the left. On the right could be seen the Mavora Saddle, over which the track to the Mavora Lakes and Mossburn passes. This was the route used by the McKenzie’s when taking out cattle from Martin’s Bay. Right in the bend of the Greenstone the track enters the Red Beech forest, a striking contrast to the denseness of the West Coast bush. It is rarely other trees will be seen growing in a red beech forest, with the exception of the Arawata beech forests in Westland. It is more pretty when the sun is shining through ns pale green branches. The riverbed became narrower and rock-bound, and eventually we crossed over a narrow gorge by a good bridge, at the far end of which was a roadman’s camp and road-making under construction. The track rose up a steep bank, from which a good view could be had looking down the Greenstone Gorge, where the Caples Valley could be seen on the left. Crossing over a tussock rise we came in view of Lake Rere nestling in a rock-bound bed, where bush was not absent.

A lot df fine bush on the north shore had been wantonly destroyed by fire, which, we were later informed, was done by campers a few days previously. It is rny opinion the authorities should take steps to punish the offenders who disfigured such an easily accessible beauty-spot. Passing through more red beech avenues, we arrived at Elfin Bay, Lake Wakatipu. We camped on the lake shore. The occupier of the only dwelling here kindly gave us a little bread, there being no facilities for baking our own. TWELFTH STAGE. ELFIN BAY TO CREIGHTON STATION. We had not left long before Jock sighted the steamer coming up the lake. It landed over a hundred tour-

) lists at Elfin Bay for Lake Here, and then continued its course to (J lei.iorcl.y and Kinlock with more pas'-migors., We crossed the joint Uiiteis of tae Greenstone and Cnpies Hirers near i.s mouth at the lane, and crossed the home paddocks of a station whore w,saw tlie first lady since we leit uknr eleven days previous, l.ater v.e met Mr of Kinlock, with an assistant and packhorse, who were going to pick up stock for a drive io a southern market. We passed qld neglected orchards and then iviiil ck homestead came in sight just as the steamer came alongside the wharf. ' Here my companions met many friends on board who were eager to learn all their experiences, while we waited the convenience of Mr Bryant, junr., who had kindly offered to show us the ford over the Dart River. We all dispatched telegrams, including om* to the anxious residents at Okuru wh ■ had expressed their intention of sending out a search party if a telegram were not received in a given time. We encountered a few patches of quicksand on the Dart river bed but found the river quite fordable. We thanked Mr Bryant who returned at a sharp canter, and we crossed the Rees river to Glenorchy,- where keen interset was phown in our accomplishment. We had lunch at the hotel, in fact some of us consumed two lunches so keen was our appetite. We had a yarn and a shandie with Mr Dan McKenzie find others who knew that part of the country well and who was a brother of McKenzie Bros., late elf Martin’s Bay.

I also had the good fortune to meet Mrs D. McKenzie and Mrs P. McKenzie, Mr McKenzie’s siste? while Jock and “T” were procuring necessities for the halnnoe of the journey. We followed down the shores of the lake with the exception of Beaky, who was due bnrft In Dunedin in two day* npd who went down by steamer. The track was good but a number of disgraceful delapidated gates caused some annoyance. These were tightly fastened with v’ire and caused delay in opening and closing. The least runholders can do when placing gates across public trapks is to see they enn be opened and shut wjthout difficulty. Towards eyeniqg W p camp, to Aft. jCreifzlitoji StfitjP]]. Ayhere we ‘arrihgeci f?r hoyse 'piKldocking abd a whare to, camp. As we were about to prepare a jnepl the good tvjfe nf the nvapagor. inyitod us to a b°t ciinner, after 'which )Ve weip directed to the fruit garden. Later the ladies showed us' the property, going as far qs a horrible-looking crevasse at the bottom of which could be heard running water. This Was spanned by a foot-bridge and was barely four yards wide at Ibe yidesf! point. It took some moments before the 'final fall of a stone could be heard when" thrown from the footbridge.

thirteenth stage. CREIGHTON TO LAKE HAYES. ; \ ‘ Bidding these kind people good-bye we continued down the shores of the lake. From the bend in the lake we could see the homesteads on Mt. Nicholas Station on the far side, also the Von River valley. I noticed a number of deer scamper across the track just betfore reaching a gold mining camp. We now met a number of pedestrians walking out from Queenstown and pleasure launches could be seen out on the lake, making westwards. Amongst the pedestrians was a lady and gent who had been staying a week at Makarora when we comemnced our journey. We eventually reach McCormicks Station where we had occasion to use the ’phone and where we learnt Doc, whp had in vain awaited out return to Okuru had left Pembroke the previous day. Mrs McCormick kindly asked ub to remain for lunch which we gladly accepted.

A good road landed us in Queenstown where we decided to split company, “T” and Jock returning to Dunedin by steamer and train and I to proceed alone with the horses to Wanaka via Crown Range. I stayed that night at Lake Hayes where my foot, which had given me trouble during the journey now became chronic. I bathed and bandaged it with the help of Mrs Grant who had herself recently recovered from a poisoned foot. I was unable to get a boot on next morning, but luckily had a pair of canvas shoes in my kit. I crossed the Crown Range and passed down the Cadrona' Valley to Mt. Barker where I camped the night, suffering torture with my foot. 'Hie following morning I called to see the resident doctor at Pembroke who would not allow me to continue. It rather alarmed me when he stated it would require a week’s rest as I had arranged to conduct a party of ladies to the Josetf Glacier, via Haast Pass, the following Tuesday. The following day I “kidded” a vast improvement and the following morning I bolted with two new horses I had purchased the previous day as well as the ones weary from the round trip, arriving at Makarora (46 mile’s) that evening.

Thus completed the first round tourist trip from Wanaka to Martin’s Bay and Wakatipu, occupying fifteen days travelling, plus two days spell en route.

A journey every mile of which was interesting, during which we crossed 25 rivers, over 38 large creeks, 8 lagoons, 5 saddles and mountain passes, and viewed at close quarters, 10 lakes and lakelets. We obtained a good view of the following well-known peaks:—Brewster 8264 ft., Hooker 8,644 ft., McFnrlane 8,200 ft., Paringa Head 7,000 ft., Thomas 7,000 ft., Aspiring

! 9,975 ft., Castor 8,256 ft., Pollux 8,311ft., Richards (Red IIills), Madalcne, -iiitoki 9,012 ft., Lliristinia S', G7sit., . upland c?,U/-i’t., Enrnshiw U,200it., and lie RiniiarkVn.es . .688 ft. luo beauty of the Hollyford particularly I appealed .o me and i consider it equal Ito the iiaast Pass track. It is not such a well formed track nor does it connect other important attractions but it certainly deserves to be better .mown. EIUC JAMES.