ICE CAVES AND GLACIERS.
IN THE WILDS OF OTAGO.
..CONCEALED GRANDET£R.^ T The deeper recesses of North-west Otago, guardod against invasion^ -by precipitousmountains, rushing rivers, and almost impenetrable forests, must _ po=6ess a- peculiar, attraction for amateur explorers and moun--taineers, and it is therefore surprising that so few enterprisinaf souls have made any attempt to reveal what has. been fo long hidden. Rumours have reached the public ear from time to tune that the background of the Lake Country 16 unappraachabi-e-'.in the magnificence of its mountain scenery ; but hitherto no one has come forward with the ncceesarv e\idence either to confirm or condemn the. rumours. It seems, however, from a conversation a Press reporter (Ohristchurch) Had with the Rev. C. H. Moreiand, of Christ's College, that onehalf has not been told of the scenic beauty of this little-known portion of the Dominion. Some considerable time ago Mr Moreiand had a conversation with a surveyor, who told him of the existence of certain very i wonderful ice caves which he had seen in the vicinity of the Aspiring Range, to the north of Lake Wanaka. His account of the j caves appealed strongly to Mr iloreland, who ultimately resolved to endea\our to find tb,em. As a member of a riding party, Mr Moreiand recently made a trip from Fairlie to Pembroke, travelling via the Lindis Pass and Morven Hills, and from Pembroke the party struck out for North--west Otago. From Pembroke they made for the Niger Hut, a dilapidated shelter, which was used many years ago by shepherds. It is. situated on the south bank of the Matukituki River, about 30 miles from Pembroke, going up the west side of the Wanaka. Mr Moreiand pointed out that on the maps the hut was wrongly shown as being situated on the north side of the river. " There is a very good driving track for the first 12 miles from Pembroke, up to Cattle Flat Station," 6 aid Mr Moreiand, "and you frequently get pretty views of the Aspiring Range, with the snow-fields and glaciers showing. The hut is some 12 or 15 miles farther on, and the track is an old dray track, formerly used in con^ nection with sawmills, but now practically disused, except by one settler. We did not care for the hut, and wo heard of j an old abandoned homestead about four ' miles farther on, situated on the triangle j formed by the confluence of the east and j west branches of the Matukituki with the lower spurs of the Aspiring Range rising just behind it. The homestead has the makings of a very good hut. and I understand that the owner would dispose^ of it to the Tourist Department on conditions. The scenery everywhere is very striking. The glaciers you see wnilo going along the east branch of the river make a splendid Boene, and their number alone makes them striking. The finest one we saw is called locally the Rob Roy, and from it a big waterfall descends into the Matukituki. "The finding of the ice-caves" Mr Moreland continued, " involved a pretty hard I day. We were fortunate i}i getting hold j of the only settler that is up there, Mr Macpherson, who, though "he had never been to the caves, thought he knew where they were, and offered to go with us. We breakfasted about 5 a.m., and then started off. First of all we had a four-hour ride up the west branch of the Matukituki, and that brought us to the beginning of the bush. There wae no track, but Mr Miacpherson, who is a splendid bushroan, took us through. We had to cross two pretty 6teep gujllies. and after two hours' travelling we emerged on a moraine below a glacier. " This brought us to the ice oaves, which are a wonderful eight. There is an upper glacier at a height of about 8000 ft, and from it there descends a tremendous waterfall, which must splash down several thousand feet. The water strikes another ] glacier at the base, bores into it, and tumbles right through it. Where the water emerges there le a splendid ice cave of huge dimensions and sparkling beauty. From the same glacier there is a smaller torrent rushin<r down, and it passes under two perfect archways, the ice forming two carriage roads, side by side, over the water. The lower spurs of the mountain are brush clad, and then the mountain goes up sheer to the placiers. which make a precipitous crown. From every point these big waterfalls were tumbling down. At one point W3 counted fifteen large waterfalls, and we were told tbat at flood time as many as forty have heen counted from Mr Macpherson's home. As far as mountain scenery goes, I don't remember having seen before anything so imposing except perhaps the Cirque de Gavani in the •Vrenees." I Mr Moreiand is quire satisfied that if these nlaces were opened up they would he visited by large numbers of people, who would be attracted by the scenery. The , difficulties of the route were not insuperable. If there wa.s an accommodation house near the site of the hom?6tead. and a track j cut thrugh the bush, the region would be quite aceespib)«». Mr Moreland's party made another 'ntPrestinor expedition, this time following up i the east branch of the Matukituki for a dis<ancf> of 12 mUos or so Throus-h nn on<>n space a fine view is obtained of the main peak of Mount Aspiring Mr MoreInnd was wry rmieh ir+erested in the bird life of the locality There wan a ternery near the encampment, on which constant war was wasred by a bnsh falcon. Up on the j sours the keas hovered auitc close to th<> head" of tho travellers. Thew were <rm)t numbers of Paradise ducks, which, thoueh neve r riisturN^H by man. opemed to have in- j horited the trick of feigning lameness when their younor were approached. Tho other I birds absohitelv io-nored the presence of visitors, and prv=ed for tho camera with the utmost JndiftVronce or self-aesuiance-A watch sold in Paris is intended for blind users. The hours are on raised studs, whilo a strong hand— the only one — :ndieates Ire minutes. TL-* hour is shown by th? depression of rhe various studs. Inquiries made by the police into the grass fire on Cashmere Hills on January 15 v, hen W J. Moon (caretaker) received fatal burns, have practically resulted in the j boys bemsi exonerated from blame. It is understood tbat some empty lemonade bottles were found near the place where the fire started, and it is surmised that ihe heat of the sun being concentrated on they, bottles fired the dry grass amongst which i the bottles were lying,. I
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Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 15
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1,128ICE CAVES AND GLACIERS. Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 15
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