ON THE RANGES.

Shannon News, 28 February 1922, Page 2

ON THE RANGES.

EXPEDIENCES UF MB SMART'S

PARTY

ATTEMPTS TO. GROSS ABANDONED

I lie party under the leadership ol Mr u. Smart leiurned on Saturday, Mr D. Smart, returned to Levin on Saturday, having laiied in its attempt to cross the Tararua ranges. Eketahuna was tne objecnve, nut tne mgn hopes entertained wtien ttie party set out were not justineu by events. To commence wim, the motor venicle that was to ptcK up me party and convey n to tne sawmill was neany an Hour iate. Sieepy-iooKing pdgums sat yawning at tneir gaum anu eveiii.uany nve were picked up. Messrs, u. .'smart, r. iiouuey, vV. lie Maniiaucue anu j. Gilbert, and a

pi ess representative. Liiiuruiiiaieiy wi Maurice iiuntei snueicu an aceuieni at tiie last an until, anu. was iuiume to make tfl>-

inp. liius ine pany was depriv'd 01 me one in wnoni u had pinned iis ,aim as gaiue, hot Mr Smart was unueterreu, and me explorers set on. optnnisticaiiy. Alighting at the nit.), a tent-ny, two slasners, an axe am. a hilly were distributed among :lw patty, and thus accoutred, with Mi Smart at the head, it struck off into me wilderness. Derisive laughter 11 um some oi tne null hands and persistent tooimg m tlie steam whistle struck a jarring-note oi iareweli, h”.t m tne teaty beauty of the hush .idcord was iorgoiten. Breakfast onty was ihougnt of, and a desire >.o lighten one of tlie swags prompted me uiought as much as the calls ci die stomach. A halt was called, .and, generously reiresiled, the party resumed ns way. Betore noon a point was reaclieu irom where it was pue-

ouiie to sin. c,)' me mum ridge, ..un \ne lirst cneck was received. Shon lecunnaissances snowed immediauv imil to pioceed would land ttie pav'v in a .steep gutty and a wilderness oi .mpptejaeks. On the other hand u was ptuin that a detour to ttie light would puiee the party on a cleat eu ridge irom wincli the attack on he mam heights would he rendered cvinparalivel yeasy. At least that was now it appeared, but the way was reset. witti gullies and impenetrable mickets oi ion. it was not unUt night tbai tne iiuge was -reached, and tne party Jell exhausted under die tent ny. Lite sharp change lv>.n comlortabie mattresses to a bleak, narc! lullsi.de, kept everyone sleepless most oi the night, ana it was with spirits somewnat subdued that the "ascent was .recommenced in the mom-

mg. Marked changed iu the vegetation wore noticed us tire altitude increased. Mountain lotaras, the chief lealure in one hell, at length gave tv ay to' stunted trees covered thick with moss, and progress here was extraordinarily difficult. The party frequently had lo hack its way, and as often was forced to move fike Napoleon’s Grand Army—“on its stomach.'’ On tiie actual summit a magnificent view was revealed. On tlie one hand was an expanse ol smiling plains traversed by gleaming rivers; on the other the grim fastnesses of the Tararuas. .steep and forbidding, with heavy fog roiling over their' crests; these ranges of mighty hills are a magnificent and impressive spectacle that can hold one's attention indefinitely, but as a place to go climbing, about in, no! a thousand times no! In this respect they are singularly uninviting. Furthermore, they are guarded by miles of scrub, so hard and so close that a man cannot force his way through it. iu fact, so unyielding is it, that the pressman was able to- lie comfortably on the top oi the growth and reflecton the magnificence of the view and the difficulties that beset the way. The party reached the-top and the beginning of tiie scrub shortly after 3 o'clock. Water was miles away, and if an attempt to cut through the scrub had been made it was probable that water could not have been obtained until the lullowing night. Added lo tiiis it was wretchedly cold, with a keen wind blowing, and one of the parly was feeling the strain oJ the strenuous exercise. A conference was held, and it was ■ decided to abandon the attempt. The party camped at tiie nearest water and spent a trying night- owing to a high wind and frequent showers of rain. The following day a descent was made to a point near tire road, and a good camp was pitched beside a clear stream. Much-needed ablutions were performed here, and members of the party who had lost their appetites refreshed themselves with quantities of coffee and other beverages. The experience is not uncommon of losing appetite for the first few days in the bush, and at least three of, the tra-, vellers were affected.

MR ADKIN’S PARTY.

BALTIC ED BY THE WEATHER

Mr Adlun's party returned to Ee-

via by ear from Shannon yesterday afternoon, having also failed m. reaching Eketahuna. Besides Mr Adkin, those who made tiie attempt were Messrs. E. Lancaster, J. Pollock,. C. Martin and E. Clark. These five set out on Wednesday morning some - two- hours alter Mr Smart’s party and : . struck into the hills towards Mt. Dun--das. On the Thursday an ascent was; made without packs to a height of about 3000 feet, and a track was blazed. A return to tiie point where the packs had been left was made that evening, and on tiie Friday morning the party returned with packs up over the blazed trail. Here it was seen that the weather was unpropitious lor surmounting the ridges on the Eketahuna side, as they were covered well down with a rolling fog.. In such conditions, with the range of visibility very limited, it was decided , not to make the effort, though l MrAdkin says the track was and would; have been a comparatively easy one;. The lealherwood scrub that lias; proved such a serious obstacle to? other venturers was not encountered* and by virtue of this Mr Adkin considers the route much preferable Jc* any to the left. On deciding against the effort to reach Eketahuna-, the party 'considered the opportunity was a good one for exploring the upper reaches of 'the Mangahao, and accordingly a descent was made to a point near its source. From here the party proceeded down the bed of the stream through magnificent scenery for about 18 miles before reaching tiie .scene of the hydro-electric works. The following day the explorers walked into Shannon and returned by car to Levin.

Mr Lancaster is preparing an account of his observations generally as well as a description of the animat and bird life encountered, and these will appear in the Chronicle to-mor-row.