THROUGH CAPTAIN SMITH’S LINE.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume II, Issue 59, 15 February 1868, Page 2

THROUGH CAPTAIN SMITH’S LINE.

In order to test the length of time required to go through Captain Smith’s line of the Kimutaka, Mr T. Kempton junr., with a mate Mr F. Hodder, started through it a few days ago and accomplished the, distance in 12 hours and 10 minutes from Holder’s to the plain. The following interestingaccount has been furnished to us by Mr Kempton;—“ We left the Golden Fleece Hotel, Pukeratahi, at half-past six in the morning and reached the saddle of Mount Wardell, at 8. Made a good fire there and reached the creek at halfpast 8, and the Tauherenikau river at 10, where we stayed half an hour and refreshed ourselves, after which we again started down the river. For the first half hour’s travelling we got on well, but after that the sides of the hills were rough, being high rocks and steep gullies; here and there we found terraces which were good travelling. We passed over the “ Big- Slip ” at five o’clock and as we then saw that we had plenty of time to reach the plain before dark we gave ourselves another half-an-hoiirs rest. We reached the small blue rock at 20 minutes to seven where we finished our provisions and again took half-an-hours rest, after which we started for Featherston and were glad to meet Mr J. Hodder leading our horses. If the river had been low we could have done tho work in two hours less time, but as the water was swift and running thick we were unable to cross but had to remain along the same side the whole time. The timber is chiefly black birch, on the flats are red and white pine as well as' matai

and a few straggling totaras. The waterfalls were magnificent, and varied from a small sprinkle to a fall of hundreds of tons per minute. Wo met plenty of wild cattle. A track has been cut by Mr Hart to the creek which empties itself into the Tauhereaikau.”