LAKE WAKATIPU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 584, 31 October 1863, Page 9 (Supplement)

LAKE WAKATIPU.

To There, and Thereabouts. JNo. 2.—Thb Dome Pass. A bright frd3ty morning is rather exhilarating than otherwise. One freshens up tinder its influence as if it was a shower bath. But an atmosphere surcharged with moisture making the garments cling to one's limbs, and reducing whiskers and shirt collars to a most discreditably limp condition—a raw, bleak ■wind pearcing the very organ of rebellion (as Charles Gavan Duffy would doubtlessly designate the " spinal marrow,") and a dense fog rendering anything smaller than a bullock indistinguishable at a distance of twenty paces,—these, I protest, are not pleasant, yet if I may judge from manifold experiences, such are the ordinary characteristics of the weather in the valley of the Mataura. Hitherto our journey had been over a country agreeably diversified with hills and dales, that is to say when we were not crawling slowly up a hill, we were painfully jolting down one. But now " A change came o'er the scene," and peering westward, I beheld a perfectly level country, overhung with impenetrable mist. My friend, . Bobbs, who overflows with inconsequential puns, cheerfully ' observed as he lit his pipe, that "if there was less fog it would not be, missed," and he appeared to be immensely refreshed! by that brilliant idea, which, considering that he had just breakfasted and was suffering from a tremendous over-dose of wild pork, was excusable. Crossing the Mataura" by a somewhat dangerous ford, we were soon careering over the splendid plains of' Southland. The combined influences of frost and fog quickly decorated our beards and hair with ponderous icicles, so that we presented remarkably good resemblance's of old Time. By and by, however, jolly old Phoebus came rolling over the eastern hills, looking very red -in the face, and the vapors curled up their skirts and fled at his approach. Then we bowled along • merrily enougiC Before'us rose the Dome mountains ~a'"Kuge" and sombre pile. Eastward," ■we'"'beheld '-,range Jbeyond range far as the eye could ' reach; and to

the west the wide valley was bounded by an. undulating tier, crested with snow, and dotted with patches of forest. Few travellers and fewer drays were on the road, and the wretched accommodation houses situated long distances apart, testified by their isolation and general dreariness to the paucity of traffic. About midday we reached the Bend, where we endured a rugged dinner of hard-boiled mutton and heavy bread, agreeably diluted by copious draughts of the well known T brand. Need I say that the aromatic perfumes of sublime tobacco concluded our temperate repast ? From the Bend we obtained a magnificent view of some mountains at the head oi Lake Manipori. Their snowy pinnacles glistening in. the sunlight aroused Bobbs' dormant enthusiasm^ and he would assuredly have fallen into ecstatic convulsions, had not the approaching fit been checked by the practical remark of one of his fair friends, who observed that the mountains aforesaid " looked very like big sugar-loaves." Strange how slight a thing will check the fondest impulses of the human heart. The " lady" fell in Bobb's estimation from that moment; so that when I playfully rallied him on his evident admiration of the lovely creature, he asseited, almost angrily, that he would not be tempted to osculation, even benenth the mantle of Erebus! The valley of the New River and the "plain of the Five Rivers' presented ample evidences that at a period, geologically speaking, of recent date, immense volumes of water; must have covered the now level country from range to range. At the northern extremity of the plain loomed Mount Eyre, with its flanks stretching away on either side ; and the eye could detect two low saddles, through which, in all probability, the mighty Wakatipu once poured its floods. The westernmost of these is apparently about 450 feet above the present level of the Lake. The other, which 13 of much less elevation, is by the | Dome Pass, and of this I propose to speak more in detail. Near the entrance of this Pass we sighted the old " Wakatip Diggings,1' where some twenty miners once toiled with little profit in search of the precious metal. This is the only gold field ever possessed by Southland; and if there be an truth in geology, it is all that will ever be discovered in that Province. The auriferous rocks dip right into the east bank of the Mataura, but cannot be traced beyond. The gravelly beaches of the New River, disclose neither schist nor quartz, and the ranges are devoid of the essential conditions of a gold-bearing country. What little gold there may be in the soil of Southland was probably washed from the mountains of Otago during the period when the Wakatipu found its exit through the existing valley,, and no process short of sluicing the entire Province into the sea will ever suffice to extract it. At a roadside shanty, where we halted to change horses, we met two genuine specimens of the genus "croaker," who informed us that " all the miners were leaving the Lake." As we had only met five or six men travelling coastwards. I ventured to inquire how many "all" might be? they stared at me in blank amazement, and, parrot-like, repeated their lugubrious assertion. As I subsequently found some 5000 men busily at work on the Shotover and the Arrow, I included their silly yarn in the same category as the boy's tale of ten thousand cats fighting in the garden, a number that eventually dwindled do wn to' 'grandmother's cat and another." •It is duffers such as these who write melancholy letters to the newspapers, and minister to the envious appetites of Australian gobemouches. As Bobbs felicitiously remarked— '-■ - ■ " The winter of their discontent, ' Makes glorious summer for the Melbourne A rgus.", ,It was a special object with me to examine the Dome Pass; for just about that time some over-sanguine theorists had conceived the gigantic project of diverting the waters of the Wakatipu through their old channel, and I wished to ascertain whether the scheme was feasible. When, therefore, Bobbs proposed to exchange seats with me, I sacrificed my personal comfort to the cauee of science, and his kind offer was declined with thanks. Under any circumstances I could not have, been so heartless as to have deprived him. of the pleasure of female society, and at the time I was unable to % comprehend the pertinacity with which he r<rged the transfer upon me. I learnt afterwards that he contemplated perpetrating a grand poem on the occasion, and I fear the world has sustained an irreparable loss. For my own part, I am free to confess that I am not a very ardent admirer .of imperfect rhymes that go halting along on irregular pedal extremities, a style much affected by the school to which my friend belongs. :As we entered the Dome Pass it required but a slight effort of imagination to picture a mighty river rolling its resistless flood through the stupendous gorge. The wind howled through the branching ravines, and roared around the mountain peaks,—rising and falling with a surging cadence as if the waters, .of the lake were resuming their longforgotten course. The ancient embouchure is clearly and sharply defined, —the lofty ranges are like walls on either side, and terraces of varying height indicate the old levels of the gradually receding river. The floor—if I may so term it—of the channel is perfectly level, save where the shallow Mataura winds through its shrunken bed. Everywhere the ground is covered with gravel and boulders—the debris of the past—now slightly overgrown with turf; and here and there huge masses of rock —totally differing in character from the strata of the adjacent mountains—lie high and dry upon the spot where they were deposited by the glaciers of a remote antiquity. One idea occurred to me very forcibly both then and subsequently. It is certain that only an inconsiderable portion of the water that flows into the Lake escapes by way of the Kawarau. Making ample allowance for eva- | poration, &c, a larsre proportion remains unaccounted for. Is it not possible that by some underground channels the Mataura and New Paver still derive their present supplies from old Wakatipu ? I hazard no assertion there anent, but if thi§ thebry.be rejected, tell me, oh ! ye luminaries, of science, what becomes of the surplus? The " quid folk" of Queenstown are moderately thirsty souls, but they don't drink sufficient water to account for the disappearance of a very large quantity of that innocuous liquor. . . ■ We crossed the Mataura five times, alternately passing from Otago to Southland, and from Southland to Otago. Beyond the last ford we attained the most elevated part of the Pass, which is about 250 feet above the lake ; and by this time I was convinced that the project of turning the water into its former channel, was as impracticable as it would be useless, and indeed mischievous. Shortly afterwards we came in sight of the Lake itself far down between the mountains, whereupon Bobbs once more became excited, and as the lights of Kingston flashed into view he fairly shouted with delight. Sooth to say he had been so shaken, jolted and battered that he was rapidly becoming misanthropical and moody. But all his wonted geniality revived directly the coach was brought up with a plunge at |the door of "Metropolitan Restaurant "-—a 'cunningly constructed habitation of Manukau "poles and calico. With an audible sigh, he !gallantly and tenderly bade adieu to his fair companions, and with admirable fortitude resigned himself to his fate, his supper and his

toddy. I regret to add that on the morrow our diverse engagements separated us ; and it was many days ere we met again. I could have better spared a better man, for'Bobbs was a very amusing companion.

P. Y. X