HOLIDAY RESORTS

Hokitika Guardian, 27 December 1930, Page 3

HOLIDAY RESORTS

IN WESTLAND. There are many interesting motor drives about tioicitiica. Necessarily motor, because the day of the horse drawn vehicle for sight-seeing has departed, and with the improved roadrs and desire for speed, is not likely to recur. A favourite short drive is to South Hokitika to the Rimu • Flat gold dredge, and thence to Seddon Terrace and Overlook Hill (so often misnamed Mt. Misery). There is a Mt, Misery, however, hut it overlooks the beautiful Hokitika river gorge on the way to the Whitcom.be Pass. It was so called because of a “miserable” night passed by a benighted surveyor on the hilltop. Tine dredge is electrically driven from hydro-power derived from Lake Ivanieri at the Kanieri Forks power house. The dredge lias been operating some eight years now, and the returns average roughly a. £IOOO per week. In the period of operation a great tract of country has been overturned, and heaps of stone tailings are monuments to the operations of this electrically powered plant. Just now a new and larger hull is being built on. the dredging site, and with a longer ladder, a deeper depth ot ground will be worked. There ifi still a large area of ground to work as the dredge works inland, to say nothing of the deepest and richest ground near the starting point where the dredge ladder was not long enough to clean up the auriferous bottom. The workings of the dredge always interest visitors. It is a method of mining comparatively new, and permits larg° scale operations in difficult ground impossible to work by the old metlioc\s when manual labour was chiefly used. The dredge delves into the alluvial face, and the buckets bring up .the dirt which is dropped into a large revolving hopper or screen. In this reccp-tficl© tli© fin© dirt and sold are washed through the holes of the screen on to the gold-saving tables below. The large stones are retained in the revolving screen continually washed by a high pressure stream of water, till working to the lower outlet the stones and debris drop on to a rubber carriage way, and are taken up to the tip and dropped astern to build up the memorial pile of tailings behind. Tt is a simple process, arid the .secret of success is to keep the machinery moving, the buckets delving into 1 auriferous ground and delivering as many cubic yards of dirt as possible for the treatment hv the gold-savin o " process. The quantity of ground treated within the time is the aid to success, The ground is of low value actually, but treated in quantity rapidly, the aggregate result mounts up. ar.d’ creates the golden returns beiny won regularly by this modern much-

There is a large amount of labour Involved in the scheme. The ground was formerly a forest, but sawmillin" firms accounted for the standing timber which could be used profitably Now has come the. miner, and for his purpose the ground must first be stumped. The miller left his share of stumps behind, and considerable work is involved in the clearing up process. Uu,sable timber encountered by the way, is saved, and. sent to the Dredging Company’s sawmill, and cut into requirements for future use. On the tailing heaps left, some trees have been planted, but their headway is necessarily slow. At other places lichens are appearing—one of the first signs of the coming vegetation ultimately to clothe the store of stone§. But noxious weeds have not been long in taking route, so the soil, such as it is, is not unfriendly, and parts are taking on the natural hue of the countryside. While there is not any special degree of scenic beauty in and about the dredging country there is a very interesting industrial activity afoot, and winning a, commodity which has a world value which cannot be depressed. The workings going ahead provide much employment and the operations of this Company are a very useful adjunctive aid to the district prosperity in consequence. The motor ride to Overlook Hill provides more scenic interest. The road passes through Rimu township and on to Seddon Terrace, the last of the “rush” goldfields. The road is verged by bush and there are some pretty bush tracks to be explored. Arriving at road’s end, . there is *a wonderful vista overlooking Kokatahi Plains and Valley—hence the rightfV name, Overlook Hill. The view reveals a good deal of the Hokitika river, and the forest wealth of the river flats. On the confines of the plains are the wooded foothills leading up to the snow capped mountains In the Valley is the peaceful settlement, homesteads dotted about, and gracing stock moving about the paddocks. The whole is a very interesting picture well worth the short motor trip, while the delights of the bush round about may be enjoyed also. Another short motor trip, is the route by way of Blue Spur on to Humphreys Gully, and returning by Arahura Valley to Hokitika. The Blue Spur route was one© the route of stage on the coach service to and from Christchurch. Since those days much of the forest has disappeared through the agencies of milling and settlement. Blue Spur was a prosneroiis ininin" - centre in the paling da vs of the golden period, and rich returns were won from its deposits. The road is of interest, and provides glimpses of pleasing bush scenery. Hnmphrevs is another of the former mining centres, where gold-mining was a busi-

ness carried out oil a special scale. | in the glory of tiie company days, there was a weekly gold escort from Humphreys. Nearby is the Araliura river, the sacred river of the Maoris, whence tradition says so much greenstone was obtained. This was the precious pounamu for which many tribeis disputed .nd war aim o-.itli ensued in the struggle lor possession. In the Araliura Valley itself all is today peaceful. Most of the Valley is Maori territory to this day, and is leased by the occupiers who pay rent to the Maori owners. It is a fertile valley and a dairying centre which has flourished since the introduction of co-operative dairying. Tile farms are mostly small in area and are "ell kept, while good herds of cattle browse in the paddocks.

The round trip brings the motorist back to Hokitika by the main highway, and the journey provides a pleasant hour for the traveller. , Ihe road is not up to the standard of ;tlie highway all the wav, but is sound and solid, and safe lor motoring. I lie tii.p gives another glimpse of the pasteial prospects of Idle district, and some idea of the permanency of the place when settlement reveals such evidence of successful farming in the comfortable homesteads and well appointed out buildings o fthose on the land. Next article, The Southern Lakes