AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF WAKATIPU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9391, 2 April 1892, Page 6 (Supplement)

AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF WAKATIPU.

By an Awine Clubbist.

NO I,

Through the Floods—On Lakh Wakativu — Ben Lomond in thh Uain—Glknouchv —

Ascent of thb Hujiuoldt Baxcie

There wasn't a patch of blue sky in the firmament, and nothing at all, in so far as the weather was concerned, to encourage a mountaineer to cherish dreams of n visit to suow-laiul as we buii lied portmanteaux, pravisious, tents, ico axes, and billies into our cab, and rumbled down the li.eary, desolate street to the railway station. J ipiter Pluvius had been making things lively up above, and the skies had been weeping consistently for two days, with the result that everything, including the cab, was "denid damp, moist, and unpleasant." We were, however, not to be daunted by bad beginnings, and took our seats in the train in the hope that before the day was over something would occtr to propitiate the aforesaid J.P. It turned out quite the contrary, and before we had gone many miles we were met by floods aud rumours of floods, and at length, early in the day, we came to a dead stop, for the engine from the south and the engiue from the nor-thcoukV not get within four miles of one another !• It was suggested that we should tranship from one train to the other, and, still undaunted by the difficulties and dangers, we decided to do so,- and proceeded to drive in cabs along the flooded country roads. For three miles the horses splashed through the murky water, now shallow, now deep— occasionally running over the floor of the cab, wetting feet and luggage indiscriminately—on through a dreary scene of flooded field and cottage, and half-drowned sheep, till the next station, standing like an island in the watery waste, was reached. We had carefully taken our Alpine impedimenta with us, leaving the other luggage to be forwarded in another cab by the railway officials. But cab after cab rolled in through the waters, without any sign of the luggage, and, for the next week or so, I took the liberty of slightly altering a verse of an old song, and occasionally, when .1 felb inclined to kick somebody, I used to huia to myself its poetic refrain—

There never was, nor never can Be such a very ttseless man As a railway porter I It was very late that evening before we began to see the end of our difficulties, but at last the train rattled over the metals through the ancient moraine at the foot of Wakatipu, and the hills sent back a wild echo of its warning ■whistle as we glided into the railway station of Kingston. Twenty minutes later wo were on the deck of the cosy Mountaineer and steaming up the lake under the moonlight shadows of the great mountains. Later on we found the tea good, and also the salmon trout, and the new laid eggs, so that when we paced the deck again we were at peace with all men—except the railway porter ! Then in quick succession came the lights of Queenstowu, the pier, Eichardt's hotel, aud bed.

Next day the weather was more promising, and we started off in the morning to "do" Ben Lomond. Ifiyou stay at Queenstown it is the correct thing to "do" Ben Lomond. We thought we would do the correct thing. I had done it three times before, but that was no matter—for the sake of my wife and my brother it was decided that I should doit a fourth time. It is 5700 odd feet high, and there is a fine view from the top. As- it happened, however, we didn't see the view and we didn't see the top. Our ill luck still pursued us and just as we were about to tackle the last steep bit, the mountain hid its head in the clouds, and the: cold rain beat down and w«t us to the skin. From the saddle, looking, to the westward, a weird scene met our gaze. The sharp hills and deep ravines, with here and' there a clump of dark beeches perched on their sides, looked' strangely unreal under the lowering sky. Even the snow patches high up on the hills seemed to have lost their brightness ns the black clouds gradually enwrapped them like a funeral pall, while the little white cottage, far down the dark ravine, seemed, in its desolateisess, as if it belonged to another world. We soon left ail this behind, and trudged through the raindowti the long winding track that leads to Queenstown. We stepped out bravely as we neared our hotel, and pretended to look as if we had enjoyed it, but all the same we should have been gladoJS a convenient back entrance. Sly wife borrowed, a change of raiment, and I got a book andi a. glass of something strong, and went to bed for the rest of the afternoon, at peace with all men —except the railway porter t But.we were not out of the- wood yet. Floods and rumours of floods still pursued us; thej railways were broken down, and still there was; no sign of our luggage. One fine day, howevev, we took passage on the Mountaineer, and! steamed away for the head of the lake. As we-, neared the islands a glorious view of mountain, and lake appeared before us, and the most commonplace on board was charmed as he gazed at hoary-headed old Earnslaw and all his satellites rearing their snowy crowns skywards.

There is a good deal to be seen at the head of the lake, and nothing can be more enjoyable fhan a scamper" on horseback over the Eees Valley flats to Diamond Lake or a sail on the lake itself on a fine afternoon. We had little chance of either, for on the day following our arrival- the storm clouds gathered themselves round' t£e higher peaks once more, and the rain descended more persistently than ever. It was a most unusual state of affairs for ihat time of year everybody said, and at last they began to think there' was a "Jonah" in our party. There being: no whales about, however, we determined to- defy the elements, and so we waited ant?- waited, hoping against hope for our porjimtinteaux and fine weather. The former arrivstt'at last one day by a steamer which brought up a party of Victorian tourists. They (the tourists) had given themselves exactly one day to' see the wonders of Wakatipu, and, of course; because they had decided to make such a short stay the Weather-god, who dwells in the griis.' fastnesses of the ice land, was annoyed and ccWred up all the glories of snow-slope and glacier wifcb a misty pall, so that they could not see aoy-* thing. However, armed -with a large stock cS umbrellas, waterproofs, rugs, and a whisky flask, they started off in a covered trap for Diamond Lake, and, after getting a glimpse of the lake and seeing about 1000 ft of the base of the mountain, they returned and said "it Wouldn't hold a candle to Switzerland, don'tcherknow '."

Of course, there are Victorians and Victorians, and, to do them justice, they were not all like these.

For several days » had to stay indoors, reading and whiling; away the time as best we could- with cards and- other games. The greatest excitement we had was the arrival and departure of the steamer, which, every other day, brought up and carried back a fresh batch of tourists. In restless moments- we would tap the aneroid and wander out- between the showers in search of a bit of blue-sky. Sometimes the clouds would lift and reveal the lower portion of the Earnslaw glacier, and we would get everything in readiness and-decide to make a start on the morrow. But -when the morrow came the mountains were again hidden in cloudland, and our hopes for a successful climb on Earnslaw fell faster than the thermometer. One Sunday, when the weather lookid. more promising, my wife and I, tired of insertion, got a boat, rowed across the lake, and set? out t to climb the Humboldt range, which, opposite Glenorehy, is some 7000 ft high. We struck up through the bush, which a few years previously on my return from an expedition to Mount Earnslaw. I had seen in flames for miles along the lake side. The blackened stumps of dead trees, and the tall leafless arms of others towering over the path, made a scene of woodland desolation, but there were pretty spots- too, where the sun glinted down on the wonderfully coloured mosses and lichens, and lit up the tall tree trunks through whichwe could see far down the blue lake to where the fleecy cloudslaylowonthedistantmountains The path was steep, and there were so many by ways that we were often in difficulties to know which track to take. At length we found ourselves in the ' virgin'forest, where the tall beeches afforded a iuosi weltome shade, but we had got off the track, and had' to; guess the direction in which our peak lay. The: sound of running water ! caused us to make a slight detour to the left, and on the mossy banks of * beautiful stream that ran down the steep hill side we halted for a rest and lunch. From this point we followed the stream through the tall slender beech trees, which wer* m many places bent and uprooted by the winters' storms, and at last we- emerged from the bush and began the climb u<p some steep grass slopes and patches of rock The stream branched into two divisions, oue of which came down through a wild and precipitous gorge to our left, where some splendid celmisias and other alpine plants grew n great profusion. After about an hours' climb* ing weleftallvegetationbehind, and then takinir a Photograph of Bold Peak, we left the carnerf behind and hurried on to the top of the range The view however, was disappointing, as the clouds shut out the greater part of the scene down the lake, and also towards the West Coast, where range upon range of mountains could be dimly discerned vanishing in the mist. The summit of mrnslaw, too, was hidden in the clouds, but the lower part of the groat glacier, occasionally lit up with gleams of sunshine, was a glorious sight. As we were late in starting there was little time to waste on the peak, so the descent was at once commenced, and we reached the lake side m about three hours. There the hospitable Bryants, who had heard of our whereabouts, were on the look out for us, took us into their house ami regaled us wth a delicious tea, which owing t o b the exertions of the day, proved doubly acceptable. We sailed across the lake in the dark, and reache Glenorehy safely after a good day's work which, however, involved very little real climb' ing. All the same, it proved good training for the more serious work which lay before us.

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