MY EASTER HOLIDAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 51

MY EASTER HOLIDAY.

By Tomiit.

Having the unwonted luxury of a Friday* to-Tuesday holiday at Easter, I cast about for some plan for getting all the available time

in to the best advantage, and decided on a trip up the Waitaki. Having obtained a bikej I caught the northern express on FriQay, taking a ticket .to JPalmerston (return fare, 3s 6d). Oil leaving the train at Palin.erston"l first lunched, and then started" off fluietly along what is called the Bushy road, en route for Qamaru. All along the Bushy toad I had real good going, my first obstacle being the Shag River, which 1 .ralked over on a footbridge, carrying the bike on my 'shoulder, and wading a creek a few chains farther on. Thence from Bushy the road, .which till now had been almost level, assumed a somewhat hilly nature, with a good, stiff "down-grade on to the beach at Shag Toint. ■This is a grand little run down, but, unfortunately, I had to pull up short and wade through a couple of thousand sheep. Having got past the_station at Shag Point, and ov.3r the hill — a light :>ne, the road takes a long level-wind-along the coast. The.rugged rocks, with "the surf dashing over them, form a very fine Bcene, and one on which one wishes to linger. As I had plenty of time before i me I took this (the beach road) vny leisurely, sometimes pedalling quietly along, _and now and then sweeping the horizon for a sight of a steamer or other craft ; also taking a good look at the clusters of houses around Shag Point, the farthest off land I could -see. This is a magnificent bit of road for scenery, and well worth a visit for itself. However, I had to get on, and after passing away from -the beach, and crossing the line again. I soon regained the main road, which up till now I had avoided owing to the hills on the Horse Range. Along the road from here up to Hampden is all good farm-land, and the stacks were pretty frequent, although the grass seemed to be suffering somewhat from want of rain. Feeling rather empty on arriving at Hampden, 1 got a glass of lemonade and a few biscuits, and then settled clown in earnest to the road. Over the Waianakaroa Bridge, which, with its stone balustrades and old stone mill, looks exactly like a bit of "England set down in a hollow, I reached the foot of the steepest hill I had to get over. !Not being out for hard work I dismounted here, filled my pipe, and had a good smoke, and then pushed the machine up the Hill for over a mile. Reaching the top I again got into the saddle, and did a bit of pretty fair speeding along the top. Up Jiere I am told is Otepopo, but I saw very little of it ; in fact, I passed it without being \ aware that I had got to it. Thence, leaving I Moeraki on the right I sailed along, mostly down easy gradients, until I began io get 'amongst the houses again, and found myself at Maheno. AH along farm after farm

-opened out on .my view, making the trip an Exceedingly pleasant one. As, however, evening was beginning to approach, I skipped on through the Kakanui Flat, noting, by the -way, that the grain stacks were larger and-f-ar thicker than before, showing the richness of the land. Threshing mills were lmm-

ming here and there, and the air generally seemed to smell of harvest time. Leaving* the flat I began once more to get amongst

the hills, metalled roads taking the place of gravel and clay. -Some patches were very .rough and bouldery, but all in a fair state. A. good long-walk up-hill* again, and then I remounted, resolved not .to dismount again •untiri reached Oamaru. -"Alas 'for good intentions! Another mob of sheep, and this time I- had to wait till they passed. Again mounting, I cycled quietly .along the toy) till Oamaru lights began to shine, and keeping a good look-out I soon -espied" the old windmill, and. then putting on full steam ahead I reached the town rather stiff and tired. After li-a I strolled round the town, but soon turned in.

Up in the morning, I cleaned my machine, which had picked up a good deal of dust and dire during the preceding day, and after a hearty breakfast left Oamaru, at peace with all "the world. Following the main north road out of Oamaru, a stretch of road as •level as a bowling green, I at length reach Pukeuri Junction and turn off into the Wai-

taki Biver bed, The immensity of this bit of country must -be seen to be appreciated. -The road, a good gravel road, crossed here and there by very small rivulets, runs up the river many miles, and not a hill to be ridden up or down exceeding a chain in length. On the ■left-hand the hills xise up above you, and on top of them the rolling down lands stretch

away, away, right back to the Kakanui. On the right the land is aSiflat as a pancake, forniing the well-known JPapakaio plains ; and straw stacks, newly threshed, dot the paddocks here and there, telling of a harvest over, and a bountiful one "at that. • Smiling homesteads, plump cattle, sleek horses, and fat sheep are here in profiision, making- the scene as much like an JSnglish one as jit is possible to conceive. 'At the back of the whole smiling panomara runs (out of sight here) the mighty Waitaki, the river of snow, bounded by some of the steepest and most rugged hills one can wish to see. ' This alone is well worth coining to see, and as I crawl along the road, oftcner peeping through the glass at the scenery than mounted on my Wheel, I thanb toy stars for the chance of -such a peep at nature^ On through to Georgetown the road is good, but sfter crossing -the Awamoko Greek you get into the reaL bed of the river: From here till near Duntroon the road is- mostly of*' a surface formation : the flat, gravelly nature of the land forming^a perfect road-bed for heavy traffic, and side paths everywhere affording fair ground for pedalling Here, too, the tourist gets close to the huge water race ' supplying Oamaru with -water. All along the hill it winds like a huge serpent, until crossing, the 'Awamoko it runs clo&e to the road. The land here is not nearly so good as the gravel is too close to the surface, and it is much broken up by waterholes and rough patches. . Here, too, you begin to realise that you are'nearing "the Waitaki River, and the sound of the current can be heard above the roar of the water in the race. This must be a long race, as it starts about four miles below Duutrflon, in the Waitaki River, and you are then, about 25 miles from Oamaiu. As the country here is rather less interesting, I travelled on, arriving at Duntroon for dinner. This place boasts of several stores, school, railway station, with station master in residence, two churches, — a fine stone one belonging to the Presbyterians and a temporary one where Anglioan services are 'held, a chemist's shop, resident Presbyterian minister, two -first-class pubs, hall, public library, etc., and two or three hours can be put ir> here comfortably. After dinner I went on for Kurow. The road improves in character again after crossing the Maerewhemia bridge — a very fine one built for combined road and railway traffic— and is fairly good till within a mile or two of Otekaike, where I met with a very rough piece of road, still in the contractor's hands. Here the road is ploughed and scooped, and laid out in heaps, rendering riding very difficult for at least a mile. I couldn't help wondering why the County Council allowed a- mile of road to' be in formation at once, as I thought it might easily have been finished in flections. Otekaike apparently boasts of a good stone quarry, as 1 saw a large number

of blocks of very good stone; squared out and piled at the station ready for loading up. In fact, all along the road for miles good building stone crops cut, exactly similar to the Avell-known Oamaru stone, although apparently slightly yellow in colour. Leaving Otekaike I had to cross the river of that name and carry the machine, as no road bridges are provided. I got over dry shod, but here and at two other places I should be inclined to tackle the railway bridges in wet weather, as the road and rail follow each other all the way. Here, two, the flat extends up to the left, showing the Otekaike residences in the distanoe. This is a fine place, lam told, but did not go up to investigate, as it lies about three miles off the main road, and I was not quite sure of my way. Nothing else worth noting appeared iilong the road except that after leaving Otekaike the rolling downs gave place to rugged tussock and rough country.

I arrived at Kurow in time for tea and a stroll round. This is a lively little place, but space forbids me entering into particulars. T had a look over part of the big bridges over the Waitaki. These two combined are almost a mile in length, I am told, but did not verify the information. The Waitaki rolls along here with a thundering noise, and the water appears to be of a bluish white tinge — not at all clear, like ordinary river water, and its width and volume afe immense. I found good accommodation here, and the charges were very moderate. I slept the sleep of the just that night, and took a long lie in on Sunday morning. After breakfast on Sunday I walked down to the parsonage where the An- . gliean services are held — in a huge room attached to, or, rather, part of, the parsonage itself. This is one of the show places here, the parsonage being built out of the money bequeathed for that purpose by the late Mrs R. Campbell, of Otekaike. The singing of the Easter hymns was very hearty, and the sermon good, and the congregation seemed to be in hearty unison with their vicar and each other. After dinner I rode back to Oamaru in time for tea and Festival Evensong at St. Luke's, where I again heartily enjoyed the service, the mujiic being equal to that heard in our city churches, and the sermon a plain, practical, and eloquent one. On Monday, the sports pressed their claims on me; but thinking of the Botanical Gardens for which Oamaru is famed, I strolled around them, one of the gardeners giving me every attention, for which I hereby tender him rry hearty thanks. After lunch I made for home, and took it quietly and easily until Palmerston was reached, in good time for tea. As 1 had an hour to spare J strolled around that place, but it was very quiet until express time, when a crowd gathered to see the express como in. Making my way back with them, I got my bike checked (for a bob] and rejoined the train, thus escaping the hills between that place and Dunedin. I had a good look ab the country, managed to get to church as usual on Easter Day, and had a real good time, and my advice to anyone who gets the chance to do so is to follow out my programme next Easter, when 1 ,am sure they will come back with a good stock of -health laid in, as l.did.