WHERE TO GO FOR 'XMAS

NZ Truth, Issue 1305, 18 December 1930, Page 8

WHERE TO GO FOR 'XMAS

AMAZING BEAUTY OF . FIORDLAND

MILFORD TRACK

"TO leave the heat and noise of the ■ ■• cities to don comfortable tramping garments and disappear into the most wonderful country- imaginable — how many business men are looking fori Avard to the prospect next week? The great Fiord district of the South* Island, along that deeply-ser-rated coastline on the south-west, fills the bill. Northerners go by boat and rail to Dunedin and thence to Lake Te Anau, Avhere" a chugging little steamer takes one to the head of the lake and so to that Wonder Walk of the World', the Milford Track. Leaving the head of beautiful Te Anau, the track leads through magnificent bush scenery to the first shelter hut, Pompolona. It is ten miles aAvay, ten miles of sheer delight to the nature lover, and as the .. day -draws, m and culminates m cheery Ayelcome .and refreshment at the hospitable hut, one relaxes to^a night of well-earned rest, ahd a feeling that the Avorld is a very good place indeed. . . • On the second d^y, we are sent out well-fed and refreshed from . Pompolona, and the track leads over the magnificent McKinnon Pass (3500 ft.) between two towering peaks, Mt. Hart, and the Balloon Peak, 6000 ft. and 7000 ft. high. In the season, Alpine flo Avers delight the botanist and nature lover. High jagged rock peaks are carved as if by some mighty sculptor. Below and far beyond are bush-clad ranges, mist wreathed, and deep gorges and valleys, sheltering sAvift-fiowing rivers/ It is nine miles over and dOAyn the McKinnon Pass, the track leading from the head of the Clinton "Valley. Every step of the way the views are magnificent, of mountain and bush of almost tropical luxuriance, of river and glacier, of' mist-haunted valley and booming waterfalls. The end of the second day brings the tramper to the Sutherland, or Quinton Hut, from Avherea divergence leads to the famous Sutherland Falls, the l^ghestin the Avorld, nearly 2000 ft. of leaping AA'ater that hurls itself m three great curves, down through dripping fern and foliage, filling the air .with rainboAA'-shot spray and a continuous thunder-like, long-sus-tained note of a mighty organ. On this Avalk there are also the BoAven and Stirling Falls, each beautiful and different m form and setting. After a comfortable , night at- the Sutherland Huts, the -last stage of the "Wonder Walk" is commenced, to the head of Milford itself. The cruise along the sound is *an unforgettable experience. Except for the soft splash bf water, and every, now arid then the clear Call of a native bird, there is an intense and eloquent silence. ■■-.'• Mt. Pembroke toAvers high into the blue. Mitre Peak is gazed at m Avonder. Bays and ewes slip past. Milford is' only one of about fifteen to twenty magnificent Fiords. In the past it has been difficult to gain access to them. The walk itself is a magnificcnti experience. Those Avho Avish for greater adA'enturc and are blessed with the pioneering spirit Avill be -tempted to leave -.the beaten track and probe into the vast scohic treasure that lies still unexplored, . . mountain, A'alleys, rivers and tAvisting fiord heads m mile upon mile of magnificent ,repetition. ' ... .'. What a holiday!