OVERLAND FROM PUYSEGUR POINT TO OREPUKI.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10631, 28 March 1896, Page 6

OVERLAND FROM PUYSEGUR POINT TO OREPUKI.

—^— ■ j Me J. Orchistoa, district inspaetot of teleLgraphs for' Otago, recently returned from, j Poysegur Point, at Preservation Inlet, whither : he had been with a party of mon wiih the object Jof exploring for a route for a telegraph line frem there to Orepuki, snd ascertaining the. probable cost of the lins, as fee Government contemplate competing the lighthouse at Paysegur Point'with the telegraphic system.The party took steamer .from Inverrargiil aad arrived at Puyßegur Pwot on the morniog o£ the 21st of February, and completed their mission in about Hires wetfc. They, however, met with j exceedingly wet weather, and exf>srisao3(l con- ] side?able hardship oa the roafe, having at timea.an insufficieacy oE food, and being cotn•palled to tjavel in waS clothes almost continuously. On the afternoon of .i&eir arrival at Puysegar Point they so!; oat upon th->ir journey thteugh the bosh, and made the Wilson river the same dey. The party consisted of Mr j Orchiston and five men, who carried swag*, I tents, and food. For the first 15 days it rained incessantly, causing the busk to be ia a continuously dripping state. The pasty were delayed one day at the Kiwi barn, on "account of tha floodid efcute of the rivar. Then, at the j Kakapoua river, they had to construct a flaij stick nioki, oc, in other words, a raft m»de of kewdis, in order to cross the river. On arriving at the Waitata river it was dissevered j that the river was in high flood, the carrenb ruaning at fcha rato of about 12 miles an hour. It was, therefore, dw.me:l dangerous to attempt to cress on a raft, it being decidsd to tako aa I inland route by way of Potoriteri iake, which j was erosojßd ou two rafts made of dry birsh j logs. The party: then steered a oourue for the Wairaurabiri river, with the viow of picking up the sheep track between The Hump and the Princess Banges. After a great deal of rough j travelling through heavy rain, the sbesp track j was at last struck on the morniug of Monday, j the 9th inst. Mr Owhiston left tLo party at ] the bridge at the foot of tha Haurofco lake, it being arranged that the m«n were jto follow wilb the swags. He start'd off at 10 o'clock in the moraine and pushed oa ahead, crossing The Hump "and reaching the b«ach at Tewßewae Bay at 5 in the evening. He followed the b;«ich to the mouth of the Waiau river, expecting to find Mr Erskine's houss, bat as that gentleman . had reoantly removed higher up the river Mr Orohistan decided to crow the river in a boat which he I found on the beach ami push on to Orepuki without stopping. Owing to the Wiriau being in heavy flood he had a very narrow escape, bomg washed out to sex and landing on a | boulder bank within a few yards ot" the brsakers Eventually he reached Orepuki at 3 o'clock on j the following marking without further mishap, j having walked continuously from 7 o'clock on ■ the previous morning, md traversed over +0 miles of country. Tho only food he had to eit during that time was about loz of oatmeal and about the same quantity of rice, which was eaten in the morning. Over the first portion of the { journey the p&rty earned all they possibly could, but owing to the continuous rain much of the bread and biscuits became so damiged that they were unfit for consumption. Tin result was that for the last eight days they hud nothing in tha way of food but about 201b of oatmeal, aevsn eels, and four birds. From Puyaegur Point, to Waitutu kakapos aud wekas were tolerably pleetiful, but after crossing the I Waitntu they appeared to have bean completely exterminated by the ferrets; whila neither pigeons nor kakas were to be seen on any part of the journey. The men, reached Orepuki safely three days after Mr Orchiaton. From Puysegur Point to Waitutu sandflies were lound do be very troublesome, two hands being found quite insufficient to cope with the little peßts, which, however, were left behind when the party travelled inland. During portions of the journey the party found it very trying walking over the moss-covered banks with which the bush abounds, the men being so exhauated that they frequently laid down with their swag* on their backs and occasionally went to aleep in their wet clothes. One night during the journey the party camped under the lea of a cfiff, not being able to pitch their tents owing to a g.-le of wind which was blowing. Another night they were unable to obtain dry bedding, and during the greater part of tha journey they hnd to dry ferns and the branches of trees before tha fire to sleep upon. Tneir cloib.es had ako to be'dried nightly, and somatimes the party sat up till 12 o'clock at night drying their clothes so as to be able to start dry at any rate in the morning. However, notwithstanding all their hardships, the party accomplished t'noir mission, a practicable route for a lioe hsviag been discovered. The length'of the line wauld be about 90 mile?, but whether or not it is gone on with is a matter forthoPostmastsr-geaeral to decide. The couatry f»em Puyoegur Point to Hakspoua lake, or Big river as it is otherwise known, consists of broken undulating country, the ranges varying from a few hundreds to 3000 ft in height, while steep cliffs, separated hero and there by a few small beaches, form a wall along the ootsiJiae. Tbe land ia entirely cuvored with bush, consisting, on the high levels, chiefly of bog pine aud m«s»covered country, while birch is thH prevalent timber on thefllopes and iv the gullies. Ritnu nud other timWs of .different kinds also grow in the bush. The laud, Mr Ofehiston state*, is practically valueless for any purpose other than miniug. For some time mining operations have bsen carried on on the Wilson river, and at the present time there are three miners working on the bsach near tho mouth of tbe Kiwi river. The route of the lins, if erectecJ, would follow within: a inilfe or two of tbe coast line from between PuysegHr Point and the Big river. From the Big river to Tewaewae Bay it is intaudod to follow an inlaud route by way of Poterttsri and Haurota lakes; thence over Use Hump and following the sheap track down to tho bay. Between ttie Poteriteri lake and the Waitutu river there is a block of land of about 15,000 acres, apparently good leva! conutry, carrying heavy timber, which, Mr Orchiston state*, will no doubt come in very eerviceable some day for Bawmilling purpsses. On the north side of the Poteriteri lake, and between that and the Haurato l»ke, the country is very broken, carrying some firstclass timber, including totara, rimn, and biroh, and, on tho high levels, a few patches of bog pine. From the Hauroto lake over TII2 Hump it is very steep country, the principal timbsr on the lower levels bsing'.birch. From Tawaew&e Bay to the mouth of the Waiau river the line wonld follow the coast line within a few yards from the sea, while from tbe W«isu to Orepuki it would be taken along the main county road, where tbe country is already settled. During the trip Mr Orcliktou and his party.saw a few very fine specimens of tie manuka fern on the basks of the Potoriteri lake. The fronds on boing measured were found to be 13ft in length. The party, bekjg short of provisions, made their lunch off tho pith of one of the ferns.