NEW ICE-SKATING AREA.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20903, 10 July 1933, Page 16

NEW ICE-SKATING AREA.

m BUTLER'S COUNTRY 1 CREATING AN ARTIPICUL : LAKE. A novel scheme to develop a lar** ice-skating area among some cTS finest of Canterbury's mounttja scenery is being developed at tu foot of Mount Harper in the reaches of the Rangitata. The area is well up into the country iu»aJ famous by Samuel Butler, and d*> scribed by him in the opening chta, ters of Erewhon. The of the area, in providing an addk tion to the Sunday rail and roaf' excursions of the Railway Depart*" ment, have been investigated by Q» local business agent and the disb&t traffic manager. The route to Ben McLeod statW . opposite which the stating lies, runs through Geraldine aaft Peel Forest, and then, after skfat, ing the high right bank of {{§[ Rangitata river bed, cuts in o*a/ the first range of foothills into fljk valley to the north of Mount tSk and behind Mount Somers, contti back to the Rangitata higheFw The distance from Orari, the nJSL convenient point on the raUwajS 42 miles, and from Peel Forejfc3£ miles. The road surface is-fajfe throughout, and there are fewtSr steep pinches. jsr One of the scenic the trip is that at no point ismfe'" road so hemmed in by high nxnff tains that the view is wuntenfl ing. At first there is a side «» through a broad valley range at the head of the BjASi and later, looking up the the peaks of the Two Thoffi Range stand out brilliantly agabff: the broad downs of Mesopotaiak|| Making Solid Ice Surface.' 5 M ; Most ice skating areas nt-(Jp|'! terbury are merely the frozen tm : face of existing lakes or ponds, l|§; water of varying depths underjpice; but at Mount Harper fliA will be solid right down towl river bed. The skating.surfaaH being made by creating an arfatff lake on the river bed, takinffW vantage of a natural four-foot sod dam has been ME at the lower end, while «bo»p' mile further up the inflow of lttjf| i from a stream is contCßaK Although only 10 days' woAJBL been done, there is already qwp stantial depth of ice, thoughJ|||, clear area available for skata|B||j small, because the tussock -MB, reeds have not yet been |K Each day the water is "Wwl to flow in, covering the depth of two inches. This 4|K§B hard during the night, and tbraßS cess is repeated from day tpjHIB so that the depth of ice is J|ll)BM being increased by two inehpHJß When the skating surface t«B|B pleted, as it will be in amßf» fortnight, the depth of ice «9§hH about two feet more thaaJUl now, and it will give an unfcpiHM run of about three-quartersJMK mile with a width of a qoaiMHpi» a mile. There is no danger JHJnram thaw, as the area lies on the south side of a higalwKsMl tain wall, which shuts out "Jjllpß The river, which is narrow *HHH point, is crossed in a to guide which steel wire CBb3jJH« being put in. - Imß Magnificent Scenery. ''Mj The view from the river unforgettable. Two miles up is Ben McLeod point where the valley O P e 4uHH and beyond that 12 miles ofJMM flats, backed by high downs, fjfWß which stands out the highffißfM from which Butler used to jHffifl his sheep. His <tescriptioii«HHH country (in Erewhon) £fr*fjHifl best idea of the view: "HtJBLI try was the grandest that <§u|H imagined . . . the waving' &HH with the two white specks «MaU in the distance ... as colossal map spread out btjlnjH me. Beyond the downs was going down to a river of' .MB™ size, on the farther side there were other high mouwiaEM Up the river, which ran many streams over a bed soMMgHiM miles broad. (Elsewhere he TaMßal "the many winding channels, |Wp|fl ening in the sun, like skein of ribbon.") I looheggMfM a second great chain, and a narrow gorge, where the Tr *§9KH tired and was lost." *u*JSBM The main difficulty in of giving excursion parties jjSjWM portunity of seeing this terbury is the distance to JUJBfIUI versed from the hours' absence from Chrt*™« nine hours would probably f*Jß|fM in travelling, making no B°ngHM refreshments. Ordinary do the two-way road jounm|H two hours less than such as would be necessary >«■ considerable party. 11111