NEW SCENIC TRIP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 7

NEW SCENIC TRIP

HEART OF FIORDLAND MANAPOURI-MIDDLE FIORDS By E. E. Muir. IV. Ah! that such beauty, varying in the light Of living Nature, cannot be portrayed By words, nor by the pencil’s silent skill. —Wordsworth. One of the most superbly beautiful and surprisingly interesting portions of the wonderful new round trip of 110 miles, which has been opened in the heart of Fiordland, is the five and a-half mile track cut through the forest from the Bedivere Falls to the mouth of the Camelot River, and the route thence by launch for 28 miles along the Gaer Arm into Bradshaw Sound and Smith Sound, to the head of Deep Cove. It is certainly in the wilds—until lately, perhaps, the most remote part of New Zealand —and while presenting an unrivalled variety of magnificent scenery in the form of virgin forests, the loveliest of rivers, and extraordinarily beautiful sounds, it is plentifully stocked with native birds, wild fowl, and fish just as the Creator designed it to be, and is, as yet, in no way spoiled by man and introduced plant-eating animals. CAMELOT FINER THAN ARTHUR RIVER. The tramp from the Bedivere Falls to the mouth of the Camelot River is. indeed, a pleasure that is not often* experienced, especially when it is made under the best of weather conditions such as we enjoyed. With golden sunshine streaming down in shafts through the branches of the mighty forest monarchs this glorious sylvan retreat was flood-lighted to the fullest possible advantage, revealing, in the sharpest contrasts of light and shade, all the triumphs of its undergrowth, comprising massed mosses and ferns and young trees shooting up everywhere, seemingly endless in their varieties, and of the most delicate texture and colourings. Everything grew in the wildest profusion. Bellbirdsj tuis, and grey warblers sang tlieir songs overhead, while pigeons flew about and parakeets chattered and water fowl were, heard on the river; in hollow trees beside the track we saw several wekas’ nests which were so tidily and cleanly kept as to do credit to their housekeeping; robins and tomtits greeted us in pairs. Up through the branches one caught ever-varying vistas of supreme grandeur, high, bush-clad mountains surmounted by rocky crags which towered all around, while the glimpses of the Camelot River itself were just as fine, long reaches of it flowing through stately colonnades of the handsomest beech, which thrust their sun-kissed foliage far out over its deep, placid, and crystal-clear waters, colouring them with all the richest and most beautiful shades of green. The Camelot River here averages, about 100 feet wide, and, except for occasional short rapids which ruffle its waters, is from 12 to 16 feet deep, and almost wholly free from obstacles, making it much finer than the Arthur River, which flows into Milford Sound.

Lower Camelot River and Valley at the head of Gaer Arm of Bradshaw Sound. “ The Pyramids ” are in the distance, and the ripples on the surface of the deep, crystal clear waters mark the course of the rowing boat down the river.

This photograph shows the bold overhanging Commander Head at the entrance, and looks south towards ’ the Black Giants and Black Knights in the distance.