THE HAAST PASS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 80

THE HAAST PASS.

EXPERIENCES OF DRS RILEY AND MACKELLAR. Achievements by field and flood, excursions into dangerous • countries, assaults of difficult mountains, run in epidemics. Of late, for instance, so many men hava stormed Mount Cook that an ascent o£ Mount Cook threatens soon to become w mere banality. When an inaccessible mountain has been climbed, the Tourist Department ought to send up nien with explosives to render the mountain inaccessible again. When a difficult thing has been done often, no on© wants to do it any more, because many pleasant things to do are also quite easy. The country about the Haast Pass is not the cloud region it was. The first "ordinary tourist" went through, it some few weeks ago; and already others are pressing on. the heels of that accomplishment. Drs Riley- and Mackellar hays', t just returned from ' a trip- through Wcstr land, via Wanaka, the-Haasir Pass. CookY River, Waiho, Gorge," Ross, and Hokitika, •and f.o home' through Ihe-'Otira Gorge." /Ac-*. cording to rumour ihey nad many'adventures, and accordingly a. renorter; of theOtago Daily Times .called on Dr Riley.. Medical etiquette — the new medical, etir. quette— is rigid.; but a medical man niay iaill profess political opinions, admit religious principles, of describe a picnio without loss of dignity or damage to the susceptibilities of his professional brethren.. As to these adventures most discussed by rumour — the *tory of a medico who, having been washed away by a fierce torrent and cast up on an unknown strand, forthwith annexed the handiest house and proceeded to assume possession of the absent? owner's soup and trousers — as to these Dr Riley would say nothing for publication. Instead, he gave this orderly narrative or the journey he made with Dr Mackellaiv: — " Wo do not consider the route at present suitable? for the ordinary tourist, mainly on account of the possibility of delay b^ flooded rivers. The roughest- pjart of the track is through the Haast Pass; thati through Westland is in excellent order. From Makajora,. at the- Head of Lake Wanaka, to Waiho Gorge, 10 miles fron* the Ross coach route, a total distance ofi about 150 miles, travellers must ride inf single file owing to the narrowness of the? path. The only exceptions to this are occasional crossings of river flats and two short spins of a few miles alonjj the beach 1 * Numerous crosses and discs mark the route*, but it is almost imperatively necessary to have a guide as the fords are constantly changing, and unless one knows the 'lie.' of the country it is easy to miss the entrance into the forest after crossing a. wide: river flat. The cost of guide and" horses' ' is considerable, even at the ordinary rate of 10s per day for the guide, and 10s for each horse, simply because the return journey has to be paid for. . - If one travels fop', four days one pays lor eight. Even -thenthe guide may nor be a great gainer, as he> • tai-ss the risk of, delay on the return jour;-, ney. In retracing his steps from Cook's River our guide was delayed for two day» by 9, flood in the Karangahua." And as to the scenery, doctor? " Oh, as for the scenery, it is beyonjl compare; no mere adjectives can do iti justice. From beginning to end the tour; ?s a consfanf. fucco.^'oh o: mat»nir'cerit vistas and delightful surprises. The best of itf undoubtedly is tho Haast Pass, the day's journey from the Haast to the Mahitahf, and the tract from Cook's River to thei Waiho, a distance of 17 miles between the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Instead 08 making one long trip, which may run into three or four weeks, nothing could be more delightful than a short trip from Lake Wanaka to the Haast and back, or a coach) journey from Ross to the Waiho River* and then by horse to the Fox glacier, returning either by the same route or by the more adventurous route via the Copland River, Fitzgerald Pass, and the Hermitage at Mount Cook. In either case the verjs pick of the scenery would be seen. Ladies could easily make the journey from Wanaka: to the mouth of the Haast, provided new; huts were built, the track put in order*, and better accommodation provided at tho Haast. The two existing huts, eight miles apart, are miserable in the extreme, beingi only Bft by Bft, and destitute of doors. One 1 contains a bed of birch twigs, which almost* monopolise the floor space. The other has no sleeping accommodation but the bare earth. Mosquitos caused no inconvenience*,, as there had been a few sharp frosts previous to our arrival." " The bird life was unhappily disappoint ing. Only one or two pairs of paradise ducks were seen on this side, of the Haast? Pass. On the other side^ they- were much} - more plentiful. On the river flats of West* land one or two large flocks were seen* Grey ducks were by no means commonV though one very large flock was swimming; on a lagoon near the mouth of the Haast.. One pair of Blue Mountain ducks showed themselves on. the Blue River, between th*

Haast and tho Mahitahi. They were esceedingly tame, an<l were absolutely undisturbed by passers-by. There is no doubt that this beautiful variety is getting very scarce, and will soon become extinct in spits of protection. Protection and close seasons matter little in the wilds of the West Coast. If a settler or roadman is short of fresh meat, he slicots for food, and perhaps one can hardly blame, him. The case is far different with the pot hunters -of the town, who make up parties of three or four, shoot any number of ducks and pigeons, from 100 to 250, and then crow as if they had performed some wonderful feat of skill. Pigeons are very plentiful this year, more so than they have been for a long time; they were constantly seen from the track. Kakas are getting scarce as compared with pigeons. The sound of the parakeet was seldom heard, though they are said to be common about the Waiho gorge. Robins and fantails are much rarer than in tho Catlins district. Only one or two robins were seen on the whole tour. The increasing scarcity, of bird life in the West Coast is generally ascribed by the settlers to the depredations of the weasels, "which probably prefer the delicate flesh of birds to that of the coarser rabbit.

" One- of the most refreshing and charm-ing-sights .of the whole tcur was tho Waikonatti Lagoon. The shootings-season had jiisJJ. opened,- and from the train one could see the of water -covered by hurftlf-eds' of 'ducks and swans, which had sought shelter from the storms of shot ■which had hissed round their heads a.« they unsuspectingly rose from their sheltered nooks on the Ist of May. One living duck is more beautiful than 50 dead ones." else, doctor?

-mS- ■ - " Thank God for the sanctuaries.'