Winter in the lake Country.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 17

Winter in the lake Country.

Oh, Winter, ruler of the inverted year! I love thee, All unlovely as thou seein'st, and. dreaded as thoti art. .

TO THE -EDITOR.

Sir, — After the Imstle and mental strain of ■city life, nothing can be more refreshing than a sojourn in the picliu-esqtie and peaceful country rormd Lake Wakatipu, where everyone seems Tiappy and contented, and where, people walk through life, instead of tearing through it at a hand gallop, ever jostling for the inside running. Most people are acqtiainted with the appearance 'of the lake and its surroundings during .the summer months, yet how few there are who have ever ventured to explore that region when clad in its winter garb. Having spent the last six months on the Twenty-five Mile Creek, Lake Wakatipu, I have had an opportunity of seeing the country glistening with frost, md at times covered with a snowy mantle. I have come across many photographs of lake scenery which seem to havg been taken either from the deck of a steamer or close to the shore ; but inland no one seems io go, although there are scenes (especially in winter) which would amply repay any photographer, and on the Twenty-five Miie .Creek, about five miles from its mouth, there is a waterfall which I used to take Ihe greatest interest in watching, as it daily changed its appearance and gradually became covered with a mass of icicles, and I often thought, "What a scene, for a. camera. ' Again, about a mile lower down the creek, on a terrace, stands a digger's hut, nestling in a picturesque birch bush, which would also make a charming photograph. Travelling to and fro between Queenstown and Glenorchy, almost everyone seems to patronise the steamer, especially of late, since the fares have been considerably j reduced. I have heard a. good deal about contemplated improvements on the bridle track [ which connects Queenstown with the Head of the Lake, and to my mind it seems a pity that while they are at it they do not endeavour to construct a track which would admit of a buggy or dray being driven along it, and thus satisfactorily connect the homesteads on at least one side of the lake by land as well as by water. This would be an inixnense improvement, especially for winter travelling,- and would be a boon to the inhabitants one and all. During my stay in the Lake district nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality which I received, and winter though it v/as, and hard though was my daily work, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. — I am, etc.,

LIBEKTAS