THE OVERLAND EXPEDITION TO THE WEST COAST.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1485, 14 September 1865, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE OVERLAND EXPEDITION TO THE WEST COAST.

(From the Otago Daily Times, Aug. 26.) The proposed expedition of Mr. Vincent Pyko, which has for its object the discovery of a practicable route by which the newlvdiscovered pold fields of Canterbury may.be connected with those of this province, will, we are sure, be regarded with great public interest. Independent of the utility of such

an expedition towards the opening up of the most difficult portions of the Middle Island— 1 as well as paving the way for that political unityof its provinces which has recently been deemed so, advisable—Mr. Pyke will, if successful, confer a great boon on the commercial portlpn of the community. The testimony of all who have been engaged in exploring the great mountain chain of the Southern Alps is decisive, as to the dangers and difficulties the expedition must encounter; and at this season of the year, these obstacles are necessarily increased. The incentive to colonisation given by the discovery of auriferous deposits, in spite of almost insurmountable difficulties, has caused lands which only a few years ugo were primeval forests, to teem with a busy population intent on extracting the precious metal from the earth, and rendering the place habitable for civilized man. No better proofs of this statementcan be given than the present condition of the once bleak winds of the Frazer River in British Columbia and the inhospitable Hokitika on our own shores. We sincerely trust that Mr. Pyke's mission will be productive of similar results, and if so, before long we may expect that the ruinous sea voyages to the VVest Coast goldfields will be obviated by the completion of a practicable overland route. A very fair knowledge of that portion of the Southern Alps, through which, if practicable, the party will have to pass, may now be said to be available, through the arduous travels and researches of Drs. Hector and Haast, and many others ; but further investigation is still necessary before the laudable object for which the Government has dispatched Mr. Pyke can ever be profitably attained. The great mountain system bordering the western seaboard of the Middle Island has been pronounced, by competent authorities a series of the most stupendous obstacles in the world. Their proximity to the sea causes the rivers that originate in them to leap, as it were, by successive and precipitous bounds throughout their courses ; thereby offering, in the majority of instances, impediments of a most dangerous character, while they carry on, in their impetuous career, vast quantities of rock debris, to form fas in the case of the Hokitika, the Awarua, and we might say, unexceptionably, the whole of the rivers of the West Coast) those partially impracticable bars which every experienced mariner attempts with doubt and fear.

• In prosecuting this exploration, the density ; of the forests which clothe the mountains in i the neighbourhood of the Wanaka from their bases to an altitude of 4500 feet above the sea, and the wild character of the mountain streams, which here and there rush through i canor s, or deeply and widely cut fissures in the direction of the transverse axis of the mountains, are not the only difficulties the party will have to overcome. Wading in icy cold water, as well as the risk of being snowed up in the valleys, are inconveniences that must be endured. But in order more fully to comprehend the character of the district, it may be of service to revert to Dr. Haast's report, which appeared in the Canterbury papers in April, 1863, describing the portion of territory over which it is proposed to pass. Dr. Haast, after having learnt from Maoris ' that there existed not only one but several passes to the West Coast, determined to i prosecute a search for one, commencing at the head of the Wanaka Lake. The Wanaka Lake, the alpine scenery of which is probably among the most beautiful in the whole of New Zealand, covers an arear of about 63 square miles. At its head, for about three or four miles in the Canterbury province, is the Makarora river. The general direction of the river is S.S.W., and it is fed in its course by countless mountain torrents, issuing from the glacier fields of the Mount Aspiring group. The information Dr. Haast obtained relative to the valley of the Makarora from Maoris, was, that by following its course a march of two days would bring him to the mouth of the Awarua river. An examination of the physical character of the mountains in the vicinity of the head waters of the Makarora, where the ranges are exceedingly broken, led him to the conclusion that there was some error in the Maori description ; and as the remarkable rent through which the river flows seemed to indicate that the valley would continue through the central chain, Dr. Haast determined to cross the Alps at the head of the river. In proof of the impetuosity of the water-courses of the interior Alps, the following quotation, descriptive of a portion of the Makarora, will be instructive, as it may be regarded as equally applicable to the whole of the rivers in that portion of the mountains over which Mr. Pyke's party will have to pass, as well as suggestive of the obstacles to be overcome in the event of a road being opened up. " Above the termination of this open spot (i.e., where the deltas of two tributary streams met), the bases of the mountains approach nearer and nearer, till for the distance of one and a-half miles they form a gorge, the river rushing with great fury between immense blocks of rocks, which lie scattered in its channel, and on the mountain sides."

Dr. Haast, after traversing the valley of the Makarora for twenty miles, found the bed of the stream so impracticable, owing to vertical cliffs in the rocky channel, that he was compelled to ascend to a considerable altitude on its eastern bank, and continue his journey through the dense bush which clothes the steep side of the mountains. At this point a most remarkable conformation of the country was observed, and a pass was discovered,. which ran in a northerly direction, hemmed in on either side by high glacial mountains. The altitude of the pass was found by observation to be 638 feet above the level of Lake Wanaka, or about 600 feet above the level of the sea. A comparatively open valley, with here and there small patches of grass, extends for about three miles, when the source of a river, equal in volume to the Makarora, is reached. It is probable that the valley will be found to stretch a greater distance towards the north, and to terminate within a short distance of the goldfields, which are at present commanding so much attention in the Canterbury Province.

Now that Mr. Vincent Pyke is employed in examining this portion of the country, it is probable, judging from the accurate information given by Dr. Haast, that the object of his mission will be secured if he adopts this line of route.

It is evident that fewer obstacles occur in traversing longitudinal valleys than in those passing transversely; and, therefore, additional reason is apparent why this line should be carefully explored. With regard to the route via the Wakatipu and the Kakapo Lakes, we have ample grounds for stating that, before a practicable road can be constructed, a larger outlay would be requisite than probably the Government, at the present time, would be prepared to incur. Moreover, as the extension of the goldfields on the western sea-board of the island has been proved to be limited to that portion of country north of Barn Bay, comparatively little would result by opening up this part ; while, on the other hand, if Mr. Pyke's party be successful amongst the mountains of the Wanaka, in the direction we have pointed out, the trip will be productive of great benefits to both Otago and Canterbury.