FROM EAST TO WEST AND WEST TO EAST.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15433, 20 April 1912, Page 4

FROM EAST TO WEST AND WEST TO EAST.

SOME FIXE DOMINION SCENERY

{BV G. I'KXWICK.) NO. IV. WAIIIO GORGE TO KARANGARUA. We walk in the shadowy place ot pines, Tho wind wont whispering hero and there J-iko whispers in a house of prayer. Tho sunshin© «tol© in narrow lines. A shadowy land of deop repose! Here when the loud nor'-wester blows, How sweet, to sootho a trivial care, Tho pino trees' ever murmured prayer! —Axsb (jLENKt Wilson. Eight miles from Gunn's we reach tho Forks Hotel, so named because ;t is at the junction of tho road (o Okoiito, distant about five miles—Okorito famed of old for the rich gold obtained on its beaches in the late sixties, Tho Forks Hotel is owned by Mr F. Heveldt, ami among tho passengers in our coach wa6 his wife, /ruin whom wo Irarnt that alio and her husband were descendants of two of the old .Martin's Bay families, whoso patient struggles against adverso fortune is matter of common knowledge among Otago and Southland people. At the l'orks tliero is a white wood pigeon which has been about the neighbourhood for seven or eight years. It has been by common consent left unmolested, like Pclorus .lack and tho yellow rata, and has secured for itself from the people of the Westland forest an affection winch it is to be hoped will continue to shield it from thoso who carry guns. In tho bank close to tho Okorito road there is a tunnel used for storage purposes which is said to bo a spectado of great brilliance, for iba sides and roof are at night.timc illuminated by thousands of glowworms. Wc part from our coaching companion, Mrs Heveldt, with pleasant farewells, and wo do 60 with musical honours, doubtless to the surpriso of herself and thesu who are gathered around. The honours are 6ct to tho well-known air "For he's a jolly good fellow," and tbo words are .Maori. I do not'vouch for the accuracy of the translation into tho native tongue, but they did duty at Greymouth on more than one occasion when tho full strength of tho Press Association members desired to show their appreciation of some, of the townspeople of "tho Grey." This musical appreciation of our Wist Coast friends ran as follows, the Maori words being vouched for by some North Island pressmen :'—

Tcnci taungata pnrawatu Tonei taungata parawatu Tcnci taungata parawatu, Kiai, kiai, kiai. And so on ad lib. Tho words may or may not bo right, but at any rate they iuuwercd tho purple, and the result was smiling facca and general hilarity and abandon.

Leaving tlie Forks Hotel after pleasant afternoon tea, of which we wero pressed to partake- by our hospitable companion of the coach, now surrounded by her children (ona of them named Francis Joseph, after the glacier), wo again enter tho bush, and follow the counso of tho Okorito River until wo reach

LAKE MAROURIKA, distant three miles from tho Forks. Thero ia a deserted mining township on its shores, in days long gone by instinct with iifo and prosperity, for rich gold was securod from the shallow workings. There is a reminder of thpso old days in a> curious companionship between a Chinaman—Sim iiung—and an old minor from tho Emerald Jslo, and their joint homo still remains in the occupation of these old friends. For over 30 years Sim Hong has had an affection for his mate. They worked together aa miners for many long years, and as advancing infirmities rendered the white member ot tho partnership less and \m ablo to battlo against tho buffet* of the world, tho affection'of his faithful Chinese mate grew stronger. Between an old-age pension and tho earnings of Sim Hong from occasional road work, a measuro of comfort is secured for the pair, and it may bo assumed that the solicitude of the latter for tho welfare of his old friend will not relax as the rears draw on.

Fino viowfl are obtained from Like Maponrika of .Mounts Cook and Tasman, and also of tlio Kaiser Fritz Range, and in the waters of tho liike on annny days there are beautiful reflections of the mountains named. The road skirts tho shore of tho lake to its end, and the whole scene is very beautiful and striking. Shortly after leaving tho lako, fioltloment begins to show itself in open 'clearings and homesteads Two miles before wo reach Waiho Gorge, the dwelling of Mr W. Patrick (a fellow traveller on tho coiich) comes into view. .Mr Patrick has a large holding on which ho runs cattle and sheep. We were courteously invited into his house, where Mrs Patrick quickly furnished us with afternoon tea. We had a pleasant quarter of an hour beforo proreeding on the final stage of onr journey for the day. The Tolara River is reached and erased not far from Mr Patricks. It is unbridged, and is occasionally in high flood through melting snow, but quickly subsides. We enter the bush again for a short spell, and emerging from it a grab's flat is crossed and tho WAIHO RIVER COMES INTO VIEW with Graham's new accommodation house. The distance from hake Mapourika is about nino miles. The Franz Josef Glacier shows itself above the tops of tho trees. We drivo up to tho door of tho house about 6.30. glad to have reached our destination for tho day, Considerable enterprise is being displayed in a big enlargement of this comfortable rcct-ing-placo after a long coaching journey. Formerly the house stood on a raised part of the bed of the river, but owing to inconvenienco from the flood-waters coming at times right up to the floor, it was decided to rcmovo it to higher ground, and a fine site was choson. The work of removal was a heavy undertaking, and was accomplished by the Messrs Graham without displacing an article in tho building and without interfering even with the accommodation provided for visitors. Screwjacks were used for lifting the hoiwe on to the substantial runners which had been placed in position for the removal. These were on a somewhat steep grade, the height of tho trestles at tho top end being about 25ft. Hand winches and cables wcro employed for haulage, and as the grado was about 1 in 30 it will lie easily understood that the labour involved was very great, and the progress, necctaarily, somewhat slow. In six days, however, the whole distance, about 14 chains, was covered, and the house safely placed in its new position. Since then ait additional storey lias boon added, and the house- is now a flubstan-tial-looking building of 24 rooms. So that it wifl be seen visitors to the Waiho may reckon on being well and comfortably accommodated.

Till-: KUAN'S! JOSKK GLACIKR is about three miles distant, an easy hour's wall:, and on the way, distant from the house about one mile, are tho hot springs in the bed of the Wniho River. Hero a comfortable bathroom has been erected, and tho water conveyed to it by pipes. On the morning after our arrival, though it was unfortunately wet, we arranged with Alec Graham to.accompany us to the Franz Josef, and a most interesting visit it proved to be. This great and remarkable glacier ha 6 been too often described to make it necessary fov mo to say anything further about its special features. It may | bo of interest, to mention, however, that | the terminal face of the glacier is receding. It is nominal 1 }' progressing at the ; rale of about one foot per day, but this ! progress is exceeded by the rapidity with which the ice-blocks break off the terminal face. L'p to about eight years ago the I'raiu Josef was .steadily 'receding. Thru it made a sudden forward movement, and continued to advance for a period of six years, during which time it moved forward about 50 chains, and raised itself about 200 ft in height, right into the vegetation on the mountain side, and toro away a number of the lower trees. Thereafter it again commenced to recede, and is still doing so. There are plain indications that- its terminal face was at one time much lower down than it is at present, for its extreme point at that time u

clearly marked on a rock faco 30 chains from llio terminal point of the glacier where tho river now escapes. After a half-hour's interested inspection of this great glacier the weather compelled ns to return, and we crossed the wire suspension bridpe, and made our way homo by way of the hoi springs. It seems extraordinary that these should exist at the sido of a river which has come direct from n glacier only a short distance away. Hut so it is. Tho water from tho spring is brought by a pipe to a comfortablo bathroom wl. a has been erected by tho Tourist Department, and doubtless at some future time this will bo more r--tl than it is at proecnt.

At Wailio Gorge we have reached the furthest point to which tho coach can come, and we have now cither to walk tho next stage of 30 miles to Scott's, at Karangarua, or to take advantage of tho horses which are available for tho purpose. My companion (Mr Kerr, of Timaru) and I decide to make use of tho horses; but a Christchurch lady who has been staying at Wailio Gorge for some weeks, sketching in the neighbourhood, and who is to accompany us across tho Copland Pass to Iho Hermitage, announces her intention of walking tho whole distance. All Arrangements for the start are made, and tho following morning at half past 6 Alec Graham and Miss A. leave for their 30-milo tramp through tho bush. My companion and I follow about 8 o'clock, accompanied by ono of Graham's assistants, who is to bring back the horses after wc have crossed the Copland River, on the second day.

After leaving Wailio, three miles or so of flat country are traversed, portions of which are bcine; cleared for dairy farming. Here, as at other points on our journey, tho splendid bush of this great forest area must inevitably give place to the sclilement of the land. It arouses feelings of sadness to think that much of this beautiful forest must pass away, liko the forests (if tho dairying districts of tho North Island in recent years. How well the Hon. W. Pcmbev Reeves has expressed thoso feelings in his beautiful poem "The Passing of tho Forest." Let mo quote two verses, for they aro, I think, very beautiful :—

Gono is tho forest world. Ha wealth of life, Its jostling, crowding, thrusting, struggling race, Creeper with creeper, bush with bush at strifo, Warring and wrestling for a breathing space.; Below. r> roalm with tangled ranknem rife. Aloft, tree columns, shafts of stateliest crate, fiono is the forest nation. Kone might stay; Ginnt and dwarf aliko have passed away.

Gene nro the forest birds, trhorenl things, Enters of honey, honey-sweet of song, Thn tin" njid tho bcllbifd—lie who pings That brief, rich music wo would fain prolong; Cone (lie -wood pigeon's suddon whirr of winis, 7h* 'Urir.T robin, all unused to wrong, harmless, h.irandryiul creatures, they Lived willi their trees, and died, nnd passed away. Crossing a small stream, an ascent is commenced, and wo rise- through tho bush to a height of about 1500 ft, and, descending again, the Omoeroa Creek is reached and forded, distance about eight miles from Waiho. Another hill of about tho samo height is ascended, and wo then descend into a valley through which runs the Waikuknpa River. The word is easily and familiarly turned into "Cuppy Cup" by local people. This river is bridged. Tho bush track which wo have ben traversing sinco leaving Waiho lias afforded glimpses of somo of tho finest scenery wo have met with in the whole of our journey. Among the most beautiful points is a gorge on the mountain track, about 3 miles after leaving the Waiho bridge, in which there is a wealth of foliago of indescribable beauty and luxuriance. The road at this point i 3 steep and winding, and in places we agreed that it was as striking and as beautiful as the finest part of the Olira Gorge. About six miles up from the bridge is situated tho Fritz Glacier. Again ascending about 1500 ft, through a continuation of tho'beautiful hush we have passed through all morning, a descent brings us (o tho farm of Mr F. Williams. Here there is a considerable area of cleared ground, and a good deal of stock is raised by Mr Williams and one oilier settler, their stock being driven to the Hokitika market. The land about here, right to the Cook River, is quite flat and of good quality. Wo reach tho Cook River (distant from Waiho about 22 miles) in a deluge of rain, and the horses somewhat reluctantly enter the turbulent waters. The river-bed is fairly broad, and tho river runs in several channels, but all aro crossed without any difficulty, although at times tho crossing is dangerous.

Wc continue onr ride through flat and, in some parts, swampy country, but all good grazing land, for a dista'neo of six miles, when Scott's farm and accommodation house is reached, and a. welcomo shelter it proved after our very wet day's experience sinco leaving the Waiho. Wo had passed Miss A. and our guide somo distance Kick, but it was not long ere they followed us into our haven of rest, Miss A. having walked the whole rfistanco of 30 miles, a good part of it in a steady rain—a very fine, exhibition of physical endurance, Nor did she scent unduly fatigued, but quickly joined the rest of tho party at the supper table, whero wo all felt we were being rewarded for the exertions of the day.