TO BLENHEIM BY BIKE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2470, 28 February 1893, Page 4

TO BLENHEIM BY BIKE.

( Concluded.) A little piece of scenery in the gorge, where you can see the road ahead fenced in above ,a precipice, reminds one of the Tyrolese pictures of mountain-road one sometimes sees. Just here a beautiful little fall of water dashes its spray right across thg track, and, having crossed the road, leaps down again into the river-bed, a sheer drop of I don’t know how many feet. In some places, too, the road itself is not solid rock, but timber, and to a nervous individual might perhaps look rather unsafe. There is one sharp turn in the road, where it is said that the driver of the coacli cannot see his leaders. I don’t know whether to believe that or not. Leaving the Devil’s Punchbowl —a hue waterfall —on the right, and the Rollestou Glacier—the only glacier we saw, by the way—on the left, the winding road, in beautiful order, brought us out at the Otira Gorge Hotel. Running past here at the rate of knots, we soon had to slacken up at the river-bed, and wade once more. Finding an old surveyor’s camp at the first small stream we came to, we had our midday meal within a few yards of the track of the railway, its course being at that point already cleared through the bush. The afternoon’s ride down the Otira and round the Teremakau will live in the memory of all three of us as being one of the loveliest, and altogether one of the most enjoyable down hill spins wo have ever had. The grading of the road is magnificent, not being too heavy, so that one can see a good proportion of the scenery as well as watch the road. On this trip you dare not star-gaze too much or try to peer over precipices too often, for bikes are funny articles on some occasions. F.’s bike once or twice did its best to get a view over the side when its master was dismounting in a somewhat ticklish place, and caused us some amusement by its suicidal tendencies. We spent that night at the Taipo, s-ven miles past Jackson’s, at which place the Teremakau river is to be bridged for the railway, stone being quarried up in the hills, and sent down by tram into the river below. At the Taipo the Cunningham family, to whom we had a note of introduction, entertained us with true West Coast hospitality. To mention the way in which the tree-fern, so hard to transplant in these parts, flourishes in that congenial soil, we here saw a garden fenced in almost entirely with living tree-ferns, which had been cut and stuck into the ground side by side, giving to our unaccustomed eyes a novel, not to say a picturesque, sight. Next morning, bidding farewell to our kind hosts, we ran across the new and handsome bridge over the Taipo River, which emerges a few hundred yards higher up from a lovely glen and hurries swiftly to mingle its waters with the equally swift Teremakau Cow” we heard some tourists, unaccustomed to our euphonious Maori nomenclature, calling it at the Bealey. A good spin of 18 miles, over excellent up and down road, across the rough Wainini, and past the now notorious Harris’s, brought us to Dillmanstown and Kumara. These townships are built on a high terrace above the Teremakau, and from the road can be seen the riverbed intersected in all directions by water races for sluicing purposes. These places are great centres of alluvial gold, mining, but unfortunately for us races were going on, and not a single mine, as far as we could see, was working. We did not get a solitary chance to see a nozzle at work, though we saw several idle. A rather dusty ride of 20 miles in a scorching sun, but mostly down hill, saw us at Hokitika abouf 4 o’clock, so that the run from side to side took us a little under three days. Tho rest of the day we put in criticising, not admiring, that wretched hotel-belumbered place. With the exception of a public building or two, and the harbor works, a toocostly affair, there is really nothing to see in the town. From the river mouth, cursed with a bar, as indeed, though in another sense, the whole coast is, may be seen a splendid panoramic picture of many mighty mountains the nearer bush-clad, the fart mr snow-capped ; and as the eye passes round the picture, commencing here on the left with Mount Terawhati and his congeners and ending there far down fu the dim south with the majestic “ Cloud Piercer ” himself, there comes back to memory the Chelsea prophet’s words in their fit word figment:— w A hundred and a hundred savage peaks in the last light of day, all glowing of gold and amethyst, like giant spirits of the wilderness, there in their silence, in their solitude, even as on the night when Noah’s deluge first dried.”— (Sartor Resartus, “ Sorrows of Teufelsdrookh”) Our first sight of Aorangi was rather disappointing, for he had Veiled himself in cloud, but presently the vapour seemed to sink, or else grow more transparent, and the summit stood revealed. I never thought before that any peak could impress one at such a distance with such a sense of majesty. We could not stay in Hokitika long enough to visit Lake Kanieri or Lake Mahinapua, both within a few hours of the town; so we returned on our tracks to Kumara, through Arahura and Staffordtown,both of them alluvial mining centres. After an h air or so in Lvamarn we plunged into the bush, and wheeled our machines for 8 or S) miles along the Kurnara-Greymcuth tramway, unfortunately too rough to ride. This tramway runs for the greater part of the way through dense bush, and in many places the trees meet overhead, forming a pleasant shade from the sun, while the multitude of ferns and native shrubs grow beside the path in such profusion asto bo apparently impenetrable. Several miles of this kind of travelling brought us to the Teremakau river again. We did not cross in the cage, though we saw it at work and admired the ease and rapidity with which it was manipulated. We took advantage of the new railway bridge, a fine piece of engineering, a short distance down the river, and then plodded ou again via the tram line. We struck the road about five miles from Greymouth, and were soon enjoying our much-needed tea.

This was Friday evening, and we wanted to be well onthewaytolleefionby the next evening, so after tea we started out to see the sights of the place. As the name implies, Greymouth is directly at the mouth of the Grey river—a fine stream—and were it not for the bar would be a place of great importance. As it is a busy centre, leaving Hokitika far in the rear. The harbor works are extensive and—expensive. The left bank of the river is carried out by means of a rubble wall some distance further than nature intended. This doubtless will serve some good purpose when finished. At present it appears to be mainly used as a promenade for foolish young peoplo, who believe in the old saying, " Two's company." You see we were only ignorant tourists. Had we known we would have avoided this spot. It was at that entrancing hour of evening when all nature hushes, as though mourning for the latejoat sun, the sea alone plashing ita tears

with languid melancholy moanings on the sodden beach. It cannot bo wondered at then that a certain love-stricken swain should choose that very evening, at that very hour, to pour forth intj " her" ears the tale she, with woman's intuition, doubtless knew already. As we went out along the river bank, close by the sea, we had seen them sitting together, facing the sea, and therefore with their backs to us. They were slightly higher than we were, so that their forms stood out clearly in the after-glow. To us, however, Mount Cook, which also showed with cameoclearness, was more interesting. We passed on. We came back the same way, half-an-hour afterwards, and waited opposita them—they were still there —for one of our number to catch up. We really couldn't help seeing. He was clasping his knee and rocking backward and forward. Then he pulled himself together, put his hands on his knees, and looked earnestly into her face. Then he seemed to got an electric shock, for he sprang up and clasped her to him. Then we ran, and the mocking laughter that rose upon the night air in nowise affected tliem. Of course not! It was plain as a pikestaff. He had just proposed. _ The bachelors of our party learned a wrinkle as to what place not to choose to propose in. Next morning F. sought round for a machinist's shop, some of his spokes having rattled loose or brokeu. During the time taken up in attending to this we sauntered round the town and wharf. Ou the latter a busy scene was enacting. Hundreds of trucks of co:d, which come by rail from Brunnerton, 7 miles away, were standing about or being shunted to the two steamers at the side. These trucks are of special construction, being of iron, and shaped something like the feeding-box of a grain-crusher. The body of the truck fits into the carriage, andean be lifted off. The truck is run alongside the vessel, the powerful hydraulic crane swings round, four hooks are caught into the four corner ' 'eyes," and the whole body of the truck is in quick space of time swinging over the hold. The bottom of the truck is then let go, and the coal falls into the dark recesses below. Greymouth is in this respect far beyond tne larger ports. In Wellington we saw them coaling the Arawa by the basketful. It looked rather ridiculous after the truck-at-a-time business. At Greymouth, too, most of the coal-shunting is done by means of a hydraulic capstan and long ropes. The rope is whipped round the capstan a few times, and then a knob is pressed by the foot; the capstan flies round with great force, and is powerful enough, the operator informed us, to shunt from 20 to 30 loaded trucks, containing from 5 to 6 tons each.

After a good deal of bother with the other members' bikes, which kept us till rather late in the afternoon, we struck up the Grey Valley for Brunner, and, after tea at the only pub. in the place, crossed the river on a fine suspension bridge aud entered the works of the Brunner Coalmining Company. There are one or two other mining companies about her*?, but they are not so important as the firstnamed, which besides digging coals makes large quantities of excellent firebricks. There are two entirely different mines opening out here. One was working, 30 we could not get down it. The other was not working, as something was wrong with some electric machinery which worked the pumps, so we obtained kavj to see what was to be seen in this mine, and a gentleman connected with the company kindly showed us through it. This mine runs a long distance, apparently directly into the mountain side, a curve soon shutting out daylight. The lamps we carried only seemed to render the darkness visible, and we had to walk at a stoop for some time under dripping rocks, and over a decidedly sloppy bottom. In some places again, the roof was high, and myriads of glow-worms gave it the appearance of the heavens on a bright moonless night. Queen Mab's chariot must have been decorated with glow-worm?. After some hundred yards of this, the floor suddenly began to dip, and we were at last brought to a full stop by water. Thus we were unable to get down to the coal face, but we saw enough to understand to some extent the difficulties contingent on coal mining. The coal itsalf when dug is run up on tramways, of which there are two in each passage, one for the loaded trucks, the other for the returned empties. The engineer at the mine's mouth is signalled when enough trucks are full, and he then puts his powerful engine into motion. By an ingenious contrivance like a clock he can tell at which part of the mine the coal trucks are as they are being hauled up, and thus he knows exactly when to expect them and when to shut off steam. The full trucks are immediately run along a platform and the contents tipped out into a screening machine, which in its turn deposits the coal into the large trucks before described, After the coal is loaded into the trucks below-ground it is not again handled till it is in the steamer : everything is done by machinery. ( 1o be continnod.)