THE WANAKA EXCURSION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 38, 13 February 1877, Page 2

THE WANAKA EXCURSION.

[from a cokuespoxdent.] We left Hokitika for Jackson's Bay at noon on the 31st, and towards evening the fog, which had been very dense, cleared a little, and we saw the faint outlnie of Mount Cook, just enough to enable us to say that we had seen the snow-capped giant. We arrived offi Jackson's Bay duriug the night, aud it being still very foggy we kept offi until noon next day, February 1, when it cleared a little, and allowed us to get in. It is a cosy little nook, with about a dozen houses for the immigrants, a house for the manager, and a store house. A road winds round the hills for about three miles to the flat country, where some 400 immigrants are located. It had been foggy and rainy there for the last three weeks, and the district gave one the idea of being a very fine place for young ducks. We left afc 2*30 p.m.. and about four we passed Cascade Point. This is about 400 feet high, and has five lovely waterfalls, varying from 200 to 250 feet in height. The top of this Point is plateau land, very swampy, and exposed to every wind that blows; owing to the continued rain the falls were very full, and if we had only had a gleam of sunshine they would, I have no doubt, have looked really grand. Afc seven o'c'ock we arrived afc Big Bay, a huge bay with high hills on each side, wooded to the water's edge, low bush land at the head- with high hills beyond. Up to this time it had rained every day, and next morning, the 2nd, it was pouring, and all our hopes of fine weather were coming to an end. About ten, however, it coinirenced to clear, "and in about an hour it was beautifully fine. We left for Martiu's Bay at 1230 p.m., and got there in 1 an hour, but it was too rough to land, so we pushed on for Milford Sound. As we coasted a'ong, the clouds cleared away, and wq saw Pc nbrokc Peak, 67 10 feet high, rising from | the sea in all its rugged grandeur, and afc half-past four we entered the Sound. I defy anybody to exaggerate the beauty and grandeur of Milford Sound see. cry, for to do so would simply be impossible. At fche entrance Mitre Peak rises up 5560 feet, the steamer passing so close to its base that you have to thro-v your head as far back as you can to see the top. There are dozens of waterfalls fche whole way along, which were in full play after the heavy rain. Peak after peak opens up as you go further in, some nearly perpendicular for more than 2000 feet, then a ledge, and then another face, and the tops of most of them be : ng covered with snow they looked exquisitely beautiful under the light of the setting sun. There are two very large falls, one 200 feet high, and the other, the " Bowen Falls," 600 feet. The latter falls about 40 feet into a basin, whence it shoots up fountain-like some 20 feet, and then descends in a glorious mass of foam to the rocks below, innumerable rainbows appearing in the mist around the point of contact with the rocks. I shouid say that about twice as much water as flows down the Maitai rushes in a torrent down the Bowen Falls. The change in the weather had produced a marvellous effect upon the spirits. of all our party. Everybody seemed jolly, and one could have let off his stalest jokes and they, would have been received as new. As we went up the Sound several shots were fired from the canno i, aud the echo produced was something wonderful, being like a peal of thunder, and for nearly a minute it might, be heard rumblng away among the hills. Two rivers come in afc the head of the Sound which made all the top part of it fresh water! We anchored near the Bowen Falls in a fresh water basin, with the stern of the steamer moored to a tree. There are any quantity of fish, and as soon aa your line

reaches the bottom the bites commence, so you may imagine what sport we had. We went boating, fishing, and shooting, and the time seemed to fly , very fast, and nobddy appeared anxious 'to go to hed, nor did t hey regret not having done so when about eleven . o'clock the moon rose, lighting up the tops of the mountains, throwing ■broad shadows across the water, and alto"gether. producing sucha scene as is not often witnessed in a lifetime. The bush is full of ferns, but I could find no different sorts from those to be obtained in Nelson. We left Milford at noon on the 3rd, went back to Martin's Bay and landed the passengers we had embarked the day before, and then left for Bligh Sound, which we entered at 7*40 p.m. - It came on very dark as* we steamed up it, preventing us from seeing anything that night, so we had to devise some other amusement, and, having a piano on board, several of us assembled round it and inflicted torments upon the rest of the passengers by our rendering of " Christy's." We left Bligh Sound at 2 pm. on the 4th, passed George, Caswell, Charles, lind Nancy „ Sounds, arriving at Thompson's at half-past six. Bligh Sonnd we found very tame, and we were not sorry to leave.it; there are no cliffs and all the hills are very much the same size and monotonously like one another. Shortly after anchoring in a wonderful little .Bay in Thompson Sound, very deep and with any amount of fish, some of us went on shore aud caught and boiled a lot of crawfish and had a grand supper. We left early next morning, and went up Bradshaw's Sound, coming out by Doubtful. lnlet. The scenery in nearly all these Sounds is very beautiful, and not far inferior to that of Milford. We entered Break-sea Sound at noon, •travelled through it, and anchored near the entrance of Dusky Sound in a lovely Bay, the very place where Captain Cook anchored when he took the transit of Venus observations. We were shown the place where he is said to have had a garden, and climbed to the top of a hill where his observatory was erected. All that part of the Sound is exceedingly picturesque, there being dozens of small islands covered with trees, and no end of pretty little coves and bays, with any amount of bush which is full of ferns and very easy to get through. There are plenty of fish here, and some blue cod we caught weighed ten pounds. We left Dusky Sound next morning, the 6th, arriving at the head of Preservation Inlet in the afternoon. There is a very large waterfall at the head of this Sound, some 200 feet in height, down which there dashes an enormous quantity of water. On landing here I saw several ferns new to Nelson collectors. In the evening the " Wanaka larrikins " (for such is the name, whether justly or not I do not pretend to say, bestowed upon five or six of the youngest of us) started off in a boat, sung songs, and wound up our evening's amusement by setting fire to the dry reeds on the hanks of the Sound. The reflection on the. water, and the hills lighted up by the glare, looked very beautiful, but some of the more staid of . the passengers shook their heads, > and said we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, which we were not— not a bit of it. About this time the beef ran out, all the baker's bread was consumed, and the small bottles of beer were gone. This had a marvellous effect on some of the passengers, who suddenly became home sick, and wished the trip was over. We left Preservation Inlet at 7 a.m. on the 7th, and arrived at the Bluff at half-past four; left again in an hour, and arrived at Port Chalmers at 7 a.m. on the Bth. Here the steamer stopped, as most of the passengers were for Dunedin, the rest having to return to. their homes at their leisure. Before leaving the steamer the sum of £25 was collected for the stewards, and au address and a purse of £26 were presented to Captain Malcolm, for whom and the ship's Cl&cers three hearty cheers were given. At the Bluff there was a tremendous rush to the Telegraph Office, and for papers; we had had no news for eight days, during which time Dunediu had been flooded, so the Dunedin people, as may be imagined, devoured their papers. Dunedinites are very proud of their home, and never miss an opportunity of impressing upon strangers that theirs is the finest city in New Zealand.