WALKS ON THE ROADS.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 559, 19 February 1851, Page 4

WALKS ON THE ROADS.

No. I.—THE BRIDLE-PATH TO THE FERRT ACROSS THE HEATHCOTE. This means of communication between the port and the plain issues from the town of Lyttelton just to the west of the Custom-House Reserve, Norwich Quay, having been made perfectly passable for carts or drays up to its commencement. The road winds round the lower part of the spur, which divides the two small bays on whose shores the town is mapped out, and then ascends along its eastern face to the more level part of the spur, at. about half the final elevation which has to be attained. Here the bridle-path will eventually take the western side of the spur, winding round the steep crags and basaltic dykes, up to the lowest point of the ridge which encircles Erskine Bay. Just now, however, some of these stubborn dykes, although attacked, have not yet been fully pierced hy the blastingpowder: so that only pedestrians can follow the road along its whole distance, while the horseman must dismount at, the point where the road crosses the spur, and follow the track up its sharpest ridge to the summit. There he may once more mount, and follow the track till he again joins the road at its highest point. The traveller on foot will pause a few yards below the summit, to admire the bird's-eye view of the little town spread out beneath him, the small craft gathered in the bay, the larger vessels anchored outside its eastern point, and the picturespuo crags and wooded gullies, among which Messrs. Rhodes's homestead and farm-buildings are perched, Mount Herbert and Castle Hill, still frowning down upon him from the height of 3,000 feet,—and the wide bays at the head of the harbour. From one point of the path a glimpse is caught of Ellesmere and of the narrow shingle bank-which divides it from the sea. The ascent is steep ; for a height of 1100 feet is attained within 88 chains, or 1 mile and 176 yards; but nevertheless, horses, bullocks and mules will be able to carry a heavy pack to the top. On reaching the summit, if the day be clear, the first view of the Great Southern Plain of New Zealand is very striking. To tbe right, one of the spurs of Mount Cavendish extends to the bank of the river Heathcote, at the point where first a ferry and then a bridge is to be, and' hidos the junction of that river with the Shakspeare near their common mouth at Sumner. To the northward the coast extends in the form of a crescent, the first half of which consists of sandhills fringed with surf, and the other of bolder shores, backed by the limestone ranges, often glittering white in the sunshine! which form the country near Double Corner and Motunau. Furthest to the north, the snowy peaks of the Kiakora and Lookers-on mountains rising to a height of from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, tower above tbe blue sea; and although they are known to be 106 miles off in a straight line, such is the clearness of the New Zealand atmosphere, that their forms are often very distinctly seen. Following the mountain chain to the left, two remarkable peaks, far in tho interior, called Te Koa, niay also be seen; and a little further to the left, a near and prominent mountain, called Mount Grey, rises immediately from the northern extremity of the plain to a height of about 3,000 feet. A continuation of the mountains, of which foui successive ranges may be distinguished on a clear day, brings the eye back to. the range on which the spectator is, near a very remarkable basaltic pinnacle, which, although it deserves it, has not yet received a distinguishing name. It is but a small portion of the plain that can be seen from this point of view. The Heathcote river meanders nearest the foot of the hills; and some reaches of the Shakspeare maybe made out a lit* tie further to.tho north. The .first wood

on tho left is Papanui wood, which lies three miles .0 the N. of Christchurch. Bty.nd this, tbe river Courtenay, especially when swollen by the heavy rain and molten snow which the warm N.W. wind brings down from the mountains, may be traced, as a bright barrier across tlie plain, down to its estuary and bar-harbour about 10 miles N. of Sumner. Beyond that river, in very clear weather, the Ohoka, Tuahiwi, and Rangiora woods, near the Maori settlement and reserve at Kaiapoe, may also be discovered. From this summit, there are two ways of proceeding. A foot-path, passable at a foot-pace for horses, continues along the top of the -ridge to the westward, towards the present bridge over the Heathcote, and Riccarton. That way we hope to describe on some future occasion, but now we shall follow the bridle-path, dipping at once into the valley which has afforded us the above view of tho plain. The descent is at about the same inclination as the ascent, and continues to be steep for rather less than a mile and a quarter. Then the road continues for another mile along the foot of the spur of Mount Cavendish already mentioned, at the eastern edge of a broad tongue of land lying between the Heathcote and the hills, to the site of the futare Ferry and Bridge. This is a rich tract of land, some of it dry, and clothed with luxuriant grass; other portions of it more or less swampy, with a vegetation of flax, tohetohe, (along riband-grass with graceful feathery seed-tufts,) and raupo or bulrush. But even from the most swampy portion there appears to be sufficient fall towards the river for drainage, and if so, that is the portion which will eventually prove I the most productive land. The whole distance, from Lyttelton to the Ferry, is thus a little more than four miles, of which nearly two miles and a quarter are ascent and descent, at an inclination, on the average, of one foot in five. The road is to be eventually 8 feet in width. It has been executed chiefly by Mr. Hughes, under contract vrith the Association, and its total cost has been estimated at about £300.

NO II TRACKS FROM THE BRIDLE-PATH TO RICCARTON AND CHRISTCHURCH. From the summit of the bridle road, as already stated, a track, just passable for horses or cattle, but easy for sheep or foot-passengers, follows "the topmost 'ridge between the port and the plain, towards the West. In proceeding along this path, a vast panorama of the Plain is obtained, bounded to the N. by the Kaikora mountains and Mount Grey, to the southward by an oceanlike horizon of level land, and to the westward by the unbroken chain of mountains, of which Oxford Hill, Mount Torlesse, Mouut Hu:t, and Mount Peel,— the last being miles off in a straight line to the W. S. W.,—are the principal peaks. After keeping the ridge for about two miles, the path turns down a spur, which is about two miles in length, to' the bank of the Heathcote, near Trigonometrical Station, No. 12, C. This is at a point about 0 miles higher up the river by its windings than the Ferry. Another path leads to this spot, along the foot of the hills, from the bridle-road where it first reaches level grouud, the distance by tho path being about three miles. The tract of land between the river and the hills varies in width, but bears throughout nearly the same character as that part of it which lies near the Ferry, and has already been described. Crossing the mouth of a valley between two spurs, the path goes close to Station No. 10 C, on the westernmost spur of the two, and then diverges towards Ric carton Wood, the southernmost or furthest to the left hand, of all those on the plain. The river Heathcote is crossed about a quarter of a mile from the hills, by a rough bridge which had been erected before the arrival of the colonists. This useful stream is said to be navigable for large boats up to this point: and there is no doubt of its being navigable for vessels drawing 6 ft., up to the Ferry where it is intended to build a bridge at some future time. A few hundred yards beyond the Heathcote, a narrow, sluggish, watercourse, by which some swamps are drained into it, is also crossed by a rude bridge. Hence there are two tracks ; one along a direct surveyed line to the landing-place at Christchurch, commonly called "the BricksV'the other, more circuitous in order to avoid boggy tracts, leads to the Messrs. -Deans's farm at Riccarton Wood. With the exception of one or two sandy spots of insignificant extent, the whole of the land traversed by both these paths, appears tobe of exceedingly good quality. Some of it is wet in winter, but a very small portion is irreclaimable by drainage. •--■■•- ' The distance from Station 12 C, to the Market-place at : Chiristchurch is about 3, aud.to Riccarton nearly 4, miles. From Lyttelton it is thus, whether by the path on the top, or by that along .the foot of the hills, about 8 miles to Christ church, and 9 miles to Riccarton. ' Returning to the .extremity of the bridle-road, at the site of the Ferry and future bridge, the traveller finds a cluster! of newly erected .temporary huts, and a

ferry-boat kept by Mr. Hughes, who w |ii '■■■-. put him across the river for 6d. F roi u tho point where he lands, a line of marks put up by tho Surveyors, will guide himr along the future main line of road to Christchurch from tbe Ferry. This Una touches the bank of the Heathcote twica i where tliat river bends to the N., crosses one froggy tract of no great extent, the ' remainder of the journey being over very ■ good land, and is 4 miles in length to ' the Market-place at Christchurch. The 1 distances between port and capital willthus be 8 miles, by the bridle-road arid ferry, as well as by the old path further to the W. We understand that the road is to be at once made, from the Ferry v* Christchurch, in a complete state ; as it forms part of the intended lino of main- : road which passes through Sumner. We hope, on a future occasion, to : complete our glance at the means of land communication in the neighbourhood of the port, by following that intended line of road from Lyttelton, through Sumner to the Ferry. ', It is as well to state, that the bridleroad is now perfectly passable for horses along its whole length : and we call at-' tention to a hand-bill issued, to the effect that a pack-horse is now despatched daily from Lyttelton to Christchurch and hack: This is a private speculation, which deserves every encouragement.