MANAPOURI AND TE ANAU TO MILFORD SOUND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2242, 18 February 1897, Page 54

MANAPOURI AND TE ANAU TO MILFORD SOUND.

A FEW PRACTICAL NOTES FOR HOLIDAY-SEEKERS. No. IV. Glade House — not Prospect House, as I have previously erroneously called it —is astir betimes, and, breakfast over, preparations for the start for Sutherland Falls and Milford Sound are aotively atoot. Roes has been engaged by Dr D. and our* New South Wales visitor to take them right through to Milford. The writer and the other male member of our own special party, who, it is supposed, may not reach further than Sutherland Falls, are to be piloted by one of the young Barveys. Mr and Mrs B. determine to accompany the party, and be guided in their walk by ! siroumstances. There is a hot every few miles, «md if the pace of the others proves to be beyond a lady's powers they have plenty of time to make the trip comfortably, at all events to the Beech Huts and Sutherland Falls, on sufficient direction being given them if the rest have to puih on. Those who are new to this sort of thing are eager to be off, bub our guides are more deliberate in their movements, and want to make sure that nothing is forgotten; and the packing of swags has to be carefully done, for much of the comfort of walking depends upon a well-made and com- | fortably-adjusted swag. Ross very kindly makes np mine for me, while Garvey packs up the 71b of oatmeal, 71b of biscuits, &c, which are to constitute our principal tucker, and which he is to carry. We have discarded coats and vests, and our swags haviDg been properly fixed and mutual good-byes said and a photograph of the group taken, we start in high spirits and full of pleasurable anticipations. We have left behind a party of five ladies in care of the only remainIng male member of the steamer's party, our South Australian friend, and we quite underetand that they must all have some mistrust of "jhe staying powers of the city men unused to long and trying walks over mountain pastes, •nd bearing unusual burdens on their backs. THE CLINTON VALLEY. -^ The first part of our journey after crossing the Clinton River at Garvey 's is over a level track through a pretty bit of bush. Tne river flows in tolerably even course on our right, but its pale green waters are churned into foam where ati occasional obstruction presents itself. The walk through the beautiful bush is particularly enjoyable. Trees and plants not usually met with in more eastern parts of the island present themselves, and, although we are now engaged on a steady walk not permitting of stoppages for close examination of these, their presence is none the less remarked upou and a t ource of pleasure to those of us whose tastes lie in this direction. The track, beautiful as it is, with its luxuriant forest growth and its wealth of ferns and moises, does not afford a lull view of the great mountains which flank the valley on either side; bub we presently emerge iuto a cleared space and find we have reached M'Kinnon's hut, which denotes our first mile from Garvey's — such, at any rate, is the distance assigned to it, but, like many another country mile we have traversed, we amile in a superior kind of way and fancy we would nob be far wrong if we doubled the distance. The opening giveß us a splendid view of the mountains on either aide of us, and, confined ag we are in this narrow valley, we are able to realise their great height. But we have not yet gone sufficiently far to see the bold features of the valley in tfceir most striking aspect* aud we aeain push

on througu tae i>ush, until after a walk of about t'aree hours we reach MID-CAMP, distant six or seveu milcH from our starting point. It is yet quite early, between 10 and 10.30, but Ross aud Gtrvey had gone on to boil the billy and lay the table m the hut Wo have been counselled by Ross during our walk to " take it easy," and as will be seen by the time taken we have not unduly pushed ourselves on o.ir first stage, although notwithstanding the moderate pace we have made wo are glad of a halt and rest, and we throw down our swags with manifest relief. Mid-camp is a good substantial hut, fitted with half a dozen bunks in its principal room, and with the usual big opeu fireplace. In the bunks a good supply of beechtops take the place of mattresses, and a very good substitute they are. Partitioned off at one cud of the hut i? a separate apartment for the use of ladies who may make the trip, with several bunks similarly made up. We find on our arrival that the billy is boiling, and tea being made, we enjoy the refreshment prepared for u». We have not long eat down, when Mr and Mrs B. make their appearance, and the lady is received with applause and congratulated on having accomplished the first stage of the trip in practically the same time as the re«t of us. After a short rest our swags are again strapped on, and we make a fresh start at 11 o'clock. Our next halting place is the hut at Lake Mintato, at the foot of the Clinton Saddle, and distant about seven miles. The part of the valley tbrougb which we now pass is very line,- a good deal of the walking being through more open country, trorn which an uninterrupted view of the mountains on each aide of us is obtained. The season has been favourable for the melting of the snow, and except in shady gullies and crevices and at the tops of the peaks there is not much left. The precipitous sides of the mountains, bare and serrated with the wear and tear of ages, and with innumerable streams of snow-fed water finding their way te the Clinton in a straight descent for hundreds of feat, rise almost from our very feet an the valley narrows. We are all very much interested in our surroundings as we steadily pursue our way. We cross Pompolona creek by means of the trunks of two fallen trees, on which cross pieces of wood hava been nailed, make our way over a great accumulation of boulders and debris which fill up a considerable part of the creek bed, and on through au open space of country, in which the pure little native violet and other flowers indigenous to these regions are blooming in profusion. Shortly after crossing the creek we pass some ice caves, which are worth visiting, to the left oE and not far distant from the track, but as it is beginning to seem probable that we shall all ba able to stand the walk over the saddle to the Beech Huts, it is considered prudent to go straight on and postpone a visit to the ics caves until our return. We have been steadily ascending since the morning, but almost imperceptibly until we get within a couple of miles of Lake Mintaro, when the track is again ! through bu«h aud the climbing somewhat steeper. We pass a tiny sheet of water called Like Urquhart, and learn that it was named after a visitor who had essayed the walk over to the Beech Huts, but on reaching this point had lain down exhausted, his legs having given way. He, however, afterwards reached the Mintaro hut, and subsequently did a lot of prospecting work in the Clinton valley. We push our way through the short intervening piece of bush track, aud emerging therefrom at 2.30, after a three hours' walk from Mid-camp, we see before us our next halting place. LAKE MINTARO. This pretty little sheet of water, situated right at the foot of the Clinton saddle, ( looks temptingly cool to the whole of ua »• wa m»,ka our way to *ha

I hut door, tired and perspiring. We had * pushed on rapidly for the last mile or two, and > as we reckoned we had ample time to have a refreshing dip botore the lady member of our walking party arrived on the scene we undressed and plunged in without more ado. Rots > had warned us not to stay in long, but the advice { was unnecessary. The water was icy cold, and a couple of plunges beneath the surface were quite as much as any of u« could stand. We quickly dried and drcsied ourselves, and our guides having by this time got our dinner ready we have settled down to do full justice to the meal wheu Mr and Mis B. make their appearance. We testify our appreciation of the walk- 1 ing powers of the lady by a further round of applause, and we all enjoy the refreshing tea and other good things our guides have laid out forus The prospect of our getting over the saddle and reaching the Beech Hutt before dark having been discussed, the momentous question is settled by Ross saying we have all walked so well that he believes we can do the rest of the distance without knocking up. We are warned, however, that we have a very stiff climb before us, and that it will take at least four hours' steady walking before we reach our destination. We learn that we are at pressnt at an altitude of about 1950 ft above sea level, of which we have aseeuded about 1350 ft since leaving the head of the lake in the morning, and that w<P are now about to ascend a further height of 1400 f t; while in our tramp to the Beech Huts , in the Arthur Valley we shall descend 2600 ft. The ascent of 1400 ft and the descent of 2600 ft on the other side means a walk of about three miles and a-half, principally orer rouga bush tracks. As it is going to take four hours to do three miles and a-half the reader will see that mere , mileage in such a trip as this docs not give the uninitiated any idea of what ho is undertaking. CLIMBING THE 6ADDLE. Oar swags again shouldered and strapped we leave the hut in twos. The doctor and hm friend are first off, my friend and I follow, having been put oa the right track after crossing the Clinton on a fallen tree, and Mr aud Mrs B. and the guides are to bring up the rear in that order. We quickly find that our work has begun in earnest as we make ouc way up the steep bush track, over roots of trees, up precipitous little pieces of rock, now enlisting the aid of a friendly branch, anon resorting to hands and knees, with frequent short rests to recover breath, but steadily getting higher and higher. We had left Mintaro at 3 o'clock, and at 4 had made splendid progress, emerging as we did about} this time out of the bush liae. The vegetation had been changing, and was now of a distinctly alpine order. Celmisias, Ranunculus lyalli, ourisias, and other interesting specimens were temptingly inviting attention, and, as we climbed utill Higher, the pineapple-topped dracophjllum and other comparative strangers made their appearance. We were now overtaken by Ross and Garvey, and decided to wait a &horb while for Mr and Mrs 8., as it was.j manifest the latter must be tiring in this trying ! climb after a walk already sufficiently loDg for a lady. We h»d not very long to wait, however, for our fciends were soon seen emerging from the bush, and after a, few minutes further struggle Mrs B , with a little assistance from Ross, reached our resting place temporarily exhausted, but sbill full of spirit. A short rest and we resume our climb, and finally reach the actual summit, where M'Kinnon erected his cairn of stones, at 4.30, or an hour and a-half afler leaving Mintaro. This is admitted by Roes to be really good work, and we are granted a freo hour for a spell and to enable us to thoroughly appreciate the grandeur of the scene spread | before us and examine the beautiful flowers and plants with which we are surrounded. It was no part of my intention, when I set out to pen these short papers, to indulge- in descriptive

writing, and I am not going to commence j now. Indeed, no pen could possibly do justice to the # MAGNIFICENCE OF THE SCENERY I which meets the eye from the top of this mountain pass. Ou a clear day such as that with which we were favoured it makes a vivid impression on the mind, and the dullest ol' mortals could not fail to feel its influence. Ou the one band the great mountains at the head of the Clinton Valley with their snow and glacier-fed river aDd streams ; on the other the Arthur Valley, 2600 ft bdow us, terminating in snowtopped mountains of great altitude, with bluegreen patches here and there, denoting the gUcier products of long-past acres stiU'fultilling their share in Nature's greab and mysterious j work. We are all deeply impressed with the magnificence of the scene, aud we turn from its contemplation at the invitation of Ross to the alpine forms of vegetation with which the ground is carpeted. We fiud the little pink i drossera — a strange little vegetable trap for the ! i unwary insect which alights en its little dew- ] like but gummy globules — busy at its curious work ; bright red little oval berries grow thickly ou a small plant hardly raised above the surface of the grouud. whose botanical name I cannot give ; while Robs searches for a little patch of edelweiss, whose whereabouts he had on a previous occasion discovered, and which he is fortunate in, finding. Celmisias were flowering in the greatest profusion, but , the Ranunculus lyalli was only found in bloom m one or two small patches, its season being almost over. We spent a very pleasant hour, and at 5.30 commenced the descent into tup Arthur Valley. It is uunecesnary for me to say much about this heavy piece of walking through an irregular and precipitous track. It will readily be believed that we wera all pretty tired when at 7.15 THE BKF.CH HUTS met the eyes of the individual members of the party as they successively made their appearance. Ross and Garvey bad, as usual, gone on ahead to make the uaual preparations, and on our arrival we found a bright aud cheerful fire and tea ready. It was surprising how quickly a rest put us into good trim again, and we were quite lively when, within quarter of an hour after our arrival, Mr aud Mrs B. made their appearance. I need scarcely lay that the arrival of the lady was the signal tor more applause and congratulation* on her really I wonderful walking. My friend and I also had ' done so well that n, visit to the SUTHERLAND FALLS that night (distant a mile and a-half through the bush) was sertoualy proposed. We reckoned we i could get there betore dark, hare a good look at the falls, and be back at the Beech Huts by 9 o'clock. With this accomplished, we fancied we ' could ou the following day go right through to Milford Sound, and return to the Beech Huts by 7or 8 o'clock p.m. The projected SutherI land Falls visit was hurriedly discussed and • decided on, and after x cup n? tea aud something to eat we started at 7.45, reached the Falls about 8 20, and saw this magnificent spectacle in the waning rveuiug light. We, approached within about 50 or 60 reet of the Falls, and felt the cooling influence of the spray which saturates everything within a considerable radius. Owing to the dry weathor which prevailed, the body of water coming down the Falls was not so great as is frequently the cuse, but the sight was a sufficieutly I impreesive one, and will loug be recujtcbered jby all of us. We retraced our steps through the bush, and reached the huts shortly after 9 o'clock, having, so far as our guides knew, been the first party to walk right through in one I day from the head of Te Anau Lake and thereafter go on the aame night to the Falls. But we certainly do not recommend anyone else to make the attempt. It was only done by the writer because he had to do it in that time or not at all. Having got oar wet thing" off, we were soon all comfortably disposed of in the beech-top filled bunks of the two huts, — of the necessity for the Government building a new hut I shall have something to ! say later on — and after an hour's talk all round i we settled down to sleep, with the knowledge that we had to rise at 4.30 on the following day in order to m ike an early start ou our Milford Sound trip. (To be continued.)