The Traveller.

Otago Witness, Issue 1499, 7 August 1880, Page 14

The Traveller.

A TRIP UP THE LAKE. (by our special correspondent.) As all details of the recent trip on the ©cession c the opening of the Waimea Plains railway have been already given in ' your columns, I will confine myself to a few descriptive sketches of what we saw. LUMSDEN TO KINGSTON. Ariiving at tho point where ths Dunedin and Invercargill trains meet, namely, Elbow or Lumsdon— for by turns this place rejoices in each of these names, — we are in the centre of a largo district which, must one day be populous. Hot only is the Agricultural Company's fine estate close by, but, as I understand, a largo area of Government lend has been, or is about to be, opened on deferred payments, and the quality of the laud pointed out to me waß excellent— a little wet in places at present, as there hnd been heavy raine, but nob difficult to drain. Those who are nut in the habit, of studying the map are hardly prepaied to hear that this place is situated a little farther north than Dunedin, on about the same parallel aa Waikouaiti, and the climate is excellent, as is that of the whole district from Lunisdeu to Queenstown and the Head of tho Lake. As the Five Rivera Plains, a ftw miles farther along tho line, also contain a considerable area of good land, Luinsden ought to become a farming centre of considerable irnportAUCc, and already a good many houses have been erected, arid a, good hotel. Ifc is 137 miles from Dunedin, and 50 from Invercargill, Its situation has, I confess, no pretensions to beauty, and passengers to and from the Lakes will not be tempted to turn aside for anything that they can eso here. After psßsing the Five Rivers Plains the valley rapidly . Barrows, and from Athol to Kingston is » dreary valley, with hills of considerable altitude en both sidus ; and as we approach the Lake vast masses of broken stone, with immense square blocks of schist on the top, evidently marked the terminal moraine which was left by the last glacier of a tuu cb coider period at the foot of the Lake. The terracts on either Bide as we near the Lake Stem to mark the lateral moraines famed by the glacier in its downward progress. KINGbTON is a wretched-looking place, or rather two places, for on the one side of what I may call the tip of tho Lake's tongue is a email cluster of houses forming the old township. On the other, or westernmost side, close under a high hill, is the railway station, a hotel, and tho steamer wharf. As there is no Ittud of any agricultural value in the neighbourhood, and no mining, Kingston can never be more than a mere forwarding Station and place of refreshment for passengers on changing from land to water carriage and vice versa. The hotel seems clean and well kept, and anyone who enjoys a period cf solitude, unbroken except by the arrival or departure of the midday' train and boat, can eDJoy it here to hi? heart's content. THE STKAMBR in which we travelled is a paddle-boat, oalled the Mountaineer, end built and engined by Messrs Kincaid, M 'Queen, and Co , at a cost of L7OOO, for the Company which ownß her. She has compound engines, and travels at the maximum rate of about 12 miles an hour. She has very comfortable cabin accommodation for about 30 or 40 passengers, and a spacious deck, so that our party of 150 did nob seem at all to overcrowd the boat. I was agreeably surprised to fiad so excellent a steamer already on tho Lake. There are two otheio, but much slower boats. The rails are laid along the wharf so that the last carriage and luggage- van can come alongside the steamer, and there is no difficulty about embarkation. Fri m KINGSTON TO QUEENSTOWN the distance in about 25 miles, and is ac. complished in about two hours and a quarter. 'Xhe scenery at starting is comparatively tame, but as we steam along, the Rernarkables on cur right, snow- clad, ard seamed and out into innumerab c gullies, with sharp, knife* like divisions, which I can hardly call peaks, attract general attention ; the snowolad hills on our left are generally more rounded, but rugged at the tops, which are also snow-olad, though more thinly than the mountains on the othor side. Queenstowu is right ahead, but hidden by a low hill. A few miles along on our right the "Devil's Staircase," a steep, rugged track over the Romarkables, is shown to us, where many years ago Mr Rcea, the pioneer settler of the district, loot a number of valuable cattle, worth about £30 apiece on the diggings, to which they were beiDg driven. They, like a somewhat celebrated herd of wine, " ran violently down a steep place" into the water and were drowned, to the Berioua loss of their owner. Perhaps they were too eager for the water, as some twolegged animals .'ire for the whisky, ar.d in that case it w;is " drink that did i\" j and Sir W. ]?ox may take a note of it. Turning a little to the left to avoid a promontory, we cams in sight of Queoustown, opposite which there is tho only danger to the navigation to be met with in the passage, in the shapo of a ieef, where onco a vetsel was wrecked. It is now marked with a beacon, and a light on Bhore at night shows the proper steering directtoo. It was about 6 o'clock and dark when we arrived, and very cold, though, Ike day h*d been warm and genial. The characteristics of tho climate are very fcharp frosts at morning and evening, and warm genial sunshiny days, with blue sky and clear atmosphere. '.We are a thousand feet above tho level of the sea, and the barometer is about one inch lower than at eealevel the air boing proportionably thinner and more exhilarating. QUEESSTOWN ia situated, as raoet of my readers know, in a sheltered nook at the foot o£ Ben'Loxnoi.fl, a hill of about 3000 fcot altitude, and soina surrounding ridges which *,eem to thut it completely in. Thero h a* outlet;,, however, at one end through a low pass to Arthur's Point and the Siiofcevir, and afc the other along the

edge of the lake to Prankton Flat and Arrow. There is au excellent hotel, as everyone knows, belonging to, and under the efficient management of Mr Eiohardt, who is ably seconded by his wife. Any party short of 50 can be readily provided for at this hotel at brief notice, and parties up to 200 are stowed away in this and adjoiaing fcuildings in a wonderful way by a little preparation. But there is need of a few private lodgings for ladies and families, who prefer privacy to the luxuries of the best-managed hotel. Mr Boyne, who has recently put up an excellent stone building near Eiohardt's to carry on his business as a general storekeeper, has apartments ovor his shops, which, I understand, he intends fitting up in the summer for families, and hia example will doubtless be followed by others. THE HEAD OF THE LAKE ia, however, one of the greatest attractions to tourists. The Mountaineer runs upin about three houre, the distance being 35 miles The scenery after the , first bend, about 14 lsilea from Queenstown. is magnificent, and beggars description. We had a glorious morning, and the various shapes of the snow-clad peika that toweredon our rightand left, now obicared by white fleecy clouds and now peeping out again in all their dazzling whiteneas, were au endless souice o£ delight. Night's candles arc burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on tho misty mountain-tops. Here and thero a litfcle scrubby bash, aud here and there a small homestead with cattle and sheep, break the monotony of the rugged, harreu hills, while the sparkling water and the clear atmosphere give an indescribable nxhilaration to the feelings th:it I hope m ide many young fellows iaolmed to good resolutions, and especially fco lh» retolve, " We'll neveL 1 get drunk any more." There is certainly no need for stimulants amongst these glorious hills ; and with this never-failing supply of pure sparkling water I could be a water-drinker myself here, though when in lower and grosser localities " quito tho contrary." The mist and dunsbine must at times make ft wonderful play of colour here, and I can believe tho pictures hen cefortb, though moat of us have been accuatomefl to regard them as highly-coloured exaggerations. I saw one effect of mist hangirjg over trees in a gully, causing a most renmkably blue tiut that one would have regarded in a picture as unnatural. In this case it was not Distance that lent enchantment to the view, And robed the mountain in its azure hue ; for we were quite close to it. The very water of the Lake assumed different shades and tints at every turn. Small waterfalls are numerous, and after rain they must, many of them, be beautiful. If only the shores of the Lake were dotted with pretty dwellings and "smiling homesteads " forced from the somewhat unkindly soil— which, I find, will glow good fruit — the scene would be one of enchantment. As we returned we were astonished and delighted by the wonderful reflections in thr. water. The buow clad inouncaina on either side of the Lake were mirrored in polished silver, in a manner, as a traveller assured mo, that far surpassed the celebrai ed " Mirror Lake" of the Yosemito Valley. The ripple of the steamer c&uaed a double reflection, whioh had a most curious as well as beautiful effeot. K2NLOOH, a " rising township," consisting of a hotel and three or four houses, on the left hand side of the Lake, at its head, is close to a birch forest, where thero is a sawmill, aud which will supply timber and firewood that will last for years. There is a slope all down to the edge of the water, so that the timber can be readily conveyed to the mill ; there is water-power from a small mountain stream, and watercarriage : so it looks as if Providence had de signed that bush for the saw. There is decent accommodation here in tho hotel and adjoining cottages for two or three families, and I have no doubt this will be added to wben inducement offers j but I understand the Queensrown people are not very anxioua to send people up to tho Head of the Lake, oxcegt for a day at a time, for obvious reasons. There is aa wxtensive flat with two river valleys, the- Itees aud the Dart, te the right and l-.ffc, " pellucid i streams and purling brooks, 1 ' a&d all that i could render the honeymoon ealusJy enjoyable. Any amount of climbing can be done, and splendid views obtained. There is a glacier in the neighbourhood, and Mount JCarnslaw " rears high his rugged head," j towering abovß all tho surrounding ridges, and, of course, hoary-headed and venerable. I can't do justice to the beauty of this scenery, so it "ain't no uso trying." If the Yankees had to run the traffic to such a place, New Zealand would soon ring with its beauties from one end to the other. But perhaps it is well that it should not be vulgarised, and that there should be one little spoli of earth left in all its nativo simplicity " far from tho madding crowd." OUR PARTY won Id have afforded many a sketch for the caricaturist, and plenty of food for humour. "The merry jeßt went round," nor did we lack song, whose roughness was uoUenod by the motion ef the vessel through the water, and by the wide expanse around. We were of all sizes and shapes*, and quito representative of a cub outjof Dunedin society- tho merchant and the lawyer, the soft-goods man and tho hard-gaods man. Tobacco and whisky were there, and at leaet one representative of the wattr-drinkws ; if there were publicans, I doubt isofc there were one or two Pharisees (who, however, wouldn't "break the Sabbath" by going up the Lake). We had a poraistent en« surer against accidents — two doctors and — an undertaker ! What more could we wont — ladiea ? Well, there were a few (Loo few) of them. Children? Well, bless their little hearts, (.here were some of them too ; and as for the effects of the Sabbath trip I can only speak for myself. I went, to church in the evening with a heart softened and filled with reverence and gratitude to the " Giver of all Good " for euoh glorious sights, and whether they were evolved by natural law, or designed and perfected step by step by an intelligent mind, the result ia much tbe samo : they sire there, «nd my responsive eye and heart are there, and I am coaaoious of a chord, being touched that vibratos a woolly through my bei<v with " issue of completed cade^cea." Par* n, my friends, and a trace to moralising, j. must

sum up by saying that here in this beautiful region is employment for the active-minded of all ages and tastes. The artist and the amateur ; the sportsman, for there are quail and pheasants to shoot in plenty, and splendid trout (some of them 141b weight) to fiah for ; the pedestrian and alpine climber; the bather and the boating man; the rider and the reader; the vigorous athlete and the valetudinarian ;— all "sorts and conditions of men," except the degraded sensualist, can find congenial employment here. THE FUTURE of the place depends only on its being known. Mr Conyers and the Waimea Rail way Company will do their best by cheap railway fares and comfortable carnages to make the journey easy. I can say with truth that after doing some 500 miles by land and | water, from Saturday morning till Monday night, I felt leas fatigue in returning home, thankß to thos^ luxurious American carriages (bless Uncle Sam !), than I often do after an ordinary day's work. The people of Queenstown must do the rest, by providing Buitablo accommodation for different clauses at reasonable charges, including ponies and guides, and by constant and judicious advertising All Chriotohurch, all JL)unedin, }J1 luvercar. gill, nsy, all New Zealand and al ' Auiitmlia would visit Lake Wakatipu »t least once a year, if they only knew, and the exponßd dii not stand in the way. For the present, with no little ragrafc, 1 must say ! fsrowelHoitall,and, like the immortal Wegg, I drop into poetry once more : Farewell— a word that must be and hath been ; A sound that makes us linger— yet, farewell.