SOUTHERN SCENIC ATTRACTIONS

Evening Star, Issue 18280, 21 May 1923, Page 1

SOUTHERN SCENIC ATTRACTIONS

NEWLY-FOUND ICEFIELDS AND GLACIERS.

WHAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO

Mr Samuel Turner, of Wellington, explorer and mountaineer, who has been doing further exploration work in the Tutuko region from the Hollyford Valley on the West Coast for the last two months, returned to Wellington last week. His main object this season was to thoroughly complete the exploration and discoveries in the, Hollyford and Tutoko region “In 1919,” said Mr Turner, "I climbed a pass about 5,000 ft above sea level, and, looking over it, concluded that it wont into the Hollyford Valley from the Tutoko Valley. Although I spent the two months of that season in this exploration, I had ' had no chance of corroborating same. In 1920 I spent over two months in that region without getting any nearer my objective, but that year I climbed the real Mount Tutoko, which is given on the Admiralty chart as 9,691 ft, as compiled by the s.s. Acheron in 185051. That year I never got a chanco of seeing anything of the other side of tho pass. This year, however, I made up my mind to find out all about it, because a good many of my friends and New Zealand authorities were very keen to get a practicable pass so that tourists could go a complete tour round Tutoko group of mountains to Milford Sound and back over the Milford Sound track. It is now very gratifying to me, after eight months of exploration and discoveries in this district, to be able to complete my exploration by the discovery of this pass, which embraces from Queenstown to Milford Round, a journey via Elfin Bay, Greenstone Valley. Hollyford Valley, across tho head of Lake M'Kerrow, over a pass 4,100 ft high, almost entirely free from snow all the year round, and across to the head of an alpine valley. “ It will be necessary for the New Zealand Government to make a tunnel of about 150yds through a rock wall which divides the head of the Tutoko Valley from the head of the valley discovered in my expedition this year. The journey before going through the tunnel can bo broken, and in one day the, second greatest icefield in New Zealand, which is the centre of the Tutoko region, can be visited and two or three hours spent in the most fantastic icefield it would he possible to imagine. Again, anyone wishing to traverse a snow and icefield can go for five or six miles parallel to their route of travel and then descend to the hut at the tunnel. The next day would be a fairly easy one if a good track were cut down to the head of Milford Sound. My three years’ expeditions in the Tutoko Valley, on the Milford Sound side, have been the means of making a good track for half this distance, and a blazed track tho second half; and a good bush track has also been made from tho Hollyford side to the bush level on this route by my expedition this season. The expense of completing tho work to make the tour possible will be fhs tunnel, which will cost, roughly, 30s per foot in all. and the track, which will rim into, say, £2,000 by the time the huts required are constructed. 1 have myself discovered throe passes from the Tutoko to the Hollyford Valley, but the Hollyford River, and the Tutoko River on tho other side, are the chief and serious drawbacks to the passes. They could not be used without a bridge or cage being put across each river. But the number of tourists travelling over the route would not justify the expense of a bridge. ‘‘ The advantage of my round tour may be gathered from the fact that tourists could go via the Enntebnrn, the Rockburu, or the Greeusto.nc and the Hollyford. This latter route, however, would be the most picturesque. By the route I have discovered there would be no river which it would lie necessary to cross on foot. Tho Greenstone and Hollyford Rivers could be crossed by horses, and the Pike by a boat or horses. A boat would take tourists across tho head of Lake M'Kerrow, and therefrom commence their journey up through the Tutoko icefields and on to the tunnel hut. The tunnel would be pierced from the right side of the Tutoko River, and the tourist would have no difficulty whatever in accomplishing the complete journey from Dunedin and hack in fourteen days without getting his feet wet. Surely the New Zealand Government will have enough enterprise to extend my exploration and spend three times as much as 1 have spent, especially as 1 am willing to take an engineer and surveyor with me. If they are supplied I will provide for them to complete the route mentioned and place on the map all the numerous discoveries I have made during my four expeditions. Tho waterfall I discovered in 1920 is about one third larger than tho Sutherland Falls, and it carries a bigger volume of water. Mr Collett, of Otautan, tho surveyor’s assistant in 1921, saw my fall and Sutherland’s within four days of one another, and stated exactly what 1 have stated here. This can also be visited from the Hollyford Valley, but it would require horses or a cage across the river, for which latter there is a suitable spot at the mouth of the Tutoko Creek, which this fall feeds. NEW DISCOVERIES. “ Amongst tho new discoveries I have made in the Tutoko district are five small lakes, ten passes, four valleys, and about forty miles of perpetual ice and snowfields, with four ice falls. The country could not bo seen properly or explored unless one climbed up to the perpetual snow' level, owing (n the precipices being

from 6,000 ft to B,oooft high on both sides of the TuUiko Range. The valley on the round tour 1 have discovered is an easy s ] o p e —the only long slope in the whole of this district' where it is possible to get on to the icefield. The ice on the lop of these precipices extends eight to ten miles across from the ilollyford to the Tntoko Valiev. The country is the most difficult it is "possible to explore, and the conditions of weather, floods of enormous dimensions, the prevalence of mosquitoes and sandflies malm Hie district formidable. (These can ho cured.) This district must bo tackled by the explorer on a. very much larger scale than anybody would ’give it credit for. One might easily cross the Ilollyford Liver at low water and be imprisoned on the opposilo side by sudden change caused by the melting of the snow or by heavy rains. My route would make the, tourist traffic independent of the weather, and the scenery is the wildest, most fantastic, and varied, probably, in the world. A. TOURIST PARADISE. “ I think the New Zealand Government should lake over and extend the results secured so that this generation will hand down to future generations a much extended wonderland which is becoming more God's Own Country than any country in the world. Probably Now Zealanders call tins ‘ God’s Own Country ’ because they themselves do not know the wild parts "of this fair land and think that these regions are only visited by the spirits of the Almighty. There is something more than pounds, shillings, and pence to be considered when a people have been out rusted with such a picturesque and health-giving land as this dominion. Apart altogether from the influx of overseas tourists, it is the duty of every man in this country to know every part of it and to see that it is developed as a health or .scenic resort or for its economic advantages. One can never tell what part tin's wonderful mountain region, which contains the second largest- icefield in New Zealand, the biggest waterfalls, the highest precipices, and most natural state of its birds, game, fish, and bush, is going to play in the future of this country. Shiploads of tourists could bo taken to" Martin’s Bay and within two days he on the icefields of Tntoko by climbing only 5,000 ft and walking five to seven miles of snow slopes, which are almost level. New Zealand as an agricultural country has in store very prosperous ’ times, and should now look forward to developing its unexplored regions.

point where the Harbor Board has been joining up the walls. The first flood scoured out a hole just below the railway bridge to a depth of 14ft. The bed is at this part not yet concreted. The engineering staff confesses to being much pleased with the result of the severe test to which the flood subjected the new walling. Forty feet of this walling was put in on the Friday morning before the first flood, and finished at noon on the Saturday. The work, therefore, was quite green. The flood stripped away the outer boxing and scoured a 12ft hole, yet the wall stood perfectly solid—fine testimony to the faithfulness of the construction and the quality of the concrete. The trcstling over the Leith which carried the concrete to the mixer was washed away twice.