OVERLAND FROM NELSON TO CANTERBURY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 17, 19 January 1877, Page 4

OVERLAND FROM NELSON TO CANTERBURY.

Probably nofc many readers of the Evening] Mail haye ever attempted to face'lhe discomforts ah.d inconveniences attendant upon, an , overland, trip, from Nelson' to Ciiristchurch, and wltb! these ia view I have thbaghfc that a tew' roagh notes jotted down oa the road might .prove of interaaS to the unioi dated, To account for, the length of time our journey occupied, it moat 1 be understood that (be horses ridden w^ce of ai heavy: .draught r nature.; Jhat there were three of them, that there was oaly a saddle for ob'a- br^ihem, and that two UDfortoaate iadividaals' bad to share thesaid three : horses and -one saddle tham^t ;^jtiyiD^ 4t Spring Grove by the aftetooon train on Sonday,:the 7th inst;j all iheffe^rfaary preparations were c .made s for an ©wrly :;.|Mart on' Monday inbrbing, apd #B^accordiogly mounted our steeds about 8 am. on l that day ,aad proceeded W^i-iti, Valley;- -Wh;eM*bdut ' "^•hl o^.™! l9 ? l>. aa t rß^oxhiJli rife,- was advjsttbje to drive pne horseiid pretefeoce to leading Hi No sooner thought than done, and for the next tbfee^or .four, miles we made good brSt gr ee 8. But in; the . course^of^-fiml "Jack;": fought be, aa^.a goo^ ppportanitf of returning ip% ( rinij Qrove agaitt^> We webt back after biin $ a band gallop, and ultiraately, ' after a Btnart chase,' succeeded in overtaking hjiaiiagdvprovi^ions wefe oiade' wftereSy' any further vagaries on his part were. prevented. The Big Bush was passed through in the evening, and the Top House was reached about ten o'clock, and there we were mads^ very, comfort' able for the 'night by Mr Weaenbavern, aod at nine next morning were on 1 the rbajl to '-Tarndale: ' Some " exceedingly Po'tfgfc country had to be paaaed overiia, proceeding up the WairaUji^lyW, and whea--^^6rg^ : .waß.re^eli^ I f mus^ g v dsaiitbat my feelioga were of an'yihfog but a pleasant chiractei I !.' The Wairau .'; Eiver^-hers : r'dns between two sjteep hills' tbiaily destitute of fpjidge, being compoaed entirely of a .loose, sliding description of rock. AVvir,ious beigbja lllqv^ the Hver a ; track about a yard and a,b,a(f wide has. been cut in the side Of the hi!l, up and down which alt! persons who place as much value^on their lives as Ido on mine lead their horsea. Wp got through; about five o'clock in J th9 afternpgq ? ,, and*;, af^er 6ifoasS'ng' the * Wairaii; l itoree'' times' ' succeeded in -reaching the accomodation boaseat Tarndale. This builJiqg Jv*as anoccupied. and .after.' tetheringpur horses, we' 1 eflfecied aa entraacfe/knd lighted , a ;fire, : ' by; the::glareL. of |which i we were enabled to make a heartyoieal off— well, liseed^nbi say what, but^ill merely thank tboae individuals who had camped there before us for leaving: a Dumber ofoookiog utensils mioua bottoms and half a kettleful of really good man oka lea, evidently not 0 more. 1 jtban twelve months old. Shortly; after three o'clock on the following morning (Wednesday)" it commenced raining, arid consequently it was neceasary;to make for the next accommodation house, 20 mjles distant, as the building we had Jaki^n possession of was in aaythirig but a watertight condition, and' there was no shelter for our horses^ After nffavelliog for a couple of hours -the j Weather 'brightened considerably,. ..gl'though it was evident that a storm ; was i brewing. /Vfe crossed the Gaide,^iver Kbo same morning and proceeded down i|he s «baofc of the Acheron : ;- ! towirfs " Carter's accommodation houae^ where the Acheron and Clarence rivers unite, the (wo'iormibg a fair sized stream. , Carter's ..was passed in the afternoon, and we moved onward with all possible haste, crossiug the Clarence above its junction -with the Acheron? three times. cShOf tly 1 after' five o'clock^ wh'eri. r abi6ut Bix daiiea from the Hanmer^Pjaia-^ae-commodatibn house, a heavy atorai set in, a mixture of rain and sleet coming down in bucketfuls, accompanied by a bitterly cold southerly mud; Iv ten minutes we were wet to the ekio, apd ■iii half an hour we found it" impossible to drive our horses 'against the. Vmd and rain aay : longer, and. consequently c ,ha4; lo dismount and lead them.. We swete -now. fairly in ; the worst part of Jollie'a Faas. Round thb' hill's 1 * which 3 |orm 'j.the pasa a winding and narrow track has been cut, the rain making it more slippery than under ordinary circuinatances it would have, been. Occasional flashes of lightning. revealed to ua the accommodation bouse at the foot of tbe hills, arid twelve miles! .further on the Waiai River was justj visible, and to all appearapces.waa quite fordable, provided the rain either kept off or continued in a southerly direction. We made our baltibg place about seven, and need I say that Mr Russell, the] and obfigiug prdprietor "of the Hanmer Plain' accommodation' provided us with every neceaeary! t .io, thesbapQ of dry ,ciotheß,jprovis^oqs, &c? Next morning (Thursday) we crossed the Ptain, time, unfortunately " ! tfoV allowing of our ' ; - ; visiting the Spripge, ; which are gradually beoomtog quite popular, several persons from -Dunedio and Chrisicburch being there at the time of our calling. We arrived atj the Wtiiau in due course, and imme-| diately put our horses, wbiob were altogether UDaccußtomed to' rivers, to the difficult task of { fording the largest uqbridged streamijon tbe road... After floundering about for two or "three minutes, the opposite back - T was ascended; the borses behaved manfully, the river at the time of our croa-l isiog' being between -three and four feel , r In deptb f end the bottom composed oj "small bpuiders and loose grave). . Frpra Iheooe we proceeded dowa the book ol

j the river, where some really fine coun« I try is to be seen, until we reached the iAmuri Plain, over which there is a I good road— in fact there is a first-class I road from Rangiora to Waiau, and [coaches, formerly the property of S. ILee, but now owned by Mr Francis i Solder, run the whole distance, conI nectiog at Rangiora with the railway I for Christchurcb ; passengers for the S Hanmer Plain are taken over the j Waiau by a boafr, and walk or ride to the Accommodation House as the case may be. We reached the boundary ' river between Neiaon and Canterbury !(the Hurunui) in the afternoon. Here there are two, and only two, sights of any importance — the bridge over the j river, and the Huruaai Hotei, both of I which are substantially constructed, the [former being about 1200 feet in length, the latter a large stone building. The Waikari Flat was our stopping place : for the night, but we did not reach it i until past 1 1 o'clock, one of the horses ! meeting with a slight accident on the [road thither, and my poor unfortunate [self spraining my ancle through a | slight tumble. Next morning (Friday) : we made for Rangiora, passing through the grain- producing districts of Amberley and SeftOQ, and arriving at our destination in the evening. On the {Wiwidir^jA^^atnS^{^ > '':^gkoda^Q Padanuiijind Laving iiabtad-6Mhorß&?;f walked the remaining three miles into town, arriyjngin Cbristchurch .about ■ojo. T UK) -iiOCAI My first impressions on walking through ChrißtohurjC.ii were rather mixed. The firsi'p'iiblic building to j meet my eye was the PoatofHce, which ia a i'SfaJrable, barF-like H^fpHg/Hueldingjfjgndf jc(r!tajnly|ja no ■orn|E|ebfr'tLa town of the size of (jhristcfiiurcb.. Passing up Cplpj^boisireet on my way home I noticed the^Dafchedral, which is the sight amongst the buildings here — at least it will be when it is completed. wbiiMaaiijsgg imwhmAm band at first miscalculated the cost or not, lam at a loss to know, but the fact remains that after £3000 had been spent upon the building all the Committee had to show for it was the foundation raiaad about a foot high. This happened a few years ago. and the work was virtually stopped, but as years rolled on good times came round, and an effort was made to push the work forward. At the present time a small portion of the building is rendered available for service, but it will be many a long day before the structure is com* pleted. Unlike Aladdin's palaces, however, Cathedrals don't grow in a day, and Canterbury has no reason to be ashamed of the gigantic building which it is anticipated will some day prove an ornament to tbe town instead of as at present an eyesore. Usually it requires the enthusiasm of more than one generation to complete a work of this kind, which is bardly sufficiently practical in its results to commend itself to the ordinary-minded colonist. Passing on- , ward toward my house I noticed that I thje oe w Theatre and Beatty'a Hotel, botbiargeandeiega^ erefe&o 4^^^^lly^- : whii4>%n^oAier ' parts of the town old "Wooden shanties had-gjyaa placjs ,tq subatantialj build jpgs of stone and^brick.^qme ''fine suburban residences have gone up just outside town liinit^eftdh.oPwSiiQa baa 163: lawn an<t --croqiiet ground^ 'the 'land l being perfectly level. Smaller housdfParo dotted aboutri|i ) alijiire^tipn|j and eaoh has jts;ga£4p,a»plpt fenced 'to with gorse, j wbite-thprß,iDF\nbdlly ; everything has a "busy; affd cheering:; (exceptut the haavily) aspepj. 'One, of course, looks with'PaaldWWd'-gfat^catron : W the WPJ4/>|ftH%B 3 M%j : fC a/jterbury^ is making, ;aadioiyuhpp9. |s J'yl make Nelson as go-ahead and *lfsely as tb¥^ K(}\ij%fPj&MF^ iff»lHfie^r\fifent time. With Ti ita ; vast'mfnertl resources, ita WaluWiou^ cHdiate; : fi^d clear m£hj other ■ad vantages; : ad^oa^ >tle¥d ever regret being "° ~

;Ui7; >:3i ''' i l '- r:r l " 3 '"" 1 f>'±><^i Advice Tp Morrißsa!— Are you broken in yoiir^estr'tiya sick child suffbring withlthe palo of eutiiog- teeth r~ Go at once- to a phemisfrjand .get; a ( botte of-M;». .Winalpw's Soothing" Syrup:' It W relieve t^PJooV sufferer immediately .- ; It* la= perfectly hackles s and pleasant to, taste, it. produces natural .quiet sleep', by relieving th'|3 child, from pain, ana the ,^Ue ( cheru6;awakeV'!'a9'"bright as a u^ttob." It epothes. ifhd chiia,. it softens the ugmsi'allays all p^ia/reUev^a.^iad, regulates j the bowels^, and the be's* known^reniody. for dyßente^jr pud , djarrh^^ t , vrheth'er ' arming .bom tithing' of 'oth'er'caiUcfesV' Sold every- : where at U\\\^, per.:bettte, f Maiufaotory. , Oxford-atfeet, London. " - '"" ' ' ibgfs ,• .FtpMtraßJ^or'i^ Teeth aad "BxtiMl— , A; few"dro^s:df the liquld-'^tdriiiiafe** spruikled ,on a wet .topfe-brugji" produce 'V bfeasant .lather|'w^h^V>|l|iprp^hljr' > de'anßey > tbe ie^ta from alj^par^T^ii pir. joi^urjljties. fiar^ns'the giims^le^ptf tirtar;',. stopi/. decay', 'giveV&i 'j^th a peculiar "peariy-whiteiaess,", arid;^ a ! «Kelightfu);frggifaa<»B^o.th9i>teath. It removes all riopleagabt odour'i»):isiqg"from decayed tetph' or tobacco snidkeV ' 'f.TtieV Mgrapt Fioriline," being composed ioi patt of hooey aad , flyreetlerbs; Ys deUdou? % %#X^f-%h&tha gre*teßt!toUei';dlldqV^ l pi'^tie'' ) «ig^ >( gold , ( e.y^rjPwhef6 : at'Sß. '6ct >: Prfepared : Dy^rienry 0. Gallop, 493 OxWrd-sfcreet Loadon, 1091 YaLUABLeT 'DKiopVERY BGfr THB HalK.— lf your'hair" is titnib^ grey'^r WlpteT ! fo -falling ,«ff. use ''thtf «aeKi%' : Htair^neW'er," for it ' i/oill positively' restore?' in* Wery ffcub Grey or yVMte'hair. to ltspirgiaal 'color, without leiviog th'^di^Weeable srm^Ubf mosfe [it m«tkes (J the h&ti charfnlagly be^utifdJ, *as Hi pr^nl'qtipg growth of 'the half ; on •aid Bpoci! s ; wticrethe glaHds are n\it deca^eid. CettCflcafe "ffM : ' ; i>'r.' ' Ai Qn every battle, w^th . fiill pacticiilara. -' Aafe your near6«i Ch'eimsc ''tot,^'The Mexican Hair rteaeWer," prepir^ fiy Henrv'C. r Oaliop, 493, Osford-atreet^lLoadonVaai soli every-] whereat 3s.*6d. per bottle; 1 '' fo '-' - T ■ 109 j