A TRIP TO MOUNT OXFORD.

Oxford Observer, Volume V, Issue V, 7 April 1894, Page 3

A TRIP TO MOUNT OXFORD.

On Good Friday morning, at 5.15. a.m. we looked outside to see if it was a cloudy morning or likely to be wet, but no, it was a beautiful morning, with scarce a cloud to be seen. So we got up, got our food ready for the day, had our breakfast, saddled our horse and oiled the bicycle, and started at 5.45. a.m. going through Oxford which seemed all asleep, with the exception of Mr Bowman's Combine which was thrashing away at Mr C. Johnston's corn Stack. Arrived at the site of Mr Lee 3 old saw-mill, and as our horse seemed to have been taken with the gripes we gave him some medicine, and left him and the bicycle with some friends near the site of the Old Mill. Then we began our journey on shanks ponies, turning to the right and going up the road until we came to Mr W. Rydes saw mill, then took the tram line into the bush, and afterwards followed up the creek, taking off our socks and putting our boots on again. Some of the sights are very pretty and especially on one side of the creek which seemed to be a face of rock all covered with ferns &c. with the drops of water trickling down the fern leaves. We saw a.woodhen but it was rather too quick for us so we could not shoot it. As we kept going up the creek we thought we had lost our bearings, so^ve went up to the top of one of the spurs, and each of us climbed a tall birch tree and discovered that Mt Oxford was a good way off so we steered due north keeping the Sun on our right, and after travelling a long distance we came to the main Grimwood's creek, then we travelled up the creek until we came to a fcrk, where some kind friends had put three boulders on the top of a large one, to guide the climbers where they must start to go up the beginning of the spur which leads to the top of the mountain, many say that the middle spur is the most easy to travel. Some say Mr Harle's sons cut the track. Then we sat down on some boulders

amid the roaring of the waters and took some lunch, after lunch, we started up the middle spur through high bush at first, after a while it became lower, and soon we' were amongst shrubs here and there until we came near to the top. : But on our journey we lit three fires doing it for our friends m Oxford to see them and they

say that they saw the smoke from the fires which we lit. We arrived on the highest peak about 130a. m, and it was a grand view. There was a large number of mountains, east, west, and north, some of them having snow on their summits, then you could see the rivers, the Waimakarari, Eyre, and the Ashley, and Wharfdale flat, and also Moeraki, Burnt, Hill, Starvation and Peninsula Hills, with a vast plain from the Ashley to a long way down South, also the Manuka scrub which has immortalised Mr Dixon's name, besides seeing the excursion train from Otorama, coming from the Mountains and going out on the plains travelling back to Ghristchurch. There were a few sheep on the top, and we. shot at two sparrow hawks and knocked aver a woodhen. The wild pigs had been rooting the surface of the soil making it look very much like ploughed land, but we did not see any. We had our dinner by the trig pole. About 4 pin lit two more fires and put some- more wood'On one of. the others, then started for home, getting safely down the middle spur, and walked cown the main creek to- Mr Eydes mill. Walking down the creek we gathered a lot of sand m our boots, it made us think of the man that did penance" with peas m his boots, some places we had to cross the creek and' it was a foot deep but when, we left the creek we washed the sand out of our boots and put them on again. . We, arrived;at the old mill site about 6p. m. The horse 'had got all right/ and pur friends gave us a cup of tea, then started for home at*7 p.m. hoping soon to rest ourselves.frpm^hesday^s outing after- having-en-'joyed <rarselve^vei^»uchf^ .f'*^;