LAKE ADELAIDE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10058, 28 January 1909, Page 4

LAKE ADELAIDE.

A NECLECTED BEAUTY SPOT. (Written for the Qamara Mail by A. C. Gilford.) Within seven miles of 5 the well-known track from Wakatipu to Martin's Bay, bat hidden amongst the precipitous D.arran Mountains, ■ lies a lake of unsnnpassed beauty which has hardly ever been-visit-ed by man. Until the last few -weeks indeed it is doubtful whether auy .eyes save those of ducks, keas, seagulls, • and such'like have delighted in its, grandeur since the original party of surveyors 'visited it a score of years ago. The rea6on is not far to seek. Although; so close to the beaten track it is at present by no means easy of access. Situated, at the head of Moraine Creek it is ' midway between the Hollyf ord and-the head: of Milford Sound. A track could quite easily be made right to its head, or even to the top of the saddle beyond, from which latter point a glorious view is obtained of the Cleddau Valley, Milford Sound, and' all its familiar peaks. But without a track the valley of Moraine Creek is as rough as any to be found in New Zealand. The" stream itself from the outlet of the lake almost to the Hollyford river is one continuous roaring cataract, broken only by a peaceful half-mile at Tent Flat. The valley is exceedingly narrow, precipitous mountains rising abruptly on either hand. The lower slopes wherever they are not too perpendicular are clothed with a dense mantle of the most varied vegetation, more than usually difficult to penetrate, as a tangled undergrowth fills up the spaces between huge irregular blocks of rock piled together in the utmost confusion. Coprosma, lacebark, fuchsia, broadleaf, manuka, toot, panax, and veronica bound together with rata, clematis, supplejack, and lawyer and, supplemented with .ill kinds of mosses and ferns, form an almost impenetrable thicket round the trunks of the larger trees. But though Lake Adelaide is by no means an easy place to reach, those who get there are amply repaid for their trouble, and the arduous journey itself is fidl of delight for artist, geologist, botanist, or lover of wild nature. Some details as to why we went and what we saw may therefore be of interest. Our Object. ) Our primary object in planning this trip is to see for ourselves the nature of the obstacles which have so far prevented the opening up of a direct route from the head of Lake Wakatipu to Milford Sound, and with this in view we propose to examine all the Western tributaries of the Hollyford. The Weather. The weather, however, has an unexpectedly large say in the matter. Our party consists of four and we start with 751b swags, containing tent, rope, sleeping bags," and provisions for three weeks. Two i'nends accompany us as far as Lake Harris saddle. Leaving Queenstown on Christmas morning we camp at dusk in the Rout-eburn Valley in a beautiful glade beside the stream. At seven o'clock next morning rain begins in a gentle though determined manner, and it is well for our peace of mind that we do not know that we have said good-bye to the sun for a fortnight. The first item on our programme is to study the country carefully from the Lake Harris saddle, but as the cold rain beats on us in the afternoon not a single one of the great array of noble peaks before us pierces the dark mantle of clouds. As we descend the western slopes we catch a few tantalising momentary glimpses of rock and snow, but | it- is not 'until we have been some days in the Hollyford Valley that we really see any of the surrounding mountains, and the - last day of the year has come before we succeed in crossing the river. Having had five days of rain we are hopeful of the weather' clearing, so we place all outsolid provisions in a depot before crossing the river, expecting the exploration of Moraine Creek to take three or four days at most. Our expectations are destined not to be fulfilled. For six days more, except- for an occasional brief lull, the rain falls steadily. Every time the severity of the storm increases some one predicts that it is the last shower, another remarks that if not actually the last one it is exactly like it, and some one else suggests that possibly "'More Rain" is the correct way of spelling the name of the creek. At" last on .January 6th, though the sun still remains obstinately hidden, we enjoy a fine day. but on the 7th and Stli it- is again like old times, except- that the temperature having fallen considerably, the rain is sometimes replaced by sleet, hail, or snow. Thus in the first fortnightwe have enjoyed thirteen wet days, which establishes a record for these trips.- Unfortunately while skies weep, holidays fly by, and our progress is so much delayed that instead of "exploring all the tributaries on the left bank we spend the time at- our disposal in a single valley and are separated most of the while from the bulk of our provisions. This necessitates our beinir careful of our stores. On days in camp we content ourselves as best we can with two meals, by no means large ones. Singing, recitations, and impromptu lectures lieip to pass the time and make us J-.ss conscious that it is still before break fast although afternoon. One day it- is between 5 and 4 p.m. when we break our fast. Sometimes we enjoy the luxury of porridge and then the privilege of scraping the billy is carefully awarded by lot. But- as soon as it loses its novelty we tire of standing unclothed in the pouring rain patiently coaxing the sodden wood to burn and prefer to partake of cold refreshment. One meal according to our menu card consists of four figs a-piece and a fragment of cheese. Again we try to supplement our provisions with local products and make a stew of rice, wild wess, and snowgrass (Danthonia). The rice and cross are good, but the hay is cruelly hard to swallow. The following is a list of Our Camps. Ist—Xear Routeburn Crossing, December 25th. 2nd—ln Hollyford Valley, December 26th—29th. 3rd—The Old Hut on the Hollyford, December 30th. 4th —A nook on the rocky side of Moraine Creek Cataract-, December olst. sth—Head of Tent Flat, January Ist and 2nd, 1909. 6th—Amongst the rocks of the Moraine near Lake Adelaide, January sth. 7th—Head of Lake Adelaide, January 6th-—loth. Bth—Old Hut on the Hollyford again, January 11th. 9th —Routeburn Hut, January 12th. The Bush.

The bush in the Hollyford Valley is of the typical West Coast type. No single species is dominant, but trees of all kinds and all sizes grow closely side by side. On the river flats cabbage trees, flax, t-oot, and spear-grass help the landscape to retain its characteristic aspect, but English grasses are replacing the native an occasional dandelion is to be seen by the river, in the higher bush, or even on the grass slopes above. The Piri Piri occurs in troublesome profusion and the beautiful white forget-me-nots peep out along the sides of the track.

Totara, matai, miru, rimu, kamahi, and two or three kinds of beech aTe all represented by noble. 'i:mt trees. Mingled with them are a hundred humbler forms, amongst which we notice as we pass Scheffleria digitata, Panax .simplex and Edgerleyi, Aristotolia Racemosa, Pseudopanax ferox and crassifolium, Alelicytus ramifloras. Drimys axillaris, Carpodetus serratus, Pittosporum, two kinds of broadleaf. lace barks, fuchsias, and olearias, coprosmas, and veronicas of many kinds. Ferns and mosses in great variety carpet the ground, and clothe the tree trunks, 6ome of which are also decked with astelias and such epiphytic orchids as Earina and Dendrobum Cunninghamii. Here and there we see a bright patch of the native mistletoe (Loranthus) high up on a beech tree, or notice its fallen blossoms strewing the path. Binding the rest together aTe a host of lianes, supplejack. rata, convolvulus, and clematis. Above the bush line the grassy slopes are bright with flowers. The Ranunculus Lyallii is nearly over, and we Bee it in •perfection only in shady nooks and hollows. A yellow buttercup with flowers half as large again as a penny occurs plentifully. Celmisias and Senecios in cjreat variety are blossoming in profusion, Gaultheria. Dracophyllum, "and neaths of several kinds 3re abundant; some of which give a pleasant fragrance to the air. Totara scrub, stunted lace bark, and several kinds ot veronica and olearia grow on the lower ground neaT Lake Adelaide, the yellow 6pikes of Anthericum give quite a color to the grassy slopes, and the beautiful white violets seem to be everywhere. Cress is fairly common beside the mountain streams, and we eat it with, relish. Amongst the multitude of plants that catch the eye as we pass -we may mention the pretty white orchids, the bright lit-

tie SeUiera radieans, the beautiful gentians, Ourissia, Wahlenbergia, both blue and white, the cushion-like Raoullia, geraniums, sundew, broom, epilobium arid angelica. The New Zealand edelweiss (heliehrysum gxandiceps) we find in two or, three, places k only, the chief, being, the Lake' Harris ths talus dope below'the. great-moraine. Bjrd; Life. Bird .'life is. not very abundant - either in Moraine Creek or about the. lake. A few -blue duck; and kaka frequent Tent Flat,-and an weka/peeps • into our tent. One''or two larks . sing above the grass slopes,-, and a couple of pigeons are seen in the..bush. !)lu'ing the -whole time "we are eneanroed at the-head of Lake Adelaide a seagull keeps us . company, standing the greater; part of the day on a pointed rock'-100.yards from our tent. A paradise duck-takes her six-'little• ones for 'frequent excursions across the. water near us; two-.pretty littlewrens watch us as we make the'fire, and an inquisitve kea comes occasionally to inquire what it all means. Each time we climb towards the pass we disturb a pair of paradise ducks who have their home above the smaller lake. Butterflies or moths uuring the .long wet days caused comment when they ventured out singly or in twos or threes', but with the appearance of the sun they flutter in thousands over the heated rocks or balance themselves on the netals of the flowers and fan the warm air with their wings. In the cool of the evening a single bat zigzags aimlessly about. Tent Flat.

After toiling continually upwards hour after hour through almost impenetrable jungles of tangled bush with the cataract roaring all the time in our ears till we have grown to feel that nothing lies before us but an interminable series of dense thickets and turbulent cascades, suddenly we emerge into daylight and see spread at our feet a beautiful open stretch of grassy flats nearly half a mile in length, diversified with picturesque clumps of trees and with the creek, no longer clamoring in its headlong rush, but winding silently and peacefully down the centre. The mountain walls of —e valley, hitherto too near to be seen, are disclosed in all their grandeur, and the terminal face of a fine glacier appears above us on the right. Straight ahead the valley is closed in by two bushy saddles, one rising behind and above the other. Up tliem lies our route and behind the further is the great moraine.

Above Tent Flat the bush, though very rough in parts, is not nearly so hard to traverse as that below, but on reaching the top of the nearer saddle we desert it and follow the talu6 fans at the foot of the cliffs on the right hand side. These lead us up to the veTy remarkable moraine which bars the lower end of Lake Adelaide and which gives it 6 name to the creek through which its waters find their outlet. The Moraine.

This moraine is well worthy of notice. It is of great size and considerable height, and the blocks of which it is built are stupendous. They are piled so loosely together that as you jump or scramble from rock to rock you see huge caverns in all directions beneath you. The great height of this moraine is probably due to the meeting of two glaciers which flowed in almost exactly opposite directions. The main glacier that hollowed out Lake Adelaide has long since disappeared, but- the one which met it still remains though shrunk to a fraction of its former size. It is parallel to the glacier which ends above Tent Flat- in a magnificent icefall from which avalanches frequently tumble on to the talus slope below. Tent Flat itself probably occupies the site of an ancient lake formed through the moraine of this glacier blocking up the valley when the ice receded. From the top of the Great Moraine we get our first view of The Lake.

Moraine, glacier and lake are so full of interest that in spite of the discouragement of cold and wet we load the camera, with a new roll of films, taking shelter under a rock as we do so. The lake is beautiful from all points of view, though especially so from the head. Like all mountain waters it has many moods, and responds to every change of weather. As we see it first in the pouring rain, the waters reflecting only the grey 6ky and the biack rocks, it appears extremely dark and gloomy. The weird cliffs in the middle distance and the gnarled trunks of some of the stunted vegetaion in the foreground are -reminiscent- of Dore's illustrations of Dante's Inferno. But as we find out later, the surface in sunlight- presents a delightful pin- of changing colors. The bright blue of the sky is repeated wherever the breeze ripples the surface. The dark cliffs and their snowy summits are reflected in the water, and their purple shadows superposed are quite distinctfrom the reflections. On such a morning the picture seen from our tent door at the head of the lake would be hard to equal anywhere. One of the snowy peaks reflected in the lake bears a striking resemblance to the summit of Mount- Cook, and the icefall in which the glacier below it ends is a fair rival, except in size, to the famed Hochstetter. The snow cornice on the sharp ridge connecting this peak with the next must be of considerable width if we are to judge by the midday shadows 100 feet long which it casts on the snow slopes below. The lake is completely encircled by fine mountains topped with magnificent snow fields pierced and broken here and there by glorious peaks rising over 7000 feet above the sea. Tne margin -of the lake on both sides is impassable near the water's edge. On the eastern shore steep bluffs come down sheer into the water some 600 feet. Above these and below the rocky mountain walls are gTassy slopes and terraces with numerous tiny tarns nestling in the hollows. Here and there a mountain cataract, after tumbling a 6 a waterfall from the snow field above has scoured a deep Tavine across the grassy slopes before plunging over the cliffs into the lake below. ' Enormous blocks of granite which dot the surface of the slopes bear witness to the intensity of the denuding forces of frost and sun. One huge block with torn vegetation still clinging to its upper edge has evidently fallen comparatively recently from the cliffs where the scar it left is plainly visible. It must have glided a long waydown the grassy slope over a soft cushion of snow, for it has scoured no channel in its descent. The western wall of the lake affords as perfect an example of ice work as could be found anywhere. Nearly the whole mountain side has been polished into rounded hummocks too steep for even grass to" cling to, with an occasional perched block breakine the sky line a 6 we gaze at them from below.

During rain, cascades pour down in hundreds of' silvery streams. An hour after the rain ceases they nearly all disappear.

The head of the lake seems to end in the usual cirque, but on reaching it the continuity of the encircling cliffs is found! to be 'broken on the West bv a hanging valley, out- of which a small cataract foams down a- steep grassy slope with numerous projecting rocky crags. An easy climb brings us to the top of this cataract and a small lake comes into view at the upper end of which is the saddle which, if crossable, would afford the long looked-for direct Toute from Wakatipu to Milford. At first glance the prospect is not promising, for the cliffs are too steep for some hundreds of feet for snow to rest except in isolated flecks.

(To be continued.)