LURE OF THE WILD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20708, 4 May 1929, Page 23

LURE OF THE WILD.

WEST COAST WONDERS. ROMANCE OF THE PAST. By E. E. Mum. The whole of South .Westland is rich in romance untold not only in the story of creation here, but also in that of man, who, away back in the early days of settlement of the colony, penetrated these secret fastnesses in the search for gold, and found it in'prodigious quantities, even strewn along the sand on the seashore. One wonders at the vast forces of Nature that have been at work there throughout the ages, at seeing, out towards the coast.’and along the'foothills of the mountains, huge, morainjc deposits, how completely adorned in forest, which bespeak ■ of prehistoric glacial action, on a stupendous scale, of things we -know not of, and concerning which we can only'conjecture. “Though the Franz Josef may be still considered a valley glacier of large size, especially if its latitude and the narrowness and relatively .low altitude of the Alps be considered, its present dimensions are but a fraction of its former very large proportions,” says Dr J, M. Bell, Director of' Geological Survey, in his report dated 1910.' “ In the Pleistocene period it deployed on to the narrow coastal plain of Westland, and united with other ice streams to the north and south, forming a vast piedmont ice sheet, above which the isolated peaks and ridges rose as lonely iiunatacks. As' the glacier gradually . retreated it left the plain, and occupied only, the broad valley, which, in its advance, it had enlarged and partly excavated. Up this valley it has slowly receded to its present position, leaving in its train numerous terminal and lateral moraines in the valley through which, now flows the Waiho River.” ■ Halfway put from Waiho towards the sea ‘is a strangemorainic hill, clad entirely in bush, %actlyr ; the. shape of a prostrate Egyptian'ficivimmy,' an J is coining to be known as such. ■ SMOKY . WATERS AND HOT r SPRINGS'. ' It is weird to .stand on the main suspension bridge.at Waiho and to watch the river in. flood, a boiling, mad, grey tOrreul, surging, swirling, rushing, and roaring, great blocks of ice from the Franz Josef Glacier and bigboulders being carried down its stony bed, smashing into one another as they go. The noise resembles that of the ocean in a storm as the breakers dash, against the shore. Stranger ...still is • it to observe the peculiar white fog, coating only the surface of . its .forbidding waters,, along the whole length’of the river as it makes its way to the sea. At first one concludes that the phenomenon is due to spray, but closer observation leads to the belief that it is probably accounted for by the contact of the icy waters with the warmer atmosphere. In his fascinating book, “ Pioneer Work in the Alps of New Zealand,” now unfortunately out of print, Mr Arthur P. Harper states that the meaning of the Maori name “Waiho” is “ smoky waters.” The waters of the Waiho are “ smoky,” right enough, and so are those of the Cook River, wider and wilder still, 20 miles further south, which must represent the tempestuous furies themselves when the river is in full flood. The thought occurs to one—How did the. early prospectors ford" these imfordable rivers, and when : they succeeded in doing so, how did they get hack to replenish their supplies? There is no answer/ except that we know that the thing was done; we know not the price. But remarkable things in this region of the unusual never- seem: to cease. Eight down in the riverbed of the Waiho, within a mile and a-half of the Franz Josef Glacier, is a hot mineral spring in which one can actually have a warm bath within, reach of blocks of ice from the glacier flowing down the river; while within a mile of the terminal face of the Fox Glacier -is ■ another hot mineral : spring in which one can experience .similar delights! This, however, appears to be quite a common thing in the case of these extraordinary West Coast rivers’. “On nearly every river on the West Coast,” says Mr Harper in his book, written 30 years ago, “ there are mineral hot springs. Their heat is not due in any way to. volcanic agency. . . . It is generally the case that a mile or so before the river emerges .from the hills, a mineral spring is to be found in the bed of the stream in which the water will be hot.” To the newcomer this makes him wonder all the more. THE AMAZING GALLERY GORGE. Perhaps the spectacle of the wildest grandeur to be seen anywhere In this district is the amazing Gallery Gorge through, which the Gallery River, rising from the - glaciers on Mount Elie • de Beaumont, discharges into the Waiho. River close to the hot spring. Standing on the swing, bridge : about 50 feet above the bed of the roaring waters, and looking up into the gorge, one is confronted with a truly wondrous scene. On both, sides of this harrow defile, less than ■ 100, feet wide, the mountain walls, clothed in the richest vegetation, rise sheer above one for many hundreds of feet, and abput 200 feet ahead close in together with the boiling river shooting out through a circular tunnel underneath. ■' It really has to be seen to be believed. To.see.it in normal times is a revelation, hut . to be there when the river, is, in full flood must be to witness a sight before which the imagination must stand appalled. The Gallery Gorge is, in fact, a classic example of fascinating irightfulness merged into the supremely beautiful, and is one of the best features of tine wholly simple walk along the well-formed and graded track remnd . the basin of the Waiho Gorge. - ■ ’ ■ ' BIRD LIFE ABUNDANT. One naturally expects that in such a district native bird life is abundant, •and so it is compared with other New ’Zealand forested areas, but it is greatlv to be regretted that there is not so much ns there once was. Nevertheless, it is plentiful enough to be notable in presentday New Zealand. The glorious songs of the tuis and bellbirds are to be beard everywhere in the neighbourhood of Waiho and Weheka; the big, handsome native pigeons- are sufficiently' numerous as to be frequently seen flying from tree to -tree and even tumbling in the sunshine. There are plenty of waxeyes and fantails, occasional kakas, robins, and tiny wrens, and sometimes the shining cuckoo of which we saw one. The charming weka, so much Seen on the Milford track, is, however, conspicuous by his absence; one only has been seen lately in the vicinity of the terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier. The calls of the night birds, with the exception of those of the morepork, appear to be no longer heard. The kiwi hereabouts now is unknown, and the same applies to the beautiful kakapo, the huge green New Zealand parrot, a ground bird, which, with, its dwarfed wings, has almost lost the power of flight, and so has .fallen a victim to the pests introduced by man. LAKE MAPOUEIKA AND OKARITO. No one visiting Waiho should miss making the trips to Lake Mapourika and Okai’ltq on tile sea coast. They can be accomplished comfortably in one day. Out on the launch on the western side of Lake Mapourika, a large and very beautiful sheet of water set- among morainic hills and enclosed wholly by luxuriant virgin forest, one gets a mag nifleent view of 30 miles of the Great Divide, the Franz Josef Glacier, and the forest, the whole superb panorama being

reflected on a calm, still morning to the minutest' detail in the clear waters of the lake. From ' the Okariti trig, station the views are more extensive, and, but for the perfection of the reflections, even finer. Here on a fine day, such as we enjoyed, the' visitor, even after all he has seen before, is aroused to enthusiasm by the exceptional beauty of the three extraordinary panoramas that unfold themselves. To the east is a scene of transcendent magnificence—so miles and more of the Great Divide in all its glistening, towering splendours rising abruptly out of a maze of dark green, bush-clad gorges and mountains, centred by the sparkling Franz Josef Glacier descending out of sight below the low forested morainic hills, the whole seen across a sea of forest 10 miles wide and all in. the richest colourings. With the sole exception of Milford Sound, there is no other part of New Zealand in which, at a single glance, one can see so much of the sublime and beautiful in the most pronounced form. One is carried away by the superlativeness of it all, and particularly so by the enormous extent of sub-tropical forest as yet wholly unspoilt—a priceless heritage which if would be a sacrilege to destroy. Yet it seems that this, too, or at any rate most of it, is threatened with destruction, that it is to go the way of most of the glorious bush that once adorned New Zealand and so little of ■ which now . remains. The sawmillers have got their eyes upon it, and so has, apparently, what goes by the name of “ prosperity.” Speaking to a press representative on his return to Wellington after his tour of the West Coast in February last, Mr W. A. Veitch, Minister of Labour and Mines, is credited with having said: “What I liked, most about the West Coast is that there are several directions in which almost unlimited progress can be made. That fact, coupled with the optimism of the people, suggests that there is going to be a great revival of prosperity there within a reasonable time. X was shown timber areas within reach of Okarito Harbour where, according to Government figures, there are 2,000,000,000 feet of valuable timber,” Does the Minister mean that .the sawmills are to be put into this forest, “ within reach of Okarito Harbour?” If so, they will certainly spoil what is indeed one of the last remaining stretches of New Zealand’s sylvan glories. To the north of Okarito trig station the sea .coast is a half-moon, and the whole of Westland stretches as far as the eye can see, with Okarito township and the immense, but singularly beautiful, Okarito lagoon, in all the shades of blue and green, in the foreground. To the south, a vast expanse presents itself of low morainic, bush-clad hills merging into the horizon, a whollybroken coastline of bold bluffs and headlands, alluring beaches, and the bluest of blue inlets encircled by luxuriant green forest down to the waters’ edge. The trig station at Okarito is, in truth, an exceptional point of vantage from which all the scenic glories of Westland can be seen in enchanting perspective. THE ROMANCE OF OKARITO. Bui the township of Okarito itself! It is in tiny now, comprising one hotel, a small schoolhouse, a church, a tumbledown courthouse, and a score or so of dwellings, most of them dilapidated and vacant. Cows graze in its one and only street. But it has a “voice,” an “ atmosphere ” that one actually “feels,” that speaks of its romantic past—of the “roaring” days when it had a population of 5000 diggers, three banks, 31 hotels and dance halls, a resident magistrate, and when upwards 'of 6,000,000 sterling in gold was gathered up off the beaches and in the surrounding neighbourhood. That old tumble-down courthouse there, its front blown in revealing the judge and jury boxes, facing the once gold-strewn beach—what tales it might tell! Grim, picturesque in its ruins, silent, it.remains dumb; but it is wholly eloquent withal. Gone are those who played the leading roles in the real-life dramas there, and it soon, too, must follow them. It has been condemned for removal this year. - One might fittingly conclude there, but something more is due. One must pay a tribute to those old pioneers and explorers: who found the way and “blazed the trail,” making it possible for presentday amateurs to enjoy these supreme delights—to Sir Julius von Haast, possibly the first white man to visit the Franz Josef Glacier, who made the first technical examination of it and named it; to' Messrs Charles E. Douglas andArthur P. Harper, who first thoroughlv explored it and the Avholc neighbourhood; to Messrs J. C. Fife, Malcolm Ross, G. Graham and F. G. Gibbs, who made the first ascent to Graham’s Saddle; to Messrs A. P. Harper, E. Fitzgerald and the Swiss guide Zurbriggen, who made the first actual crossing of the divide via Graham’s Saddle; to Dr Teichlemann, the Rev. H. E. Newton and. W. Batson, who made the first actual complete ascent of the Franz Josef Valley, to Dr Teichelmanu, Professor Linden and Guide Alex Graham, who discovered the route that is now used in all climbs of the glacier, via the Aimer bivouac, up to Graham’s Saddle. To thein all modern climbers owe a debt ->f gratitude which they can only repay by appreciating and acknowledging it.