A ROUND-ABOUT RUN TO NEVIS

Otago Witness, Issue 3808, 8 March 1927, Page 75

A ROUND-ABOUT RUN TO NEVIS

DUNEDIN TO QUEENSTOWN.

By

Peter the Pilgrim.

“ © (For the Otago Witness.) Many readers have heard of the Nevis, but not nearly so many have been there. It is a place not too easy of access, hut there are two ways of reaching it, one from Southland via Garston and one from Otago via Cromwell (and Bannockburn) over the Carrick Range. It has some special features of its own, in that it is a valley to which no mountain pass gives entry, it is a couple of thousand feet above sea-level, owns the quaintest little back-block township in either Otago or Southland, and has three different counties interested in its roadways. Added to this, according to expert opinion, it is the finest unexploited gold dredging field left in Otago or Southland, perhaps m New Zealand. Though The Nevis was my particular objective, it was in a round about way that I got there, and because of this and what I saw en route, I felt it was worth while writing about. I left Dunedin by car on a recent Saturday morning with a friend whose wife and family were at Cromwell and who was taking them thence to Queenstown. From Queenstown we intended crossing by steamer to Kingston and motoring thence to the Nevis via Garston. We found, however, that the S.S. Mountaineer Which was leaving Kingston on the Monday following, could take only two cais, and already‘had her full complement, so we decided to return to Cromwell and go by the other route over the Carrick

Range. , It was a beautifully warm day when we set out from Dunedin, and although it is like using a hackneyed phrase to venture a description of a well-known and oft .travelled route, it may not be out of place to say that there are on the road various points one cannot help admiring, no matter how often they are travelled, provided the weather is good and the sun is warm and genial. First there is the run up to Lookout Point through Caversham, down to Green Island township, along the flat and up the shoulder of Saddle Hill, and down again towards Mosgiel. Here in a ninemile stretch is a variety that would be hard to beat,—city and suburb, village and borough, harbour and hillside, ocean, mountain and plain, each a beautiful picture in itself, and all in a morning’s walk.

Again as one flies along towards Milton, passing through Otokia, crossing the Taieri, scudding along by Waihola, and on through Milburn, one sees other pleasant views of river and lake, willow bordered avenue, hill and plain, and prosperous farming country. The run on to Lawrence again has its picturesque spots, mainly in the Glenore Gorge and in the approach to the town itself, while the road thence to Beaumont provides other very pretty views. Thence on to Raes Junction are more up and downhill stretches very pleasing to the eye. On reaching Roxburgh one notes an ever improving, prosperous little town and district. Later the sight of Fruitlands is a very pleasant contrast to the long run among barren mountain heights, and later still, during the run to Clyde via Earnscleugh through a good area of orchards, one strikes another fine view. Through the Cromwell Gorge one enters a much warmer region, and in the busy’ little borough of Cromwell, now looking better than it ever did in bygone years, one see evidences of a growing tourist traffic in the shingled: and summery flappers along the streets, and in the motor coaches and the hotel, at which one is glad to take a refresher, or enjoy a well served meal.

After a spell for dinner, we left Cromwell at eight p.m. Scudding merrily across the flat, catching gradually darkening glimpses of orchard lands and far-off j farm-steadings, we soon entered the gorge to gain hurried glimpses of huts here and there along the claim sites on the Kawarau, whose darkling waters were seething below us. Speeding along its torturous course we were very glad to leave narrow confined spaces for wider ones. The moon was young and dim, and beyond the rattling cf one or two bridges we crossed, and a shortsighted view of Lake Hayes, there was nothing along the route to rouse or enthuse one. It was remarkably different, however, on the return journey in the daylight. Approaching Lake Wakat'ipu -there was a. distinct change in the atmosphere which became cooler and slightly moist. A short run along from Frankton landed us at- our destination not at all sorry to leave the car. As it was 9.30 p.m. when we arrived there, there was not a great crowd stirring, and it was rather annoying to find that there was no accommodation to be obtained at the hotel where my. friend and family had booked, though a pleasure to find later that the>next hotel I tried was not evercrowded, and to ascertain also that some old Otago.and Southland friends of mine were among its guests. I enjoyed a .very pleasant hour, therefore, before retiring, and ended a perfect day to realise another, though quieter one on the morrow. QUEENSTOWN.

Since six o’clock closing has been introduced, it strikes me that Queenstown is Jess lively at night than it used to be. Every town in New Zealand, however, is in the same position whether large or small, but as I was there only a couple of nights, one of which was no criterion, I may be wrong. Still I have been there eight or nine times since 1906, and a wav back before the war I found it livelier. Lively or not, however, its glori-

ous atmosphere is 'unsurpassable. The town itself is an attractive little place, the gardens are really beautiful, but the lake is its greatest asset. A small launch ran up to the head of the Lake on Sunday at eight o’clock —why not ono or two of the large steamers so that week-end crowds could do a cheap. Saturday to Monday excursion and see more? The little bit of the lake one can see from Queenstown itself is trifling compared with its whole area. One can, of course, walk* to Frankton or in the opposite direction and see more, or if the weather is favourable, one can use an oar and occupy some time pleasantly while gaining a slightly better acquaintance. The S.S.. Mount Earnslaw runs an excursion on Mondays, jjut that means the loss of another day. As the sun was shining rather warmly, a couple „of strolls about the glorious gardens and up and down the little esplanade satisfied me, and in the cool of the evening, in the twilight, an hour’s rowing on the”lake proved very enjoyable. Well, as the afternoon wore on we grew tired of looking at old flappers and young flappers, “silly old sausages’’ and self conscious young bloods, and were glad I to rest in" the hotel. I saw no German I aristocrats nor French folk as I have seen ■ at times of yore, and the only human ■ oddity’ I met was a touring parson who had cultivated a kind of Oxford accent, which made his English the most stilted and peculiar I have ever listened to. I would much sooner 'listen to an Irish brogue or a broad Scotch accent than an exaggeration such as his, which, if considered cultured in England, grates on the ear of a Colonial. Despite the fact that I missed seeing the head of the lake and the splendid views there, and also missed the glorious walk through the forest of birch to Rere Lake, I put in an enjoyable stay all the same, and was well pleased at getting the opportunity to run into Queenstown if nnlv for n Hav.

BACK TO CROMWELL. Monday opened snlendidly,- and in the glorious sunshine, which makes everything look a thousand times better than in gloomy or rainy weather, we started back from Queenstown. We were at the Kawarau falls in no time, and went down to have a look at the dam. It is a splendid piece of engineering work, simple in idea, I> found it different from what 1,-expected. I had imagined that the gates opened out, but found that they slide up and down. There are 10 gates. Each hangs between two concrete piers, the space between pints being about 17 paces. The piers ;.?e 32ft 6in high and 7ft thick; 18ft’ at top and 54ft at base. They protrude beyond the floor of the bridge, which they are carrying, sloping outwardly. A four-wheeled truck hangs by a wire rope on the slope of each pier on the outer side of the bridge. Each of these trucks is loaded with pigiron, and is known ns a counterbalance box. On the inner side of the bridge are the gates. A shaft, carrying a solid cast-iron drum tn either side of each gate, runs along the inner side of the bridge. Round this are ceiled wire ropes which are onerated by winches of a special type, i, the counterbalance boxes being held by | wire ropes running round these drums to take the weight off the winches when the gates are lifted. The gates are flat sheets I like guillotines, but are braced by solid ■ girders of the cantilever type. ' When at this dam, as one gets a close ! view of the Remarkablcs, dark, barren, | deeply grooved and serrated, w : th the double cone at top, and the devils tooth i pick among the saw teeth on their surn- ■ mits, one sees that these mountains are i antlv named.

Flying along beyond the Remarkablcs, | we passed through fertile fields of peas, barlev and wheat, noting particularly some peculiarly terraced areas, a nicely rounded hill, anil the broad sandy bed of the Shotover. wonder what this country has been,’’ said my friend. “Perhaps an ocean bed, though its aspect may be the result of glacial action—l don’t know.” Neither did I, nor did I care. I was enjoying the trip so much that whether the formation was due to road metal cr sea-slime, volcanic, glacial, or any other action, mattered little to me. On past that pretty circular sheet' of water called Lake Hayes, where a boatman was casting a net for perch; on past some fine homesteads and flocks of sheep ; and over the Kawarau bridge, we ’were soon in the Kawarau gorge again, and able to get a better view of the narrow river hastening away’ along its rugged course towards Cromwell. The Natural Bridge, a rocky causeway al low water, and the site on which pillars were erected, to be felled across the river to raise its level, were pointed out to mfe. On the further bank; where the pillars were cast down, was a short concrete race conveying water to a shed containing turbines by means of which the water was pumped into the pipe-line connected with a very much longer race which ran on to the snacious fruit-farming lands of the Cromwell Development Com pany. We passed these a little later, and a very’ fine sight thev were after the rugged ugliness of the the gorge. We were in Cromwell well in time for lunch.

In order to have his car “tuned up.” my friend stay’ed there during the afternoon, and I, to kill time, walked across the flat over the bridge and uphill to Bannockburn. It was 82 degrees in the shade, and, though a ten mile walk used to be a trifle to me. I found this four mile one quite enough, as the heat in the open was far from pleasant. BANNOCKBURN TO NEVIS. \We left the scattered township of Bannockburn at about 5.30 and prepared to climb the Carrick Range. This is no easy job, and after fixing chains round the back tyres we started on an exciting career uphill. Away up a rough,, precipitous road climbed the car. past Mr James Ritchie’s fine homestead, to begin

with, and later, past a lonely farmhouse away to the left. One could not help sympathising with the owners of this farm and their isolated lives until recollecting that a motor car makes a trifle of distance. Also, as Bobbie Burns said, man was made-to mourn, and as the ancient Horace said (in other words) a farmer can always find food at his hand, and does not' need te be always putting his hand in his pocket to find a meal. Up and up we rose with effort, but the light Essex car negotiated every pinch and turn, thanks to the skill of the driver, and in due time w e found ourselves at the summit-about 4000 ft above sea level. Here we obtained a splendid view of the long .Clutlia valley, away up as far as Tarras; and, looking towards the right saw a continuous array—a veritable ocean of mountains bearing out the idea that this represented an ancient ocean bottom. If worn down by glacial action then there has been a tremendous grinding process a wav back in the mists of time.

Going down the other side of the range seemed more risky than the climb up, and it was a relief to reach the valley at last, and scud along a level roadway. Nearing the summit we passed acres of land covered with Maori onions, while on the flat there were acres of spear grass. The whole of this area is w’ell grassed tussock land—good summer country. The Carrick .dredge, working on the Nevis River (in the valley) at the foot of the Carrick Range, is said to be getting satisfactory returns. We passed across a small bridge nearby, saw a couple of houses and in a little time pulled up at a station homestead where shearing was in progress. Some miles further on we struck the township. The Nevis valley reminds one a little of Waipori. The Nevis River is narrower and meanders about a bit more than the Waipori, and the township is smaller than the old Waipori township—a hotel, a store, and a post office composing the larger part of it. A number of huts are spread around the hotel, and there are also a few houses nearby. After partaking of a meal at the hotel, we travelled on along the level and through a gorge in the dark, till we reached the Upper Nevis. My friend pointed out, en route, a stretch of river from which it is said that pioneer miners took a hundred ounces per man per week by wing-damming the river. After passing a pleasant hour with a resident along the route, we reached the Upper Nevis at 9.30 p.m.

In the morning we were viewing a scene of activity in the encampment below us. Several tents, a cottage, a cookshop, and some huts were there, while some carpenters, and an electrician, some sluicers, dredge-builders, and other hands were busy on the work of the newly formed Upper Nevis Dredging Company. The power-house is in its beginning and the engineering work under the supervision of Mr R. 8. Cree Brown, while the electrical installation is under the supervision of Mr Charles Roland. There is undoubtedly a very large area of easily dredgeable ground hereabouts, miles of it, in fact. As there are no large boulders to contend with, the work is done by up-to-date dredges. One would not be surprised to see another and larger township here before long. Mr Fache, the manager of the Upper Nevis Company is pushing things ahead very fast, and has able assistants in Messrs N. Ruff and J. Williamson. Mr Facho is verv optimistic of the future, and judging by h:s energy and ideas I expect to see an up-to-date little settlement here ' in the near future, with good quarters for

employees, and possibly, also, a library, school, wireless station, hall, etc. If everything goes as it is beginning, “FacheIhorpe” will then be' a hive of industry, and, let us hope, a good asset to the district. We left after breakfast at the cookshop, and after running along a flat for some miles began to climb a series of hills, negotiating, not 100 easily, an old and difficult road which is now being made a little more passable. Nearing Garston we got another splendid view from a hill-top. A many peaked, dark, barren range loomed aloft in the far distance, something like the Rcmarkables, but carrying more snow or ice on the peaks—l think the Takitimus; between it and the hills w’e crossed was the Mataura Valley, a fine stretch of green country, farm after farm, with the river making a fairly wide break in the landscape. Nevis Valley is bounded by high mountain slopes which show’ up well along the road to Garston. We passed a couple of well-laden motor lorries conveying material for the Upper Nevis Company. Messrs Hannan & Rance have four of them on this road daily just now, and contrary to the wav of some folk who make mountains out of molehills, they are reversing the process, and making molehills out of mountains. The spirit of the old pioneers is a long way from dead while men like these and others at the encampment at Nevis are still alive and working.