OUT IN THE WEST

Southland Times, Issue 19278, 24 June 1924, Page 7

OUT IN THE WEST

FRESH TRACK TO MILFORD. MAKING A ROUND TRIP. PROPOSAL BY MR HORN, M.P. An experienced mountaineer, who does the walk to Milford Sound, can return direct to Queenstown by another route as beautiful as that which has been so aptlynamed “the finest walk in the world.” But in this return journey he has to cross the Hollyford range, a feat which only one who has experience in mountain climbing can accomplish at present. It is considered, however, that were the Homer Saddle pierced by a tunnel —a matter of some 600 or 700 feet, a good walking track, negotiable to ordinary tourists, would be available. The inclusion of fresh scenery on the return journey from the far-famed Milford would do much to add to the quota of tourists, besides inducing those who have already made the trip to pay another visit to the Sound.

In order that he might acquaint himself with the actual conditions, and thus be in a position to urge upon the Government the necessity for taking measures further to open up this potential national asset, Mr James Horn, M.P. for Wakatipu, recently journeyed into the hinterland of that district. Mr Horn’s description of his tour is ex-, tremely interesting. “On Saturday morning, March 29, I left Glenorchy with Mr Daniel McKenzie as guide, on horseback, a 10 hours’ ride bringing ust to the hut at Lake Howden,” he said to a reporter. “We fenced off the track and gave the horses the run between Lakes McKeller and Howden, and on foot next morning we crossed the shoulder of the Livingston range and followed the Students’ track through the bush, striking the Hollyford River about mid-way between Lake McKerrow and its source. The track follows the Hollyford River through tfie bush for quite a long distance till it rounds the west side of Mt. Christina, and then after crossing Monkey Creek we entered an open valley with bush on both sides and an occasional clump of bush in the middle. This valley is a mass of veronicas; in fact you can scarcely set your foot down without crushing a flowering plant. As you proceed towards the glacier, where the Hollyford gets its source there is anything from 1800 to 2000 acres of a valley where any grass-feeding animal has never set foot, and all the old foliage that is now a thing of the past in more civilised places is there intact. Half a mile of wire netting would fence in about 2000 acres of what I call Nature’s Garden. The whole of this area is quite as good as the few acres on the top of McKinnon’s pass on the present Milford-Te Anau track, which is world-famed; but, contrasted with the two valleys containing this 2000 acres, McKinnon’s Pass is not in the same street. Thus preserved for all time with a wire netting fence to keep out stock and rabbits, it would bring Dominion and overseas tourists from all parts of the earth. ‘The two top flats before you reach the Barrier Mts. are divided by a huge moraine which has been carried by the ice into the valley. The head waters of the Hollyford and the Homer Rivers combined form quite a large stream, but the moraine has put it out of sight for a distance of about a mile.

“We reached the head of the HoDyford River after a 10 hours’ tramp, and the Students’ tent camp just above where the Homer River joins the Holly ford River was a welcome sight. Next morning we followed the Homer River to the cliff where the water drains the icefield at the head of the Homer alley. Then we climbed to the top of the Homer Pass and inspected the work done by the students on the Grave-Talbot track, which starts at the top of the Homer Pass. From this Pass, which is only eight miles from Milford Sound, we had a good view of the Cleddau River valley. There is a sheer drop of over 1000 feet from the top of the Pass to the nearest possible place where a track can be made up the Cleddau River from Milford. The present and only track from the Homer Saddle leads up a very rough steep spur from this saddle; in fact, it is so difficult that the students gouged our steps in the solid rock, inserted standards, and fixed a wire rope in position in order that mountain climbers could proceed up this rocky spur, and proceed thence on to a large icefield, still climbing and requiring ice axes and ropes. The students’ work, when completed, will only make it safe for mountaineers with the aid of climbers’ equipment. Thus the track will be useless to the ordinary tourist.

“My idea is that a tunnel should be put through where the Cleddau Valley track ends, bringing it out on the Homer Valley and thus connecting the two valleys by the tunnel Probably the tunnel should be 600 or 700 feet long, but if made it would open out for all time a route as easy as the present Te Anau-Milford track and would give a new track equal in grandeur to the present Te Anau-Milford track and of quite a different charac'-rr. I claim that this tunnel is of Dominion importance and that it will provide a track that will enable tourists to make a continuous journey from Lake Te Anau to Lake Wakatipu. Further, it will open out twice or three times as much new’ country as is to be seen at present on the Te Anau-Milford track. “Lake Howden is the centre of the tourist’s world in this wonderful hinterland of Otago. From it, with the tunnel cut at Mt. Homer Saddle, tourists could reach in one day Milford Sound, Big Bay, Martins Bay, Elfin Bay or the Dart Valley at Lake Wakatipu. I understand the students, the Public Works engineers, and others who have been working on the present track from Lake Howden to Homer Saddle also favour this view. “I have already communicated with the Minister for Public Works on the matter and he has promised to have an estimate of the cost of the tunnel made and a report supplied also. I sincerely hope that the inquiries he is making will lead to the opening up of this great and new country, with its unnamed mountains, icefields, rivers and lakes. It will be a great asset to New Zealand and in the near future will be the means of bringing thousands of tourists to Wakatimj.”