FORGOTTEN?

Hokitika Guardian, 28 April 1928, Page 4

FORGOTTEN?

Til 1C FOX 0 LACIER. WHEN XATITi E ASSERTS HERSELF. (Ij.v Feu in "Auoklimd Star.”) We wore informed same few days •ago that one of the airmen from the ( hristohurch Aerodrome lmd .searched the West Coast of the South Island as far as the Fox River for ids unfortunate ymiii" confreres, Hood and A! merief. There are very lew people in the North Island, and indeed, the south, that know anything of the Fox River, or in thousands of eases have even heard of it. J’.ut the Waiho River, the home of the Franz Josef Clacier—ah! why, yes, of course! It has always I seen a matter of deep roll 'ction to myself and mini tiers of others who are intimately acquainted with the country below the roaring Waiho why the tourist public is kept in ignorance, wittingly or unwittingly of the hcinities of this more southern part of Westland with its gorgeous s encry that surpasses anything further north in the immediate precincts • f the Waiho. Admittedly tile country round here has a hoauty peculiar to itself which is enhanced by Lake Alarourika, but it is dwarfed in niagni- (■■ ncc by the splendour of tlie Fox '•untry. How many Aucklanders who have made the trip to tlie Franz Josef ha.vc thought of the Fox glacier. How inanv were ever informed of it when ■ t the Josef? Only those who have h>urneyed south to the Hermitage or t i the deer country round Lake Wan•ka have passed through it. ignorant of tlm fact, no doubt, that .just off the main track on the AVehoka flat there existed a beautiful grove of native fauna at the end of which—a matter <.f only a mile—roared the Fox on the way to join his mighty pal, the Cook River. And all this lint a few miles - seventeen to be correct—from the Franz Josef Hotel. ! INSPIRING AND AWESOME.

To study Hie Fox country and it

peculiar topegrapliv. particularly that immediate to the glacier of that name, it appears to one that the locale of •his wonderful scenery is a caprice of Nature. There is “something” about the Fox Hats and mountains that is inspiring. and. indeed, awesome, I rec licet on one orca.-ion walking from the Franz Josef Hotel to the AYohokn ihi in with a public Works roadman. Ho was lifeless, uninteresting and minHervant. while bis seeming vapidity - i .sririt pulled on me, for like most of these men who. live in wild country alone and forgotten, he had nothing to say other than some reference lo ri race meeting. We ("line to the I inks of the Waikukupa River. The stream, or torrent 1 should observe, laid been in Hood, and every few seconds a boom that made me shudder would eolio .sullenly down the stream. “Wlmt is that noise?” T queried. “That’s them boulders,” he said, “the rain has loosened thorn from the mountain side and they are dropping down. They always make me feel sort of strange when I hear them after rainfeel funny like, and I've been here for years. - ’ The fellow set himself out to talk as wo sat down, and T was agreeably surprised at bis latent loquacity. “Do you know,” he went, on “there are days when I’ve been here beautiful days with not a cloud in thi' sky. not a breath of wind, and I've Fen fair scared. It isn't the loneliness—don’t knew wlmt it is but there is one thing l will bank on,” lie enthused.

“there is a Hod above,'’ and he looked at me like one who had made a new discovery. When I considered the atmosphere we were in and the environs, the. crashing and bonmiing of the boulders, the raucous whistling of the wind and then the -sullen but iiwhikmitary silence of the place 1 began to understand my companion's feelings. A niART’S STORY. ! As far bark as IflOfl the Fox glacier laid claim to a uund er of admirers, for ia the spacious and well-equipped hut —divided into two compartments, of solid construction and looking as new as though built yesterday—-there is a diary of that year which contains the names of tourists from all parts of the (Robe, and in each and every ease the (ommentary has dwelled enthusiastically on the beauties of the glacier country. Hue I read came from the pen of a Swede. He wrote : “T was never nearer Home than 1 have been 10-da.v.” Some few years ago T neil.nnpainied Captain Curtis, aide-de-camp to the then Governor-General. Lord .Jellicoe, to the AYelieka flats—a stretch of country that seems to run headlong into the hem ot Mount Cook. Tt was the intention of the aide to observe Old Afan Cook from the Westland side, but lie was unlucky this day. for the ridge was lost far above tin' clouds. He bad not the least regret. for his seemingly futile ride rather was lie delighted. “To me this country is wonderful.” he said. “I suppose people come here bv tlie hundreds to see Cook and incidentally the .surroundings?” When I informed him the contrary was the ease, he expressed astonishment. “That’s funny,” he mused—-“can’t make it out—it’s marvellous.’' And yet this enthusiast lvad viewed the Fox flats and mountains in cloud and mist. The glacier lie had not time to visit. A SCENIC BEAT i Y. The road from the Franz .Josef Hotel to the Fox glacier would average n width of about live feet, and it is kept in goo! condition, as the season of the year normits by roadmen in the employ of the Public Works Department's leading overseer, Mr M. Carlo!!, who lives in the AYaiho country and one to whom the idiosyncrasies of the seasons in these parts has been a life-long study. The men under him are stationed at intervals of several miles, liis territorv extending as far down as the borders of Southland and Westland. His paramount concern ha“ always been tlia; L . tract erf country down to Welioka where the track ribbons its wav into the Fox River. Practically throughout the year the readoll'er no i b-moles to the tourist, while the river that Miggeste I the greatest resistance—the AYaikukuoa—has been bridged. The track nearly all the wavdown to the bottom glacier is shielded on either side lie ti ll rimu. birch and rata trees, am! foliage of minor imp. Tt. Rut in eltra'-l ive relief. This e use itutes one if Hi • it --t beautiful scenic walks in the Dominion, and this T observe in lull acknowledgement of the magnitude of tin* assertion hut with no degree of lmd Hu ion whatsoever. The country the while rugged, mountainous, yet richlv folded in 'belts of native timber, is emfounded in rivulets, waterfalls, stretches of river fiats—all in happy cot'lesion. At the. too (! ,f tlm hill beyond the AYnikukupn River otic leaks down on a gorgeous hut deceptive scene. Straight ahead is the endless Pacific, while immediately below runs the Cook River —a mile wide at its greatest width--to the point where it is welcomed by tli? mighty ocean. When one reaches the flat a rude shock awaits him. Here, in this waste of country where the tourist would gamble that no one lives or could live, stands picturesque in a beautiful native sotting the homes of the Messrs Sullivan—men whom this virgin country defied and bared its teetl. to—the only pioneers there. Mr M. Sullivan possesses a magnificent homestead built in heart of totnra on an itp-to-date architectural plan by his own labour and that of his broth-

or. This home is a pleasant surprise for the tourist, in more ways than one. To the left is the track to the Fox glacier, but the Fox is seen to greater advantage more towards the Cook River. On a fine day the person who is lucky enough to he handy will witness a wonderful sight. That is looking up the glacier'from a point of about three-quarters of a mile away. It is a view that must inspire anyone with a new love for his Dominion—one that should stimulate pride in the heart of the most casual and nonchalant. In the distance that would appear to he only a stones thiov t ising serene and supreme over all is Mount Cook. On either side, but, of course, at a considerably lower elevation, stand two mountains as though on guard over the monarch, while others of subsidiary dignity, would seem to deploy in such a manner us to suggest a throne. The finishing touch to this unique scheme is given :by the glacier which stretches like a great woody carpet from the waters of die silverv river up to the loot of the throne; over all like a mantle hangs ;i l>luish-groy line, while the snow-capped peak gives just that suggestion of serenity and dignity that must inspire the admiration of the indifferent. A CREDIT TO ANY COCX'I RA . There is a great deal that could he written relative to the beauty of the Fox glacier and the accompanying splendour of the bush environs, and why the subject has not been illustrated to the tourist public years ago is a question that is beyond me. The Franz Josef is. no doubt, a wonder to the lover of and visitor to thermal theatres, but it cannot in any department of scenic delight obliterate the virtues of t!Te box in this 'espect To view this beauty spot while „„ a visit to the hotter known glacier is to incur no expense at all. Ihe trip can he done very comfortably, m less Hum a dnv, the visitor leaving the Franz Josef Hotel well after breakfast and reluming in ample time for dinner in the everting. Tbc box flocicr ccrtainlv has a place in the scenic beauties o? the Dominion-a place that should he readily recognised hv the. Government and the general public. Then tbc tourist, be he of domestic origin or overseas, will soon add to Ids list, yet one more delightful spot hitherto comparatively unknown—a spot that would do any other country in Hie world a deal o' credit.