ON WHEELS TO KAIKOURA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 8122, 19 March 1887, Page 6

ON WHEELS TO KAIKOURA.

, (fbom a coebkspondent.] l At last, after many years of expectancy! the people of Kaikoura have got them hearts’ desire in the shape of a road conjjj necting them with Canterbury. Of course horses have always been able to travel the country, but it was reserved for Mr J. Dp f Lance, through whose instmmentality the road has been finished, to drive the fir# four-in-hand through, he having invite® several others to join him, amongst who® was the writer, made a start on March 4, leaving Highfleld at <5.15 a .mi The first five miles of our journey lay iM the bed of the Mason, and most of it was accomplished at a walk. However, ap things end, and so did the boulders eve® tually, when a gentle ascent took: us w the Wandel bueh, the road through whi#L is perfect, and in the cool of the morning the scenery was lovely. We halted at tig end of the bush and gave the horses a fern and had breakfast, time 7.45, leaving agafit at 8.45. We drove straight on to Greenhills with one short stoppage at a culv«t which was not quite finished, but half ma hour saw us all safely over. Arrived fit Greenhills, from which you get a beautipl view of Mount Fife and the whole Kaikoiim range, we halted for an hour and partook® refreshment. The cutting from Greenhills to Greenburn is a most beautiful piece hf engineering as one can trot up or do#a without using the brake. At Crib creek m were met by several ladies and gentleman from Kaikoura, with teams and tandems, and after a modest refresher Mr Ladle made the pace a cracker till we arrived ah sight of the township, where a floral aipa with the word " Welcome ” on it had erected. Ten minutes were expendedJin receiving -and giving what our Hibernian friends would call the " laste taste in life of blarney,” when again we sped towams our journey’s end, this time the para becoming so hot that all but the good ones were tailed off. However all made £§■ koura at about 5.30, thus having dora the 55 miles in rather over 11 hours including stoppages—not bad travelling form new road. • The teams merit a few womb and we will take them in order of marcft First, Mr Lance’s, a black and brown m the wheel, and a chestnut and roan in tl»

lead. We particularly noticed the style « the chestnut leader who would have don|| no discredit to the park. Altogether thv, team was facile princeps and well deserve# the honour of being the first to open the! road. Mr Thompson came next with foaaj browns, a very serviceable and well-S matched team, with perhaps more pacel than Mr Lance's. Mr W. Rutherford hadj three bays and a roan, the latter amusing himself by using his heels when he got the chance. Mr Rhodes bad two blacks and two bays from Mr Delamain, strong serviceable horses, which saw the heavy coach they were palling through with credit to themselves. Mr Greenwood had four bays, a steady and useful team. The tandems were Mr D. Rutherford’s two powerful* bays, who by the way came back before! the rest, and got from Swyncombe to’ Waiau in six and a-half hours ; Mr J. H. Lance’s with a grey wheeler and brown leader; and Mr Starkey’s two ponies, a black wheeler and bay leader. All the hcrses stood their work well, and could have returned next day if necessary. The day after our arrival being Sunday saw usi at church in the morning, and trying tol catch fish in the afternoon. I say trying advisedly, for beyond an octopus, which I believe is not good eating, I think we caught nothing larger than half-a-crown. On Monday some of the party went fishing and had fair sport, whilst the rest inspected Mr Maw’s meat tinning factory, a most complete industry, everything from making the tins being done under one roof. We hope the enterprise will be successful from a pecuniary point of view, and we can speak for the excellence of the tinned lobster. A picnic to Mr W. Gibson's beautiful estate followed and a dance in the evening, which was well-attended in spite of the rain, showed us that Kaikoura was doing its best to entertain its visitors! The party, who went to the Pier Hotel* were exceedingly well looked after by th| obliging landlord, but the less said about the way the others were accommodated ajp the Club, the better. The return was uneventful. Everyone left on Wednesday for their several destinations, and the writer can safely say that he has not enjoyed an outing so much for years.