WAIKAWA.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 15, Issue 1295, 9 June 1893, Page 2

WAIKAWA.

— — ♦ (A Descriptive Sketch.) "Picturesque New Zealand," and well worthy of the title. Such was the writer's thought while gazing on the beautiful scenery which surrounds the Waikawa Valley with its harbor and township, when the tide at its full height shows the water reaching from the base of the long ranging slope on the western shore until it is lost to View in smaller indents and bays to the eastward. Away to the north the undulating slopes of the mountain ranges, covered with forests of pines aod other valuable woods, reach down to the water's edge and reflect back again the lights and shades of a bright autumn sun. This in conjunction with the semi-tropical appearance of the vegetation is a sight worthy of the highest admiration. On the western side of the harbor is situated a cluster of buildings, consisting of the hotel, store, and a few dwelling houses, which constitute **ie Waikawa township of the present. The^e nestling together on the shores of the enclosed harbor with its picturesque surroundings give one the impression of a Swiss lake scene. On the eastern side stands out prominently a quaint threestoried building, which with its gabled roof and surrounding buildings, recalls to mind some rural scenes far away in the almost forgotten past. Following the wood-clad hills which skirt the winding river for miles along its course and on whose banks can be seen the houses of the village settlement peeping out from the midst ot the partly denuded forest, the traveller can gain the main-road leading via Fortrose, and through the splendid rolling downs and pastures of the district towards Invercargil'. Stretching away to the south-west the eye follows miles of seabeach with its gold-bearing sands, and the beauty of the scene is enhanced by the cottages dotted along the line of view until the bold and rugged cliffs that surround Curio Bay, which abruptly rise hundreds of feet and stand out clearly marked against the sky, I with the dark blue waters of the Pacific Ocean rolling at their base. Looking to the norSh-east, point after point shows itself, until the whole is lost in distance. In Waikawa and its neighborhood is to be found an abundant source of pleasure combined with a variety of pursuits. On the Band dunes at the entrance to the harbor are the remains of Maori encampments where the curiosity hunter may find many relics of the native race, who are undoubtedly the most vigorous and intellectual native race in the Australasian group. For the geologist and mineralogist, there is a fruitful source to draw from in the abundance of fossiliferous remains existing everywhere. In oue place there is portion of a forest lying exposed to the erosions of the 6ea, where are trees several of which the writer has measured and which wore over forty feet in length. I have been told that there is one over one hundred feet. The fossilised remains of ferns, etc., in a perfect state are also to be found abundantly Gold is being won by dredging and sluicing and worked profitably, while other minerals, metaliferous and earthy, are known to exist in the immediate neighborhood. In gullies and watt.couraes ferns and mosses abound in great variety and beauty and in looking down the gullies in many places they seem to fulfil the ideal conception of fairy bowers ; here collector and botanist would revel. Shooting and fishing are both excellent, and with the combination of pleasure to be found at Waikawa it is indeed one of the few places where every inclination of mind can draw away from the busy world and receive pute enjoyment in quietude. And I can but regret the change that must take place in the near future, when Waikawa will emerge from its chrysalis state and take its place among the thriving townships of New Zealand. From ics natural advantages consisting of a deep water port, a fine river, with plenty of good back country for agricultural and pastoral purposes, Waikawa should speedily come to the front and become one of the leading places in Southland. AUTA.