ARTHUR'S PASS AND OTIRA.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20103, 5 December 1930, Page 9

ARTHUR'S PASS AND OTIRA.

(By Dominus.) "J waited Underneath the dawning: hill*. Aloft the mountain lawn was dewy dark, And dewy-dark aloft the mountain pine • • « tar-off the torrent called me from the cleft: T* n r up the solitary morning smote I ho streaks of virgin snow.'* -—Tennyson. Mere words are inadequate to describe the "glory that is Otira," but the traveller who choses the old coach route from Greymoutii through the historic gold diggings and the Teremakau Valley is assured of au interesting run through some of the finest natural scenery on the West Coast. Leaving Greymouth, the tourist passes through the old mining towns of Kumara and DilmAi's, then eastward along the valley of tho Teremakau After passing Dilman's, the road lies for severai miles through typical native bush until comparatively open country is reached in tho vicinity of Wainihinihi. Beyond Wainihinihi tho road passes through magnificent forest avenues to Jackson's. Looking northwards one may discern the silver sheen of the waters of Lake Brunner in the distance nestling at the base of the rugged Vmsh-clothed Hohonu Range. From Aicken's, the next settlement, the route lies up what may be considered as the lower Otira Valley. To the left rise the steep wooded ramparts of the Alexander Range dominated by symmetrical snowcapped peak standing, sentinel-like near the junction of the Otira and the Teremakau —while immediately above the road tower the forest-mantled buttresses of the Kelly Range. Leaving Otira, the Westland terminus of the longest tunnel in the British Empire, the road ascends the famous Gorge. Narrow and precipitous it is, and at the bottom of the canyon swirl the turbulent waters of the Otira. Tangled evergreen forests drape the steep mountain walls, and ultimately give way to snow-crested crags and pinnacles. Through the waist of the Gorge, by leafy cliffs, past the gauzy "Bridal Veil" fall—whose silvery spray bedews the surrounding fern—the road climbs steeply up to the famous "Zig Zag" to the summit of the Pass. Hundreds of feet below, the Otira River, now a foaming mountain torrent, roars amid ] the rocky boulders of its tortuous bed. High up looms the fissured diadem of Mount Otira—a rocky giant whose seamy slopes are strewn with loose sliding scree almost from summit to base. The mountain road winds up round tho* base of Philistine, on •whose rocky shoulders is draped the ■ Rolleston Glacier, and proceeding, the roar of the now tiny Otira stream dies away, and the Pass proper is entered. Past tiny glittering tarns, until presently the narrow path descends through the glossy beech forests to the valley of the Bealey. On tho right are the wooded spurs of Mount Rolleston (7453 ft), the alpine monarch of this region. From a coign of vantage—the "Rolleston Look-out" —the mountain seen through parted boughs of the wayside beech trees presents a wondrous spectacle of sublime grandeur —a superb and lovely picture. The road winds down through leafy sub-alpine forest, and following generally the blue waters of the Bealey till: "... like a sword, cleaving the foliage through, The •waterfall flashed foaming down the steep, White, living water, cooling with its spray Dense plumes of fragile fern ..." —the "Devil's Punch-bowl" Fall gives the traveller yet another wondrous picture on which to dwell. Presently the- gorge of the Bealey opens out upon the lower valley, and the traveller descends, to Arthur's Pass Settlement, t For those who would explore the many beauties of this mountain region, Arthur's Pass township provides a comfortable and ideal base. To the alpinist it offers unlimited attractions in the nature of mountain peak and glacier, and the field for original work is wide. ; To the nature-lover, and all who appreciate exceptional scenery, it is unparalleled, and with its increasing popularity, Arthur's Pass and the Otira district generally bids fair to become > one of New Zealand's foremost alpine playgrounds.