FROM EAST TO WEST AND WEST TO EAST.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 81

FROM EAST TO WEST AND WEST TO EAST.

SOME FINE DOMINION SCENERY. (By G. Fenwick.) NO. IV. WAIHO GORGE TO KARANGARUA. "We walk in the shadowy plaoe of pines, The wind went whispering here and there Like whispers in a house of prayer. The sunshine stole in narrow lines. A shadowy land of deep Tepose! Here when the loud nor'-wester blows, How sweet, to soothe a trivial care, r The pine trees' ever murmured pTayerl —Ahne Glenntc Wilson. Eight miles from Gunns we reach the Forks Hotel, so named because it is at the-junction of the road to Okorito, distant about five miles —Okorito famed of old for the rich gold obtained on its beaches in the late sixties. The Forks Hotel is owned by Mr F. Heveldt, and among the passengers in our coach was his wife, from ■ whom we learnt that she and her husband were descendants of twp - of the old Martin's Bay families, whoso patient struggles against adverse fortune is matter of common knowledge among Otago and Southland people. At the Forks there is a white wood pigeon which has been about the neighbourhood for seven or eight years. It has been by common consent left unmolested, like Pelorus Jack and the yellow rata, and has secured for itself from the people of the Westland forest an affection which it is to be hoped will continue to shield it from those who carry guns. In the bank close to the Okorito road there is a tunnel used for storage purposes which is said to be a spectacle of great brilliance, for its sides and roof are at nighttime illuminated by thousands of glowworms. • We part from our coaching companion, Mrs Heveldt, with pleasant farewells, and we do so with musical honours, doubtless to the surprise of herself and those who are gathered around. The* honours are set to the well-known air "For he's a jolly good fellow," and the words are Maori. I do not vouch for the accuracy of the translation into the native tongue, but they did duty at Greymouth on more than one occasion when the full strength of the Press Association members desired to show their appreciation of some of the townspeople of "the Grey." This musical appreciation of our We6t Coast friends ran as follows, the Maori words being vouched for by some North Island pressmen :'— Tenci taungata parawatu Tenei taungata parawatu Tehei taungata parawatu, Kiai, kiai, kiai. And so on ad lib. The words may or may not be right, but at any rate they answered the purpose, and the result was smiling faces and general hilarity and abandon. Leaving the Forks Hotel after pleasant afternoon tea, of which we were pressed to partake by our hospitable companion of the coach, now surrounded by her children (one of them named Francis Joseph, after the glacier), we again enter the bush, and follow the course of the Okorito River until we reach LAKE MAPOUIUKA, distant three miles from the Forks. There is- a deserted mining township on its shores, in days long gone by instinct with life and prosperity, for rich gold was secured from the shallow workings. There is a reminder of those old days in a curious companionship between a Chinaman —Sim Hong—and an old miner from the Emerald Isle, and their joint home still remains in the occupation of these old friends. For over 30 years Sim Hong has had an affection for his mate. They worked together as miners for many long years, and as advancing infirmities rendered the white member of the partnership less and less able to battle against the buffet*, of the world, the affection of his faithful Chinese mate grew stronger. Between an old-age pension and the earnings of Sim Hong from occasional road work, a measure of comfort is secured for the pair, and it may be assumed that the solicitude of the latter for the welfare of his old friend will not relax as the years draw on. Fine views are obtained from Lake Mapourika of Mounts Cook and Tasman, and also of the Kaiser Fritz Range, and in the waters of the lake on sunny days there are beautiful reflections of the mountains named. The road 6kirts the shore of the lake to its end, and the whole scene is very beautiful and striking. Shortly after leaving the lake, settlement begins to show itself in open clearings an<J homesteads Two miles before we reach Waiho Gorge, the dwelling of Mr W. Patrick (a fellow traveller on the coach) comes > into view, Mr Patrick has a large holding on which he runs cattle and sheep. We were courteously invited into his house, where Mrs Patrick quickly

furnished us with afternoon tea. We had a pleasant quarter of an hour before proceeding on the final stage of our journey for the day. The Totara River is reached and crossed not far from Mr Patrick's. It is unbridged, and is occasionally in high flood through melting snow, but quickly subsides. We enter the bush again for a short spell, and emerging from it a grass flat is crossed and the WAIHO RIVER COMES INTO VIEW with Graham's new accommodation house. The distance from Lake Mapounka is about nine miles. The Franz Josef Glacier shows itself above the tops of the trees. We drive up to the door of the house about 6.30, glad to have reached our destination for the day. Considerable enterprise is being displayed in a big enlargement of this comfortable rest-ing-place after a long coaching journey. Formerly the house stood on a raised part of the bed of the river, but owing to inconvenience from the flood-waters coming at times right up to the floor, it was decided to remove it to higher ground, and a fine site was chosen. The work of removal was a heavy undertaking, ana was accomplished by the Messrs Graham without displacing an article in the building and without interfering even with the accommodation provided for Visitors. Screw jacks were used for lifting the house on to the substantial runners which had been placed in position for the removal. These were on a somewhat steep grade, the height of the trestles at the top end being about 25ft. Hand winches and cables were employed for haulage, and as the grade was about 1 in 10 it will be easily understood that the labour involved was very great, and the progress, necessarily, somewhat slow. In six days, however, the whole distance, about 14 chains, was covered, and the house safely placed in its new position. Since then an additional storey has been added, and the house is now a substan-tial-looking building of 24 rooms. So that it will be seen visitors to the Waiho may reckon on being well and comfortably accommodated. THE FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER is about three miles distant, an easy hour's walk, and on the way, distant from the house about one mile, are the hot springs in the bed of the Waiho River. Here a comfortable bathroom has been erected, and the water conveyed to it by pipes. On the morning after our arrival, though it was unfortunately wet, we arranged with Alec Graham to accompany us to the Franz Josef, and a most interesting visit it proved to be. This great and remarkable glacier has been too often described to make it necessary for me to say anything further about its special features. It may be of interest to mention, however, that the terminal face of the glacier is receding. It is nominally progressing at the rate of about one foot per day, but this progress is exceeded by the rapidity with which the ice-blocks break off the terminal face. Up to about eight years ago the Franz Josef was steadily receding. Then it made a sudden forward movement, and continued to advance for a period of six years, during which time it moved forward about 50 chains, and raised itself about 200 ft in height, right into the vegetation on the mountain side, and tore away a number of the lower trees. Thereafter it again commenced to recede, and is still doing so. There are plain indications that its terminal face was at one time much lower down than it is at present, (for its extreme point at that time is clearly marked on a rock face 30 chains from the terminal point of the glacier where the river now escapes. After a half-hour's interested inspection of-'this great glacier the weather compelled us to return, and we crossed the wire suspension bridge, and made our way home by way of the hot springs. It seems extraordinary that these should exist at the side of a river which has come direct from a glacier only a short distance away. But so it is. The water from the spring is brought by a pipe to a comfortable bathroom which has been erected by the Tourist Department, and doubtless at some future time this will be more used than it is at present.

At Waiho Gorge we have reached the furthest point to which the coach can come, and we have now either to walk the next stage of 30 miles to Scott's, at Karangarua, or to take advantage of the horses which are available for the purpose. My companion (Mr Kerr, of Timaru) and I decide to make use of the horses; but a Christchurch lady who has been staying at Waiho Gorge for some weeks, sketching in the neighbourhood, and who is to accompany us across the Copland Pass to the Hermitage, announces her intention of walking the whole distance. All arrangements for the start are made, and the following morning at half past 6 Alec Graham and Miss A. leave for their 30-mile tramp through the bush. My companion and I follow about 8 o'clock, accompanied by one of Graham's assistants, who is to bring back the horses after we have crossed the Copland River, on the second day. After leaving Waiho, three miles or so of flat country are traversed, portions of which are being cleared for*dairy farming. Here, as at other points on our journey, the splendid bush of this great forest area must inevitably give place to the settlement of the land. It arouses feelings of sadness to think that much of this beautiful forest' must pass away, like the forests of the dairying districts of the North Island in recent years. How well the Hon. W. Pember Reeves has expressed those feelings in his beautiful poem "The Passing of the Forest." Let me quote two verses, for they are, I think, very beautiful: — Gone js the forest world, its wealth of life, Its jostling, crowding 1 , thrusting, struggling race, Creeper with creeper, bush -with, bush at strife, "Warring and wrestling for a breathing space; Below, a realm with tangled rankness rife,

Aloft, tree columns, shafts of stateliest grace. Gone is the forest nation. None might stay; Giant and dwarf alike have passed away. Gone are the forest birds, arboreal tihinge, Eaters of honey, honey-sweet of song, The tui and the bellbird—he who sings That brief, rich music we would fain prolong; Gone the wood pigeon's sudden whirr of wings, The daring robin, all unused to wrong. Wild, harmless, hamadryad creatures, they Lived with their trees, and died, and passed away. Crossing a small stream, an ascent is commenced, and we rise through the bush to a height of about 1500 ft, and, descending again, the Omoeroa Creek is reached and distance about eight miles from Waiho. Another hill of about the same height is ascended, and we then descend into a valley through which runs the Waikukupa River. The word is easily and familiarly turned into "Cuppy Cup " by local people. This river is bridged. The bush track which we have been traversing since leaving Waiho has afforded glimpses of some of the finest scenery we have met with in the whole of our journey. Among the most beautiful points is a gorge on the mountain track, about 3 miles after leaving the Waiho bridge, in which there is a wealth of foliage of indescribable beauty and luxuriance. The road at this point is steep and winding, and in places we agreed that it was as striking and as beautiful as the finest part of the Otira Gorge. About six miles up from the bridge is situated the Fritz Glacier. Again ascending about 1500 ft, through a continuation of the beautiful bush we have passed through all morning, a descent brings us to the farm of Mr F. Williams. Here there is a considerable area of cleared ground, and a good deal of stock is raised by Mr Williams and one other settler, their stock being driven to the Hokitika market. The land about here, right to the Cook River, is quite flat and of good quality. We reach the Cook River (distant from Waiho about 22 miles) in a deluge of rain, and the horses somewhat reluctantly enter the turbulent waters. The river-bed is fairly broad, and the river runs in several channels, but all are crossed without any difficulty, although at times the crossing is dangerous. We continue our ride through flat and, in some parts, swampy country, but all good grazing land, for a distance of six miles, when Scott's farm and accommodation house is reached, and a welcome shelter it proved after our very wet day's experience since leaving the Waiho. We had passed Miss A. and our guide some distance back, but it was not long ere they followed us into our haven of rest, Miss A. having walked the whole distance of 30 miles, a good part of it in a steady rain—a very fine exhibition of physical endurance. Nor did she seem unduly fatigued, but quickly joined the rest of the party at the supper table, where we all felt we were being rewarded for the exertions of the day.