Untitled

Progress, Volume II, Issue 9, 1 July 1907, Page 341

Motoring to Mount Cook. A CLEAR DAY SAVEE — MUCH COMFORT GAINED. "All aboard for the Hermitage!" It is a familiar cry that " All aboard." How many of us there were who used to feel it like the crack of a whip on our backs as we bent over a hurried choking, scalding breakfast ! How few of the present generation know anything about it ! At Fairlie, in South Canterbury the old cry is heard, with so to speak a new face. In the old days, it meant Cobb & Co. and five horses, sometimes six. To-day it meaus motor-cars and twenty to sixty horse power. 1 That is why the journey from Fairlie to the Hermitage, via Burkes Pass, which used to take two days is now done in one. From the pass the road drops easily into the Mackenzie Plain, a large yellow oval in the setting of tussock hills of bold outline. Across it goes to the great lake of Te Kapo ; then it sweeps southward and westward to the lake of Pukaki. Before reaching the Southern shore thereof you go over Dover's Pass, and you have your first view of Mount Cook, and the tallest captains of his Alpine staff. You linger a while to become impressed with the fact that there is no mountain like Mount Cook. From the hostelry of Pukaki the road goes round the Rhoboro Downs, comes out on the Western side of the I v ake, and lies in the valley of the Tasman till the junction of the Hooker, which stream it follows to the Hermitage. All this in a day, partly due to the motoring enterprise of Messrs. Wigley and Thornley and partly to the action of the Government in bridging the streams, and making new roads and keeping them in good state of repair. The car service performs the journey from Fairlie to the Hermitage, a distance of 96 miles, in ten hours, with stoppages at Burkes Pass, L,akes Tekapo and Pukaki, and other smaller settlements, to pick up and deliver mails and to allow the passengers ample time to get refreshments. The return journey is made in the same time. The Mount Cook Hermitage, which is the base of operations for peak climbers and less ambitious ice excursion parties, is favourably situated in the Hooker Valley under the steep bush -covered face of the Mueller lateral moraine. Directly in front, the Scaley range raises its huge bulk, while to the right Mount Sefton, with its mantle of perpetual snow and ice, stands out in bold relief. Behind, overlooking Mount Wakefeld, Aorangi lifts his ice covered pinnacles far into the blue sky. The old part of the house is built of glacial clay, while later additions are of wood and iron. There is accommodation for about forty visitors, who can rely on getting Fall the comforts and conveniences of a first class hotel. To visit the immediate

surroundings of the Hermitage is all that can Mueller glacier is made. In this valley many be attempted in the sojourn of one day, and species of alpine plants and shrubs grow^in it is to those who have such short time at luxuriance. The snow white gentian, celtheir disposal that these lines are addressed. mesias (mountain daisy) Mount Cook lilies,

A favourite one day excursion is across Mueller glacier to the base of Mount Sefton, the return journey being made by climbing* Mount Sealey, which is over 8,000 feet high. The route lies up the Mokomoko valley to Kea Point, whence the descent into the

Alpine forget-me-nots, and other flowers thrive in their native air. The shrubs bear various coloured berries, and the white broom blossoms profusely. From Kea Point the descent is made to the glacier with its chaotic mass of moraine. On reaching the

centre of the glacier the ice is met with, cropping out from under its covering of stones like quartz reefs in rocky country. Once free of the moraine hazardous descents have to be made down ice faces, and unless due care is exercised, one is apt to reach the bottom of the ledge in a position the reverse of dignified. The ice is full of great fissures, called crevasses, some of which are hnndreds of feet in depth. From this point the avalanches, which are almost continuously thundering down the glistening sides of Sefton, can be plainly seen. Pushing on, the balance of the ice may be negotiated, and the base of Mount Sealey reached. Ascending Sealey from the West, all the giant peaks in the district are seen in a panorama, the magniricence of which cannot be excelled in any mountain region in the world. From this vantage ground Mount Sefton and the Footstool, St. David's Dome, the Minarets, Tasman, Haidinger, De la Beche, and other giant peaks can be seen with Cook standing high above and dominating the whole group. After viewing this scene of wondrous beauty, the descent of Sealey is made, and the Hermitage reached in time for dinner. Another popular excursion, which occupies a day, is the journey to the Alpine Garden in the Upper Hooker Valley. After a three hour's walk up the valley a halt is made at the twin mounts, Rosa and Mabel. The prospect is a charming one, having immediately in front the Moorhouse range, while to the right Mounts Cook and Stokes, separated by a half mile of white ice-glacier, rear their crystal peaks into the ethereal blue. Growing among the turf which carpets the valley are to be found white snow and coral berries. In crannies of the rocks, away up towards the snow line, the edelweiss thrives,

and the Mount Cook lily makes its home under the patronage, so to speak, of his great name-sake. A great peace seems to permeate the valley, yet mutation is going on continuously.

Tfmarit Town Hall. The accompanying illustrations of the four competitive designs sent in for the new Timaru Town Hall, together with the ac-

cepted design, will serve to demonstrate the material progress which the South Canterbury centre is making. It is proposed to combine in the new building a Carnegie library, municipal offices and town hall, the latter with a seating accommodation for over 1,000 people, and the building as a whole should prove of great benefit to the town. Messrs James S. Turnbull and Meason & Marchant did not enter the competition.

Typical Homes. Just as Timaru is showing improvements in her civic buildings, so the residential portion of the community is establishing a claim to having some of the prettiest homes in Canterbury. The elevation and plan of Mr. McLarens residence shewn herewith will amply justify this opinion, as also will the elevation and plan of Mr. Gladstone Robinson's house. Both these residences were erected under the supervision of the architect, Mr. James S. Turnbull. (See page 341.)