NOTES OF A VISIT TO THE WONDERAND OF WEST NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5364, 25 January 1879, Page 6

NOTES OF A VISIT TO THE WONDERAND OF WEST NEW ZEALAND.

When some enthusiastic and literary tourist, on whom the mantle of Iluskin baa fallen, shall, in time to come, essay the task of giving to the world an exhaustive and graphic description of the scenery iu this wonderland of ours, he will experience a difficulty. Just as iu an art gallery the critical visitor finds it hard to say which masterpiece of painting or sculpturo haß pleascu him most, so will it be fouud that iu pourtraying the couutless scenes of grandeur aud beauty in New Zealand there will be felt a hesitancy as ta which should rank first, and be accorded a supremacy over all the rest. Auckland, with its picturesque harbour, its charming suburban views and the surpassing loveliness of its island studded waters, will linger iu his memory as the beau ideal of tranquil beauty and repose. UoCJinahana aud Uosarua, with their wondrous marvels of terrace aud of geyser, will pass before him like a dream of fai y laud. The wild|and rugged peaksof tbe Southern Alps,—Mouut Cuok (the antipodean rival of the Swiss giint), the Otir.i Gorg--, — the ice-cave in the Frances Joseph glacier, ani other wonders to be seen on tho coauh rjad between Christchurch aud Hokitika, will present themselves iu staitling vividne s before his mental vision. But, having bestowed on each of these different localities the praise and admiration justly duo, ho will, I think, give the palm to tbe scenery of the West Ooast Souuds. For, indeed, he wool i feel compelled to admit that no power of language could do justice to its superlative maguiticence and grandeur. Hyperbole here would bo next to impossible, and no wc-ilth of word painting could appear extravagant or overdrawn to one who has ever gazeil upon its strange and weird-like spleuditur. This being so, the writer of the pres ut meagre sketch wdl refrain from attempting to describe with anything approaching completeness what must ever bailie deiCiiption, aud to use a trite expression, " must be so.-n to be believed." The annual excursion to the West Coast Sounds is beginning to be looked forward to, both in New Zealand aud Austral.a, ao the event of the year. Tourists from tho sister cjlonics, with each recurring holiday are turning their thoughts towards New Zealand as, exccllcnct', the spot for novel: y and sensation, so far as scenery is coucerued. So that, when the Union Steamship Company issued their attractive programme for Christmas, IS7S, berths were eagerly ap plied for by excursionists from New Sou.h \Vale3, Victoria, and Queeuslaud. l'lie staunch and well-appointed steamship Rotorua, under the commaud of genial, good-natured Captain Carey, left Qne<ii street Wharf at 3 30 p.m. on Chris'.maj Day, reaching Napier early on Friday luuruing. The writer could not recognise t'.ie .Napier ol twenty years ago, whore the 'lirst travelling toam of Auckland cricketers called on their way to Wellington. He recollecLs how, on that memorable occasion, the lingerers over dessert were brusquely ordereu the landlord, to t( clear out," as the Provincial Council were going to meet. \\ e made wuy for the intelligent legislators, who, lion ever, soon cut their proceedings short, in order to meet us in-a friendly game at cricket. It was " played," if I may use tho term, on the high-road, which, being at ti;at time unformed aud considerably tidgy, did offer facilities for a superior wicket. The Speaker of the Council was long-stop on their side, and had a very brisk time ot it. lie received more "notices of motion" during the innings than ever before in his life, for the amount of leather-hunting which feil to Ills lot was something veiy trying. About seven-eighths of the runs were made iu byes, for when that perspiring statesman missed the ball, which he did about ti ve times out of six, it woukl travel aloug iu the direction of the harbour until stopped by a friendly cart-rut some quarter-of-a-unle or so away. On this accjunt, and also by reason of tue fact that wide balls were numerous (/<o,»rprandial bowling is not always true, you know) the play was not of a high onier. Such as it Was, however, it came to au uiitimely end on the White Swau souudiug the icturn whistle. This episode of twu decades ago brought out in striking contrast tho progress and improvement visible iu the Napier of to day. After this digrtssiou iutu the past, we will resume our record of the Kotorua's trip. Wellingt jn wharf was reached at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning, and as the hour for leaving was lixeel for ti p.m., we had su:i;c;eut time for a casual inspection of the Empire City. "Not to put too line a poiut upon it," the day was decidedly breezy. I do not wish to complaiu, but it is annoying to a stranger to ha\e his shins denuded of their cuticle, iu consequence of vagrant nats dashing against them at every turn. On mentioning the matter to an old acquaintance, now of that city, lie observed that he felt rather upset by some thing which had happened to hiui. He had paid a farm labourer 00s to cut some hay iu his paddock the day before, which liaU been left to dry thoroughly before stacking. In the morning, ou going to inspect tlie hay, ho found no vestige of it, the whole lot having been swept over the cliff by the violence ol the wind. I told him I could not for a moment donbt the accuracy of his statement, because an American skipper had previously narrated what he knew of the treaks of Old Boreas in that quarter. He was vititing a friend at Wairarapa, and noticed a nuuioer of sheeps' heads Jying about. " Why, what's the meaning of this, anyhow ? ' said he. "Oh! that is easily explained," said his friend. " You see, we plant sain foin grass here ; the roots strike to deep into the soil that nothing can tear them out. Well, the Bheep are feeding, when a ' burster ' comes on ; they naturally cling to their feed, and the result is, their bodies are blown miles away, and the heads are left as you see them now." Iu the face of these alleged facts, I could not understand how it came to pass tliafc, according to published and certitied ollicial returns, the wiud-gauge for the year IS7O shewed Wellington to be less boisterous than Auckland. 1 reflected that the aueuometer, like the camera, could not lie, aud was much perplexed until a felluw-passeuger threw light on the subject.' —From what he stated, it seems that the comparatively l'iw average for Wellington is arrived at by the simple and ingenious method of depositing the recording instrument in some placid, well-sheltered nook when a gale is at its height. This may, of course, arise from a laudable desire to protect theirj anenometers from the fury of the elements, but is rather unfair to Auckland in the matter of wind statistics. In Auckland you can always tell a Wellingtouian from the habit, born of long experience, of involuntaiily clapping his hand to his hat on turning a street corner, even when not a zephyr is playing in the sultry atmosphere. The first street objects which strike a stranger, especially an Aucklandcr, are the staam tram-cars. They are proving a great success, which is not to be wondered at, seeing that one can ride about three miles for threepence, and be taken up or set down at any point along the line. They are of American construction, combining strength with lightness and elegance. The cabhorses at first tossed their heads aud snorted remonstrances at the innovation; but they, in common with their drivers, have at last accepted the inevitable. Wellington boasts a very fine museum, which nourishes under the fostering care of Mr. X. Kirk, formerly of this city, aud of Dr. W. L. Buller, author of that really splendid contribution to our Bcientilic literature—"The .Birds of New Zealand." This gentleman's services are of incalculable value in the ornithological department, and are gratefully acknowledged by all who know the pains and trouble he cheerfully devotes in the interests of this branch of science. Tho Imperial Opera House is very justly regarded with pride by the citizens of Wei lington, and that vast agglomeration of glasß and timber known as "Government Build inge," on Lambton Quay, still claims the high distinction of being " the biggest wooden building in the world." Some bilious misanthrope suggested to me that the title was highly appropriate, seeing that it contained, at times, the biggest assortment of " wooden " heads to be fouud anywhere. Wellington, being the central point of arrival and departure for all the steamers, the wharves are always in a chronic state of life and bustle, and, consequently, tho Custom-house officials are not remarkable for serenity of temper. It was night before the steamer's whistle sounded its triple farewell, and wo started once more for the South. Sunrise revealed the magnificent Kaikoura Range, which forms the barrier between the coast-line and Marlborough. Its snow-crowned peaks being the first of their kind met with in voyaging South, possessed a peculiar interest for our Northern passengers. During tho morning it was rumoured that, for some mysterious reason, the Rotorua would not call at

Lyttelfcon. Tli's seemed such a fligrant de- | parture from the programme of the tour, | that the report was not believed at first. Bat, oa inquiry, it turned out to be too true. Our oblig ng captain broke t »e news as gently as possible—eaid he was extremely frorry, but it was no fault of his own—the imperative instructions from head* quarters were to pass Christchurch and g<> straight ou to Port Chalmers. This was very disappointing, more especially to the Australian tourists, who very justly complained that they had been misled. Now, it is not peasant to find fault with a company so generally well-man »ged as the Union Steamship Compmy, but in this case the ground of complaint was a very Strang one. A priuted circular had been issued, contain mg a programme of the tour, one special feature of wiich was that tourists would be afforded the opportunity of seeing all the principal cities of New Zealand, of course including: Christchurch amongst the number. » far as could be gathered, the only excuse offered was that the loss of the Taranaki litd necrbsitated a readjustment -:»f the company's plans. This must be rejected ;»s too vague, atid by 110 means satisfactory. The Kotnuawas lai 1 on, according to advertisement, for a specilio purpose, viy , au excursion trip, as por published programme. To carry out that programme fait'ifully, wiud and weather permitting, was manifestly ill* param-»uut duty of the compinv ; hub the tcsponsilde author.lies, apparently, did not see it in that light, lu use the mildest Urin, it was an extremely unfair proceeding, avid if the company wish to make future holiday trip* popular, they will avoid repeating the blunder. Poit Ch diners, with its undulating slopes of alt-mate bush and meadow, and its broad sweeping reaches of water, runs Aucklaud hard for first place in poiut of picturesqueness, The FCenery is of a bolder character, and of so diff rent a type as hardly to admit of comparison with ours. As in Wellington, the wharves always wear the aspect of busy movemeut and excitement. Trains are co istan ly airiving or departing to or from their vaiious destinations, and the facilities afforded to steamers for loading and discharge being very complete, there are no occasional gaps of euforced idleness and delay, as sometimes occur with us. Within a few miuutes of a vessel being made fa>t alongside, the cargo is being discharged int • trucks for trausuii-bion by rail to the city. Taking the early ti ain from the port, our appetite wa* whetted by a pleasant half hour's ''constitutional' by rail, skirtmg in s*-i pontine curves the eastern &horc of the haib >ur. As a city, Uuuediu at pie-eut is eutitled to rank as the tint.st in New Zealand. She can boast o possessing buildings of larger proportions and of hi Jnr architectural merit than her compeers. The splendid structure just completed for ttie tirm of t>arg»od, Sou and ••-wen is one example. It could easily contain withui its walls the largest, mercantile establishment m Auckland, and »till have room for the resident partner to display the uniform of his juvenile J.hu by tak ng a morning diive aiouud the space which would be left. Certainly, there is nothing equal to it to be seeu in any of the other colonies, and, as the obliging manager, Mr. Bastard, observed, alter shewing me all over the budding, "it beats everything South of tue Line." Theu theie is the factory owned by Guthrie, Laruach and Co. I do not recollect what area it coverß, but there is nothing of the kiud either in Australia or New Zi-alaod to be compared to it. Toe number of hands employed altogether is something over 4UO in Dunediu alou*, while the articles manufactured are not ouly surprising in respect ut number and variety, but also on account of their perfection and finish. From a gilded picture-frame, or a Aew Zealauct-wood wardrobe of exquisite design, down to the prosaic tub an l bucket, thero is hardly auy article of use or ornament which this company cannot supply, as manufactured ou the premises. For elegance of design, and solidity combined, the church s of" Dtinediu are proverbial. This is more especially the c »*e with those belonging to the Presbyterian r-ectiou, —a circuuistiuce ea&ily explaiuca wueu Wo' come to consider the nationally aud lvligious proclivities of tho earii r and more wealthy resi ients. The Episcopalian Church of '* All Saints" is als ■ a line building (speaking, of course, comparatively), and so is tue vVesleyau Church, - a haudsoin-j structure of blue-atone, faced like the rest with white blocks from the quarries of Oamaru. passant, it may oe remarked that the W esleyau branch has sustained what is nothing less than a disaster by the voluntary severance of the Ke\r. Mr. Fitcbett from its communion. Possessing in a very high de-

gree the rare combination of culture, rclinemeut, and originality of tiiougnt, together with an which cannot be mistaken, he has always been regarded by common consent as ouc of the most valuable aud useful ministers in the colonics. But the religious body to which he lately belonged h, t ve fairly driven him fruin their midst, by insisting on adhering to that arbitrary law which makt s it compuUory en every cltrgymau t» seek "fre.-di »»oods anil pastures new " triennially. Tue vestry of All Saints' Episcopalian Church are jubilant at ihe idea of Securing his serv.ces, as well they be. If tli-y cau appreciate real intellectual calibre, a tieat is in store for them. W. iTo bo continued.l