A River Of Ice Shaded By Flowering Trees

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 65, 9 December 1938, Page 17 (Supplement)

A River Of Ice Shaded By Flowering Trees

Stonge Contrasts At The 'Franz' Josef’.' ‘ Glacier. . /

8' CAI<LET-FLO\VERING trees shedding their ' petals 'upon a glittering river of ice, with hot springs bubbling up beside it. and the sulphurous' atmosphere of thermal activity mingling with, the pure cold winds of the Southern Alps—sure!_\ that is something New Zealand alone can show the traveller, at the Westland winter sports and summer holiday, resort that nestles at the foot of the Franz Josef glacier.

Tiie little church of St. James, at the glacier’s foot, has perhaps the loveliest altar-piece of any church in the world—beyond the Cross and the candles the com gregacioii looks out through an open window upon the- towering mountain peaks, the vast ice-fields, and the forest with its flowering rata trees, the inimitable handiwork of-God Himself instead of any humdrum arrangement'of tapestry or of stained glass. ... The .Franz Josef Glacier is not.the largest in New Zeaiapd. .. That honour, belongs to the great Tasman Glacier,, mightiest ice-river in latitudes outside the Arctic or Antarctic regions. It is joined by two confluent ice-streams, the Ball and Hochstetler Glaciers', and 'their total area is enormous. The Tasman Glacier Is 18 m‘ileS long, and is situated in a lofty region df eternal snow arid ice and black, barren rocks. '■ •Loveliest Glacier . ~,,, Bug the. Frqnz Josef, if smaller, is certainly New Zealand's. loveliest glacier. It is remarkable for two things—its rapid progress and its scenic beauty. It travel's at the rate of several feet a day, which for a glacier is regarded as breakneck speed. The majority of glaciers, in temperate zones move only a few fee.t perpeear,But the ..Franz Josef flows almost visibly; In hot weather it crackles and groans and rumbles with the labour of its progress, millions of tons of solid , ice forcing their way downhill by sheer weight and ; pressure, grinding like the car of Juggernaut over ! tortured rocks and broken shale.

| The glacier has its source in the vast icefields of ! the mountain tops, 9000 feet above the. sea. It flows ! 81- miles down a winding valley, at first between gaunt ■ granite precipices and sheer crags, alternating with ! shingle-slips and screes, and later, between slopes blanketed with virgin forest, to end in a moraine not 1 700 feet above sea-level, in scenes of picturesque and rare contrasts of ice and foliage. Scenes of Beauty

.Peter’s Pool, beautiful shallow mountain mere not : far from the moraine, on a still day reflects as in a mirror the glacier and the eternal peaks, set in a framework of tree-tops and forest branches, and graceful raupo reeds. Beautiful Lake Mapourika, too, jttiirrors the glacier and the cloud-piercing mountains, Cook arid Tasman, whence it falls. These are scenes ' beloved of artists and tourists, because of the unusual proximity of almost sub-tropical forest and perpetual ice.

For in summer the feathery petals of the scarlet fata tree, carried by the wind, fall on the cold ice. The glittering icefield reflects the ruddy blossoms of the flowering trees growing close at hand, the green of the cold ice-caverns repeats the green of the forest glades. Only in Westland is this strange contrast to be seen, of flowering trees growing wild in rich profusion. within a walk of the great ice-rivers of the high Alps. The latitude of the Franz Josef in the Southern Hemisphere compares with that of Florence in the North.

The glacier was named after the great Austrian Emperor, by Sir Julius vori Haast in 1862. Gold had been found in the neighbourhood of the glacier. It is said that under the glacier, inaccessible beneath that moving river of ice, runs a rich vein of the precious metal, never to be tapped by avaricious man. But as it marches on its way, the glacier grinds the rocks beneath its bed to powder, and from time to time flings out at its. feet for whosoever happen to pick them up a few tiny nuggets of yellow metal, a handful of ground gold-dust scattered among the boulders of the great moraine.

After its feet, too, providing another startling contrast, natural hot springs of mineral water well up from the interior of the earth. Sulphurous emanations alternate with the cold, pure breath of the high mountains, and the acrid aroma of the underworld scents the atmosphere of Callery Gorge, a strange and fascinating place that calls to mind the gardens of Kublai Khan in Xanadu: “That deep, romantic cavern which slanted down a deep hill athwart a cedar covert . . . A savage spot as holy and enchanted as eer beneath a waning moon was haunted by woman wailing for her demon-lover . .

The Western Road The road from Hokitika leads through lovely scenery, with endlessly changing view of mountain, lake, and forest, through a countryside rich in indigenous plants growing in unusual profusion. It leads to a comfortable and large hotel, standing within a short walk of the glacier. Two famous mountain guides, Peter and Alec Graham, control the Glacier Hotel, and arrange expeditions for mountaineers over the high country above the glacier. The Fyanz Josef provides the best summer ski-ing in New Zealand. There are also at least nine expeditions which visitors may make in the neighbourhood, while for the mountaineer the round trip over Graham’s and back by way of the Copeland Pass. Saddle to the Hermitage, Mpunt Cook, provides a. memorable experience. Launch trips of Mapourika, and aeroplane 'flights over the

glacier, are other attractive occupations for visitors to the Franz Josef. It is also possible that in the near future a splen- ■ did funicular railway, first of the kind in New Zealand! will be erected to take visitors up the glacier to the ski-ing ground, and jif this is done, it will certainly endorse the preeminence of the Franz Josef as the foremost Winter sports and holiday resort of its kind in this Dominion. The Coast

In conclusion, a visit to the Franz Josef is a visit to a region inimitable and unique, and utterly unlike any other part of this Dominion—a little world beyond the mountains where the cares of mankind are forgot. Golden coast of story and romance, of open-handed hospitality, of latter-day pioneers, it is a land well worth acqu a i n tance. The stronge carnivorous kea parrots and the wild deer make thei rhomes in the high Alps. The ghosts of the gold-rush diggers, of the. travelling war parties and the seekers after ■ greenstone, .haunt and inhabit the lonely passes. The crazy oldtimers still prospect remote riverbeds, and tell strange’ stories to idle passers-by) holidaying in the wonderful West.