MY WALKING TOUR.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7573, 9 June 1890, Page 3

MY WALKING TOUR.

Bt Tun VfASatQAU

nZ_* i? to okMsd away, the fog rolled 05 _?____ _*_* c «***b»» -nd Akaroa was di» '____? __ . nafc ™ torm. Akaroa, at a t__f° _ od6d b ?; B te«P and rugged hills. The _____!_ -i_rt_ 8 *_ MI 0| h0 »«» scattered parallel with the beach, and Its suburbs f__^?i_ p JS arloaß *_ u J** It is a charm___J_fehi. p __*■ _ U| _ ««» can be mors Ujoreukhly idle in it than in Ngarua waiua, I do not suppose anybody has ever _w t t_J. lde t0 _ tn _'Pl-Wterthereason !_«!„ 1 * ca Sj lad tbalr way about ii wljout one. The only road follows the beach closely and if you want to get off II without climbing a steep spur yon musk climb up a steep gully. ..__*_ __ is no *-?*? in New Zealand quits w_?__rfh°_;__ Nelw _" re «e°»bles it, but at Nelson the hUls are further away, and the ___S_f . U ?_' __ **• Th « cn W ____*„» of ».,S t8 * B "«eo°se *»d HeDonald, which tower above Akaroa, d« not frown on It as hills do over other places; they smile on it in a grand calm manner which is very soothing. One has __•_.„_ 7 _? loofc °P at "bos* craggy «___* to '_i ut m_« n , Beett they are worth the trouble. They look higher than many mountains twice their else, and when one sees their gaunt pinnacles and cllfih jutting from clouds of mist and apparently overhanging the» town, they are ilmpi*.. sive. Their high faces seem covered wiftfe bracken and studded with rocks, but here aud there are smooth hollows where masses grow and flower. One can sea sheep and cattle feeding on places that seem too steep for anything but a centipede to gain foothold, but the feed is sweet there as it is in most places difficult ol access.

Seen from a boat on the harbour Akaroa appears to consist of about twenty houses built on a shelly beach; but the backround is grand enough for the finest elty in the world. Curved green spars seem to rise directly from the water's edge, and gullies apparently lined with dense forests lie between the spurs. These gullies are the show places ot Akaroa. Follow the track that leads up them and J r ou are in a Devonshire lane. Hawthorn ences guard the path; fruit trees and beautiful shrubs shadow it. A rushing, sparkling beautiful creek tumbles alongside. Houses perched here and there peep out of their vines and geraniums, and overlook it. There are no such roads south of the line like the gully roads of Akaroa, tney are so delightfully shady and beautiful that lovers can spoon there at midday: and they do; I saw them. The harbour Is a noble sheet ot water, but It has the reputation of being a dangerous sailing ground, owing to the sudden squalls of wind which rush down from the hills. However, It Is so sheltered from the sea that It Is rarely tossed into waves even by the most furious winds, and vessels handled with care are just as safe as In any other harbour. One of the sights of the afternoon was the manoeuvering of two fine yachts, one belonging to Mr Black, the other tc Captain ToswilL When these two crafts were gliding here and there, and a few fishing boats were palling towards theii grounds, the harbour looked far more attractive than dangerous. Besides those charming paths up tbe gullies, the road leading towards the Heads makes a charming walk. It is ju*B above high water mark. Here and there, between the road and the sea, are llttts plots of velvety grass growing beneath native trees. I believe that, during hightides, one could sit on grass in the shadow of a tree and dip one's feet In the s'sawater. From the other side ot the road rise grass-covered hills. About half amile along the road from Wagsfcaffa Hotel, in a tiny bay formed by a hill apsur jutting out into the harbour, are 0s baths, where one can have aswlra,evea_i low tide. I enjoyed my swim, but 1 thought for the sixpence charged a blggat towel might have been supplied. On the hill slope above the baths Is the Domain, a pleasure ground so charmingly natural that I did not distinguish it txom the surrounding country until It w*t {tainted out to mc. Then I wandered In _> t and was In a paradise ot shade and scented blossoms. The place is beautiful in its natural state : it Ills a deep cod ravine where stately manuka rises from grassy knolls, and forest trees overshadow delicate ferns; but man has added to Its charms. In one nook he has planted flowers, In another a rustling aspen; on a slope grow northern pines, and beneath them wave English grasses. One natural beauty was a giant manuka tree. ctblaze with pink blossom and wreathed with flowering clematis. The paths wind about.in a seemingly irregular manner, but generally lead to tne prettiest spots, Oa one breezy slope far above the torn Is a Eavllion where one can sit and enjoy a daghtful view. Just below Is the fair spread of harbour water. On each hand are green spurs and rich deep valleys, and across the water are hills shadowed by every passing cloud. Only Egoaont Gardens in Taranaki can compare with the Akaroa Domain in beautiful natural features aad, with the exception of that view of the giant mountain, Egmont (Gardens are fas below the Akaroa domain in picturesque surroundings. It is an old saying that "The best things should come last." But though Akaroa comes last on tbe list of places I have visited I cannot claim any credit for wisdom in arranging my programme to suit the saying. The fact of it is I laboured undes the delusion that because Akaroa had not been advertised it did not possess any very great attractions. Now that I know something of the place I wonder that It is not a more popular seaside resort with Christchurch people. There is a choice of routes to it. One can go direct from Lyttelton by steamer, by steamer to Pigeon Bay, and thence by coach or by train to Little Rlvei and across the hills by coach. It seems to possess nearly every natural feature that a holiday place should possess—sea watei for bathing, sailing, fishing, and rowings hills for climbing, gullies for fern hunting and loafing; and a domain for walking; dreaming, or reading. There might be some better arrange* meats for public amusement. Tenuii courts might be built,a few better pleassn boats placed ou hire, and the price of sea baths lowered. It Is good policy to make the cost of sea bathing purely nominal, A visitor to Akaroa need not feel thai sense of isolation which seems to trouble strangers in strange places. The people are sociable and hospitable. There ia none of that awkward stillness iv their character which renders many English people sd difficult of approach. They have learnt th art of receiving visitors with an ease that makes the reception at once pleasant and assuring. I shall not easily forget the pleasant hours I spent In a certain picturesque old house in the most beautiful part of a picturesque gully, although my only claim oa its hospitality waa a kinship of craft with its owner. It may have been through the exertions o? an old young friend whom I met there, or more probably, just the fashion of the place, but I was rapidly becoming acquainted with the Akaroa people, and ' had I stayed there much long** might have known them all; the law of a walking tour, however, is that one must move ; on; aud as the only drawback to Akaroa i had been what?—an absence of fruit—it was with real reluctance that I shouldered ; my knapsack and left the place. I followed the road along the edge of the I harbour to the Head of the Bay, where _ arrived In time to have luncheon at the hotel with the members of„ the Akaroa i Road Board. When I recommenced my journey I was joined by a cheerful medio i who was riding some distance along my route to visit a patient, With tha exception of Mr Coray he was the only companion I had on all ray peninsula journeys by road. We had just time to discuss the sailing qualities of crafts ranging from catamarans to American yachts before our paths diverged ; mine led mc up one oi those steep nil! roads so common to the country. I obtained changing views as I ascended, but when I reached the summit of the range there was spread around mc one of the finest pictures I had _:en on my tour. Southwards far below stretched tbe beautiful harbour of Akaroa, with Its green shores broken into many a bay and bold promontory. Its placid waters were dotted with a i few white sailed boats, and near its beach 'line could be seen houses and clumps of trees. Northwards and just as far below '.ne was Pigeon Bay. It seemed as If anyone could roll a stone either into the soutojtra harbour or the northern bay, so very narrow and high Was the neck of land that divided them. Although it had been ferfectly calm on the Akaroa side of the ill it was'blowlns a stiff nor'-wester on the summit, and though Akaroa harbour was as smooth as glass the waters of Pigeon Bay were tossed Into white capped waves. A short walk from my halting place brought mo to the Summit Hotel, where I had arranged'to stay through tho night. ,'. '-. -. ■

The thirteenth centenary of the election as Pope of St. Gregory the Greet, who sent St. Augustine to ChrfstianUe th« Anglo-Saxons, Is to be celebrates; next September at Rome by a liturgical congress, and by fetes in the catocombs and churches containing relics of St. Gregory,