MOUNTAIN AND RIVER

New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 894, 21 September 1956, Page 26

MOUNTAIN AND RIVER

NEw YEAR is carnival time in Timaru and from all over the Levels County, from the Mackenzie and from points north and south the holiday-makers come to town. And indeed, for those who enjoy, themselves best in company-and not too far from the pavement-Caroline Bay is the south’s most popular beach. But for those who want to see New Zealand rather than New Zealanders, Timaru points the road to the Alps. Swinging first north-west it takes the traveller through some of the most beau‘tiful yet the most desolate country in New Zealand. Not far from Timaru the ‘road runs through Cave, with its pic‘turesque St. David’s Church, built of boulders and rough-hewn timbers to the memory of the Mackenzie country pioneers; and its limestone caverns--used, possibly as dwellings, by early tribes in the region and decorated with puzzling wall paintings. Beyond, the road ‘climbs steadily and at Burke’s Pass -(2200ft.), as one descends toward Lake Tekapo, one catches one’s first glimpse of the wide reaches of the Mackenzie country. _ This vast tussock plain flanked by high mountains has a unique and desolate grandeur. Bad weather here seems ‘only to emphasise the severe beauty of ‘the scene-the swollen streams, the countless brown miles, the glimpses of the mountains lifting into their pall of rain cloud. But when the sun shines the drab brown of the tussock turns to bronze; the road stretches on; dip and rise, dip and rise again; for a long time all one can see may be tussock, the dustclouds of distant cars on the stretching white ribbon of road, and the blue mountains topped with shining snow. Tekapo, the first lake we pass, like the other lakes of the area, occupies the bed of an ancient glacier, and from here, ‘where the road swings almost due south

to Lake Pukaki, it traverses the moraine hills that were deposited by that glacier many aeons ago. The Mackenzie is sheep and cattle country, bleak and often swept by the raging nor’-wester; yet even under these severe conditions the high country stations prosper. And what colourful names they have — Braemar, Ferintosh, Glentanner, Rhoboro Downs, Balmoral. It is on the last named, incidentally, that the Hermitage road reaches its highest point. Round the southern end of Lake Pukaki with its mirrored viéw of the piled rock and ice of the central Alps the road turns north again along the western shore toward the Hermitage. A few hundred yards from the Hermitage are the camping grounds, and the hotel has a low tariff annexe-Sealey Cottage. Permission to use the camping grounds must be obtained from the hotel manager. The traveller is warned that the road to the Ball Hut and Tasman Glacier is better traversed in the daily bus. Unless, of course, one views possible stripped gears and broken axles as all in the day’s work. On the way back from the Hermitage, the turn east at Fairlie takes one to Geraldine, and Geraldine, situated below the Raukapuka Downs, near the Waihi River, is the county town of one of the most beautiful counties in New Zealand. Three of the five South Canterbury runs held by descendants of the first holders are in Geraldine County (Orari, Mt. Peel, Orari, Gorge). Peel Forest at the foot of Mt. Peel is about fourteen miles from the town. ‘Here there are two camp sites, one at Blandswood and the other on the banks of the Rangitata. It was at the headwaters of this river, on hill country, that he called "Mesopo-

tamia,’ that Samuel Butler wrote the first version of Erewhon. From the Waitaki north, almost all the Canterbury rivers are worth fishing. The big snow rivers where the volume varies violently don’t carry such heavy stocks of trout as smaller rain on springfed rivers, but they provide salmon-fish-ing in late summer and autumn. The same rough rule applies to the lakesthe more stable the level (and the less snow-water and glacier "flour"), the more numerous the fish. In general, the smaller lakes (like Heron and Sumner) tend to be more favoured by anglers-perhaps because the access roads are rougher and the fishing to that extent restricted. An exception, of course, is Lake Ellesmere on the coast south of Banks Peninsula, which still maintains (with the Selwyn River) a high reputation for its brown trout. ( From Christchurch one can head North to Hanmer! or Kaikoura, west via Arthur’s Pass to "The Coast," or East to Banks Peninsula. In 1835, George Hempelman, a German whaling captain, visited Akaroa in the brig Bee, and later claimed that he had bought the peninsula from the Maoris. A year or two later a French gentleman named L’Anglois also claimed that he had purchased most of the peninsula. In the meantime, British sovereignty was proclaimed by Captain Hobson, and when the French emigrant ship Comte de Paris arrived in 1840, the English flag was flying. Anyone who visits the Peninsula in good Canterbury summer weather (especially at cherry | time) will find it easy to understand why there was competition to possess it. At Akaroa there is a motor camp in beautiful bush surroundings, and another camp at Okains Bay. A drive around the peninsula gives some first-class views of the bays and the surrounding country. Visitors who travel west to the Arthur. Pass National Park may be confused by the different versions of the name: the settlement-Arthurs Pass; the pass itself -Arthur Pass, the railway ditto. The first version is often printed with an apostrophe, but it has been argued that though Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson discovered the Pass it still didn’t belong to him. This and other weird rhetoric and argument have flourished; however, the traveller wanting a pass in undisputed possession of its possessive can still find content at Porters. Near the Arthurs Pass township is the eastern portal of the five and a half odd mile long Otira-second longest railway tunnel in New Zealand. The tortuous highway over the mountains to Otira can be a trial even to very experienced drivers, but cars can be railed from Springfield through the tunnel to Otira. The rugged mountain scenery of this national park is a perfect setting for a camping or shooting holiday. Heading back toward Christchurch one can turn off at Springfield and make for Amberley and the East Coast main road. This route will take in the pleasant farming country around the Ashley Downs, and the Waimakariri and Ashley gorges. One can also go through East Oxford to link with Rangiora, and carry North-east to Waikuku and the beach. The toad to Kaikoura passes through greatly differing country. The rural areas, especially around ett, Cheviot and Parnassus, have a sun-soaked idyllic

character that contrasts strongly with the rugged coast scenes around Goose Bay further on. This last named bay. along with other spots on this coast, are popular sea-fishing resorts. Motunau has a fine beach and camp, so has Gore Bay in from Cheviot, while further on, at Hundalee there is a first-class scenic reserve. Cheviot, strictly speaking, is in Nelson Province, so too is Hanmer Springs; but for the purposes of this trip and for convenient touring they can be considered to be in North Canterbury. We began this week with a splash in Caroline Bay. we leave the traveller lying indolently in the springs at Hamner spa. Hot water to lie in-mountains to look at-what more could a man want?