OVERLAND TO MILFOLD SOUND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11046, 25 February 1898, Page 7

OVERLAND TO MILFOLD SOUND.

By Tajiati Patkne,

NO. I.

As a pleasure resort and a means of •pending & holiday profitably, too much cannot be said or written iv favour of the charms of the above trip. I was one of a party who three years ago went overland to Mllford Sound. I was ailing at the time, and decided on the journey as a remedy for my ailment, with the best results possible. So fascinated «vas I with the scenic beauties ot the Arthur and Clinton "Valleys aud pleased at the effect Upon my h?alth that I decided to do the Journey again should opportunity favour and a congenial friend present to join me. A legal friend from New Plymouth, with whom I had upon several previous occasions had the pleasure of touring, came down south for his holidays, and tho trip to Milfotd Sound was at once decided on. My diary notes are all that need follow.

_ Friday, December 31,1897.— H. aud I got away by the south express for Luinsden, where we arrived to train time. The day was searching : hot aud nothing transpired en route to vary the: '•ttsual monotony of a train journey. We put up at Crosbie's and filled iv the unspent time in search of somethibg to excite interest iv the place. We visited the baths, which afford very good swimming accommodationfortheresideuts The water ia a clear running stream, but the' sanitary surrouudings might be improved, We did a little shopping took in a good supply of shelled almonds add. sultanas, and secured other little requisites for the coming journey. We retired early to secure- a long test and prepare our vital energies. Saturday, January 1, 1898.—My friend is a stauncn teetotaler, and the heralding in of the now year to the lively strains of a concertina, a tin whistle, aud a kerosene drum, stimulated by good whisky and better beer, possesses no charms for him. Before I was properly awake a jolly crowd had found their way into the bar T^ ~a, b|Mld Bfcruck UP "He>B a jolly good fellow, followed by other pieces which tested the orchestral instruments to their utmost These continued and well-meant efforts were for a time borne with a martyr's patience by my frieud ; but the strain wan too much for him He rose with a sigh, and in the robes of slumber made fot the stairhead, from which position and robed- as he was, he leaned over the banister and loudly reiterated and forcibly explained:" Mr Crosbie! Mr Crosbia ! do jou hear me, sir, we came here to "sleep." These ■ iterations. induced a jovial member below to cheerfully respond •" AU right, old fellow." ' lue response Was not satisfactory ; it only increased Day fHead's ire. He'orated with in- ' creased energy and in terms more threatening • then followed suppressed whisperinga below'1 resulting in the festiva gathering retiring into the street and taking up a position in. troDt, where the band conducted a short bufc. yigorousaud responsive finale. The orchestra• then carefully packed the concertina and.tin whistle in the keroseaa tin, when the gathering good-humouredly dispersed. We were theu permitted to peacefully discharge the function which my friend bo persistently and emphatically explained to. Mr Croßbie: was thai chief, object of our mission there, and sleiit nndisturbed for the rest of the-night. Wo I rose for breakfast—not a wiuute before—and got away at 11 a.m. fot Te Anaa.- The coach j journey from Lttmsd^n to Te Anau is rough ' and . uninteresting, and the wind blew with, hurricane force. We put up at Suodgrass's commodious aud comforUole hotel at Marakura, Te Anau. Wo did a little mooning around, inspected tho outbuildings, sampled tho contents of the garden, and had euchre in the evening with some Victorian tourists-Mr aud Mrs R., formerly of Dunediu ' ,Suaday, January 2, 1898.—After breakfast a small party of us started fdr the Waiaii River formed, by the butlet of Lake Te Auau, distant some three miles from the hotel. The walk is » very pleasant quo, and the scenery at the outlet attractive; and although the lake was above its normal level, the waters flowed gently into the river with very little rapid. The day being fine, we put in the time lazily and pleasantly, returning to the hotel in time to lunch rT** ii.- mT"s<) for ■ 'Captain: Puncan, the artist, ot the district, H. and 1 called on him in ths aftefhoois. The captain 1b always affable and kindly, and takesgreat pleasure iv shortW Witurs his extensive collection of 'excelie'ufc punting*, the result of his own brush. Our call was rather late, but we arranged to call on him again before we left the district. .'• Monday, January 3, 1898;-We were all astir fi^rT"llß £or thet "P up-the lake,: At. b.iQ the steamer's whistle blew, and at 6.50 she cast off from the jetty. With ■ a fair wind and well supplied with dry wood the .clipper s.s Rippiecnn do six knots an hour ; withTa calm, ve''*:^bttyh^dyrmd, four.;' a moderate headal-, three; aatiif breras 'ahead, £w6!; -and' everyvanety of wind above stiff .agects'her speed directly ag its force-a gale atlad.brings •■ a * i 1 Bt*p- All went fairly v^ell till we picked up the" trade winds." blowing from the south arm or fiord. * Here the craft began'■to' •low down, but stillgtraggled. Ab the wind strengthened she became a little undecided, but i when it Htrengthftned to a gale it was resolved, aftqr a consultation, to head the craft for Dome Island. After rounding the island we autefed a cnnnaiiig little bay where the waters were dead calm. , Wo all landed on the island, boiled the billy, picnicked, explored, then did a. little boating in the bay and admired the beautiful crested grebe which frequent this pretty little bay iv numbers. Wbilo the touriatg were puttmg in this variety bf pleasure, the ship's company were coaling—no, wooding-i-up. At noon the pressure gauge registered 401b, so the party re-embarked and she'was headed for the open waters of the fiord again and battled across to the north shore, along which we cruised till we rounded Garden Point, where the wind again proved too much for the steamer. ; We put back to a pretty sandy beach, where we lauded. I immediately s «t out exploring. Somn repaired to.poorM'Kinnqn'shut, close by, and prepared lunch, rhe memory of the hardy explorer must forever be associated with Garden Point. The site he selected is a choice one, with plenty available land of excellent quality and can be cleared for cultivation with little trouble. The hut he erected was neat, convenient, and well finished, and is still in good preservation, and the is perfectly sheltered. Wo spent "5,. °t. uc ,or Bo on the P°int- *nd ag -the wind still howled in the open the idea of making the head of the lake was abandoned. We decided to explore the fiord, running close into the Und for shelter. All were charmed with the scenery, and though the return homo was rough and the necessity for it disappointing, the day was not a lost one. H. and 1 hunted up the captaia and got him to dine with us, fnd as her loves a game at chess the evening. was spent' indulging therein. ■ • . ;.•.■••■■■

,Tuesday, January 4,1898.— Morning fine tnd promising. Another tourist has tnrnedup.We wonder who he is, what he is, where from, and whither going. He looks 15st, is an inveterate smoker, and very reticent. Should he be going through, I have already selected him as a gravitating centre in crossing the Pass Tha efforts oE curiosity discovered him to be a Mr L frota. Melbourne, an M.A; A short acquaintance proved him to be full of intelligence and really good company. He wantnd to go tnreugh, but had so«oe mi«givinps about crossing the Pass ; but whtn I told him I had been through before, and made a round trip across the Pass, was determined to go again, and bent upon spinning tUe Pass journey out fully four times the usual thing, tuis decided him We dubbed him "Doctor " for brevity At 6.40 the Kipple appealed to us to give her another show, co we hurried up, and at 6.53 we were all aboard and cast off. The elements feeuis all tn our faveuc we had a pleasant trip up, and compassed the 40 miles in the record tune of cigat hours seve.fi minutes. Landing at 3 p.m.. we found "Glade House" taxed, to its fullest capacity, but ie cases of emergency the Garvya know exactly what to do to sticure for their gueßts the maximum of comfort with the minimum of fuas. "Glade House" is chsrmingly situated. It has in its immediate ?icini!;y everything the tourist-climber loves, and the quiet holiday-seeker dreams. The place in walled in with the charms and wonders of Nature. It is destined to be the central pointiof attraction for all the overland tourist traffic to Milford Sound and the lounge of the q»Urt holiris.y-seek.ei- who loves peace and Boluada. Wa spent the afternoon in doing the beauty spot 3 close (it hand, killing saudflies boating, and eel fishing. While we killed more sandaics than eals, we found much more sport in the lattttr.

AYedna«\ay, JauaM-y 5,1898.-My friend and I occupied a comfortable teut a few chains from • G!a<Jo House," pitched in a secluded little nook m the bush, and found the sleeping accowiwodfuiou so very attractive that we were in no particular hurry to rise for breakfast, fctill wo Wore all breakfasted and ready for the start abaufc 9.15 a.m. The party bookud through numbered six—Mr H., myself, the doctor, two school teachers (brothers), and our worthy and eateemed guide, Mr D. Rosa. Everything rea^y, we were put across the clear and gentlc-fluwinp Clinton, and sent ofi with xiDging cheers from the contingent left behind, koine two miles from the start we met Mr S. (schoolmaster) and his plucky wife on the returß jouraey. It seems etraage but pleasant to meet friends , yon know in these solitary wilds. Thti day was perfect, asid the stage to Mintaro being a light cats Wrt arrived thore in good form. The doctor aud I were a lifctla moist, but not jaded. Mr H. ns-3 ih-i t*o brothers had a plunge in the little lake, with which I did not agree. I ventured to pub my f set in. Zoands ! It was cold. I would prefer beisg groomed with an iceberg. Saw a few blue mountain and a good few paradise ducks on t!l* lake. Ross imitated the cry or c*ll of too mountain duck, when they came close nj>. Till the close-of the evening was Bp«nt in admiring the beauties of the surrounding scenery, and the evening in divers means of ioluty,.

Thursday, January 6,1893.—We wfire up and ready for the P*sain good time, but the outlook was uupropitioug—dvizzin^ and gluomy. Hoiv2w« decided to push on. At an altitude of 600 ft from the base the doctor and I were mutually agreed that the scenery was unrivalled, but could not be properly admired while in motion. W* deternmied to do it justice Another stage of 300 ft, and we marvelled how people could hurry on and feel no interest in Nature's wonders. And such wonders J But the doctor and I have gome taste for these striking scenes, aud we indulged it. _ We were so charmed and attracted that we decided to drop into stages of 100 ft, but as we neared the summit the scenery became so stupendous in its grandeur that we decided to finish the ascent by 50ft stages We reached the summit iv two hqura Scorchers and record-seek* r.< who have no Uste for Hcenery may discredit the effect of this effort upon the doctor and myself RossP? 8«ed »s through an ordinary wringer. I yielded 2 gallons 3 quarts aud the doctor |3 gallons 1£ pints. Had the other members of the pwty been passed through a wine press they wool.: not havo yielded ten drops. On the summit we found a chilly wind comine up the Arthur Valley across th« pass, but wl cou.d not resist ». short rest to admire the effect the wind had up .„ the fleecy clouds. With us the wiud aeeined to be steady in one direction, but amongst the distant vnlleys and mountains the,fl«ecy clouds were careering in every directiou; J. ne doctor, was very interested in the flora 1 dwplay o .a the Pass,, We gathered some beautiful trusses ot Lyall's ranunculus, but the general blooming of the beautiful mountain lily was past. The celmf.sias and other gems which hare their habifcab and luxuriate m the high altitudes of-these bleak mountain p a »ges were at their besfi. Feeling chilly. I decided tn drop down on the Arthur «ide for shelter Very soon all followed, when we leisurely made our descent: to the Beech huts. We hail i- utended to do the Sutherland Falls', but as the raw ■continued it w^s decided to defer this item for the return journey. Ross at once set about the preparations for making his party comfortable for the evening. During the evening euchre my friend began to lose interest in the game. He partook freely of cold water, aud temptea n chill by stitjiog top long on the Pass. He isi naturally cheerful and the best of' comp-any.-and full of intellectual resources, so the fact of his losing interest in passing events was «ccspted as an evil omen, and caused some: little anxiety. We did what we could for him with the meaus at command, aud theu retired , "'day, January 7, 1898.-Morning perfect'mu « 8^ OW1U«. »'«n« of .continued dißtress. J.he Beoch. huts, Svhich are wretched in the extreme, offer little coraforf to the sick ; I was - thereford, anxious to see him better quartered so we decided to start early. W« relieved him of h!f. butdeus, aud he struggled ou bravely, secreting his distress as much as possible • but jit was too apparent his songs and humorous I anecdotes-had left bim, and the scenic ciJarms we passed through did uot interest him. ' I was pleased vwhsn. we reached- the boatiug. stage.: |We fixed him up comfortably in the steirn, and the.day contiaun. s ,beautifully five we f«lt that ' l, he.?, o™pg resb mighjb-:benefit him. The. row down the Arthur aiid/Lake.Ada was exbilar*t'n?. and, the short stage, trom the boat laudirif; to he Soands, exceedingly pleasant, pacing as it does along a well-formed road and through a • veritable ■ fairyland of luxuriant fern and undergrowth. After waiting ■ some time for a boat and uoue appearing we launched au old flattie moored-hard by. It is an unrecorded fact that she used to be towed astern of ttuT Ark in Noah's time. When she was launched! saw daylight through her prow ».little above water line, and felt some anxiety as to results, but not liking to appuar•funky, I yielded to' Row, who smiled the, assuring laconic remark, Ha not far across." I don't kini-.y yefc whether the .remark iad reference to the possibility of the flattie holding together for so : v. % tnp or t0 the shorli distance we had to Rwim iv the evehfj of her foundering However, we crowed in : safety'■ aud-we landed on the neck of laud aC the head of the Sound. We tben made oiir w^y to the Cleddau, which we crossed by -stopping from Btone-to stone, and. thence by a shorli bush-track-to [Sutherland's. Our patient was no better but^here we had every comfort for him and the •kindest attention. He at once retired aud was taken in hindby Mrs Sutherland,>'ho/worked a miracle on him in no time, for which his gratitude knew no limit. While be lives he will cherish tho memory of that lady's kindness with the greatest respect. ' ' ; _ Saturday, January 8, 1898.— H. about well, but to ensure complete -recovery we denids nob to face the return journey till Mouday. Government steamer anchored iv the Sound wich Lotd and. Lady .Rinfurly slid party aboard. She is reported to be leaving for. the Bluff in the morning, and will take any .mail ready in time,, ?[V w»t-,*nte.:hoine. ■ We .spend the day doing the.sign.tg.qf the plac'i and 16uagibg aboutT' jimshing with euchre in the evening. Rain set' m early in the afternoon, and the weather signs i?°kgl°<>u>y: and threatening. We learn that Vc Dun, ■■• his brother, and two other gentlemen ara, exploring Mount Tutoko for signs of the reported eruption. i | _ Sunday, January 9, 1898—The lightning,, thunder, and raiu during the night were sometningterriflc—aphenomanal record ev3n for this occasionally-saturated region., Sutherland roppcts a register.of 24in in .18 hours,;and judging] from, resiilts he is nob farout. Those wlio have aeen the Bowen Falls will remember that they are not visible from Sutherland's, the birch ! forest across the head of the Sound intercspti'ig the View. They will also remember the peculiar shape of this beautiful fall, the waters of which at the outset plunge into a kiud of basin, from '• which they are forced up into the air to a great height presenting in. it« shoot Uh and descent the well-known shape of an ox-tongue as viewed ' trom the head of the Sound. Not «yen au ordinary flood forces these waters up sufficiently nigh.to.be visible from SutherlaQd's house, but when I arose to the raging of tha flood waters early in the morning, and pulled back the blind to look out—behold ! the" Bowen Falls were shooting up to a great altitude, like a mighty waterspout,- far above the line of sight 'formed by the trea tops of she intervening.'forest, whioh usually intercepts the view. It was a Magnificent display The Cleddau, which we crossed the day before by stepping from stone to stone, wm in high flood, and formed a widespt;e(id and mighty river—its forceful current carrying a forest of timber into the Sound. . ' ;

After breakfast the weather' cleared and the day resulted tine, when we did some exploring, flattened but sandflies, snd inspectod^-ab' a respectable distance—Sutherland's Ayrshire bull. The beast has lost an eye/but his roaring capabilities are still unimpaired1. During last night's storm he1 constantly roamed around the premises, roaring like x. den of lions. Mrs Sutherland advised- us not to venture near him, -bat the warning wag superfluous. Being Suuday* MrH. suggested a few hymns aa a fitting close to a peaceful day. All responded. We retired to rest hi respectable season.