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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Trips For Visitors

Trips For Visitors.

Much the most important excursion in Canterbury is what is generally known as the Mount Cook trip. The starting point for the excursion is really Timaru, 100 miles south of Christchurch; but this town can be reached every day from Christchurch in about four hours. A railway line runs north and west from Timaru to Fairlie (thirty-nine miles), and the coach service twice a week carries tourists through to the Hermitage (ninety-six miles) within two days. The Hermitage is an accommodation house kept by a guide under Government page 50 supervision. Coaches run twice a week for half the year, and once a week during winter and early spring, so that it is generally easy to reach the alpine country. The wonders of Mount Cook and its surroundings have rather distracted attention from the country which the tourist passes through on his way thither. It suffices to say that Lakes Tekapo (twenty-six miles from Fairlie) and Pukaki (thirty miles from Tekapo) are in themselves sufficiently beautiful to deserve a trip without any further inducement. The panorama of the Alps, seen at the head of Lake Pukaki from the coach road, is one of the most magnificent sights that the tourist will find in the colonies. From the Hermitage, which contains about thirty-five rooms, with very comfortable accommodation provided at ten shillings per day, almost everything of interest in the Mount Cook district is within easy reach. The Mueller glacier, the Hooker river with its ice-caves bridge, and “miner's cage,” the Sealy Range with a magnificent view from the summit, only an afternoon's walk from the Hermitage, Governor's bush, the Tasman glacier, and the Hochstetler icefalls— these supply a round of exciting expeditions, which may be safely termed unrivalled outside the Swiss Alps. Every conceivable variety of alpine scenery is here combined; not to mention a vast array of botanical and geological material of extreme scientific interest. For those who have a turn for mountaineering pure and simple, there is work here that might occupy all existing alpine clubs for a century. The work done by the local pioneers, Harper, Mannering, Dixon, Brodrick, Fyfe, and others, has attracted attention from all quarters of the globe; and the exploits of Green, Boss, and Kauffmann, Fitzgerald, and Zurbriggen on Aorangi and Mount Sefton fill a thrilling page in alpine history. Good descriptions of Mount Cook and its surroundings are given in the excellent tourist handbooks issued by the Government. Possibly the following extract from “A Scenic Wonderland” by the well-known alpine authority, Mr. Malcolm Ross, may suggest something of the marvels of this region to those who have not yet visited it. The view described is seen from the Sealy Range. “Immediately below us the Metelille glacier curved gently down for some distance, and then poured its ice in one great mass into the Mueller, which, broken and crevassed, flowed northward in a gentle curve 5000 feet below us. From the source of the Mueller the eye swept round the peaks and glaciers of the Moorhouse Range to Mount Sefton, rearing his ice-seamed sides 10,000 feet in air. Then the fine peak of Mount
Summit of Arthur's Pass.

Summit of Arthur's Pass.

page 51 Stokes, far away at the head of the Hooker Glacier, and the glistening snows of St. David's Dome came into view, while down from their bases flowed the Hooker Glacier itself, swollen with the tributary ice streams from the long southern arete of Mount Cook. Over the great rocky ridge of Mount Cook on the Tasman side appeared the bold form of Mount Haidinger, with his fine glaciers robed in shadow, save for a little patch of gleaming white on the western slope. Then came Mount de la Beche with the white cones of the Minarets high above all the glaciers. Still further afield was the beautiful Elie de Beaumont, flanking the north-western side of the Tasman Valley, and just beyond it the Lendenfeldt Saddle and the white mass of the Hochstetter Dome terminating the valley. From the latter came the great ‘Mer de Glace’ of the Tasman, plainly visible for eighteen miles, down past Elie de Beaumont, curving round between de la Beche and Malte Brun with a majestic sweep, then flowing in a straighter line past Mounts Haast and Haidinger, receiving tribute from glacier after glacier, till it stopped far down the valley, melting slowly and issuing forth in another form —the Tasman river. Flanking it to the east was the Malte Brun Range, steep and rocky; and beyond that, in the hollow between that and the Liebig Range, lay in dim shadow the Murchison Glacier. What a glorious panorama of mountain scenery it was! Numbers of peaks from 8000 to 12,000 feet high, and between forty and fifty glaciers were in sight at one time; while right in the midst of it all rose the dark buttress of Aorangi, pile on pile, the final snow peak, 12,349 feet high, gleaming in the setting sun.” And all this can be seen even by ladies at the end of two or three hours' climb from the Hermitage. It is not strange that these who have once visited this alpine wonderland are most anxious to go again.

Another extremely interesting excursion is that generally known as the West Coast trip by Springfield, Porter's Pass, and the Otira Gorge to Kumara and Hokitika in Westland. Springfield is forty-four miles from Christchurch by rail; and twice a week coaches run to Kumara, 100 miles away, doing the trip in two days. Springfield itself is 1200 feet above sea level, and the road rises continually till Porter's Pass is reached twelve miles along the route. Mount Torlesse (6433 feet), Lake Rubicon, the Kowhai bush, Otarama, Staircase Gully, Paterson's Creek, are all points of interest in the immediate neighbourhood of Springfield and the West Coast Road. The summit of Porter's Pass is 3102 feet above sea level, being the highest point touched on the road. Lakes Lyndon, Pearson, and Grassmere are picturesque sheets of water passed on the way. Castle Hill with its fantastic limestone pinnacles, and the Broken River cave through which a rushing stream pours from a hillside, are well worthy of inspection. But the coach does not stop except to change horses till it reaches the Bealey Crossing, forty-five miles from Springfield. On the way tourists will observe with admiration not unmixed with awe the sharp grades and curves of the Craigieburn and Waimakariri Cuttings, which leave room for fine displays of skill on the part of both driver and horses. Those who care to stay a day or two at the Bealey can make a day's trip to the beautiful glacier at the head of the Waimakariri. Early next morning the coach starts up the Bealey Valley and gradually rises into Arthur's Pass. Across the Bealey, halfway up the valley, is a magnificent waterfall— the Devil's Punch Bowl—over 500 feet high. The summit of Arthur's Pass is 3038 feet above the sea; and here is the boundary line which separates Westland from Canterbury. The great sight of the trip, the Otira Gorge, forms the descent into Westland, and it is enough to say that every other scene on the road is dwarfed by comparison with its grandeur. Waterfalls, precipices, huge mountains, snow-clad summits, roaring torrents, a luxuriant alpine flora combine to render the gorge one of the marvels of New Zealand. The Otira accommodation house is thirteen miles from the Bealey, and sixteen miles further on is Jackson's, once a terminus of the Midland railway. Sad to say, the construction of the line has destroyed some of the chief beauties of the road, as the lovely fern-decked bush has been felled along the route. From Jackson's the tourist can take train to Greymouth, or can follow the coach round down the Teremakau, over the Taipo, and through a stretch of beautiful bush, to Kumara, 100 miles from Springfield.

Volumes might be written on the various attractions awaiting tourists in the mountain regions of Canterbury. Besides the Arthur's Pass Road, the routes across the dividing range by Browning's Pass, Whitcombe's Pass, Matthias Pass, and the Hurunui Saddle are all practicable, and they have the added advantage of being rarely travelled, and therefore even fuller of natural beauty than the comparatively civilised Arthur's Pass route. Lakes such as Lake Heron, on the Ashburton, and Lake Coleridge, on the Rakaia, would make a great reputation for any country less bountifully supplied with magnificent scenery.

Government Sanatorium, Hanmer

Government Sanatorium, Hanmer

page 52

The Hanmer Plains district is in itself highly interesting, and to patriotic natives doubly so, as affording some kind of set off to the marvels of the Hot Lakes in the North Island. The Hanmer Plains lie ninety-three miles north of Christchurch; but sixty-nine miles can be done by train to Culverden, and the remaining twenty-four miles are finished by coach in the day. The drive from Culverden along the Waiau and over the famous Gorge bridge is, in fine weather, a delightful excursion. There is a large Government Sanatorium, the grounds of which enclose the Hot Springs. The medicinal and curative properties of the baths are already well known, and with time will be even more widely recognised. There are two comfortable hotels at Hanmer Plains, situated at Jack's Pass and Jollie's Pass, the two tracks leading back to the valley of the Clarence. There are many fine mountains worth climbing, and the scenery along the Acheron and Clarence within an easy drive of the plains is very attractive to all energetic enough to explore it. It is possible by going up the Clarence to St. James to reach Lakes Ada and Tennyson, and the Spencer Range. The district only requires advertisement to become popular, and all tourists who attempt the trip will find themselves well repaid.

From Culverden, where the coach starts for Hanmer Plains, it is possible to drive north to Kaikoura, and thence along the coast to Blenheim. The landscape between the Waiau and Kaikoura is picturesque and varied; and in cold weather the snow effects are remarkably fine. The country for twenty miles on either side of the Clarence, where the road runs along the coast, is singularly beautiful in its mingling of bush scenery with picturesque seascape.

Banks' Peninsula is a country absolutely distinct in appearance and character from the rest of Canterbury. Once thickly wooded, its valleys still hold a great deal of picturesque bush. Its alternations of hill and gully, and its rich green grass due to the heavy rainfall make it a strange contrast to a great deal of the Canterbury Plains. The bays, as they are collectively called, can nearly all be reached by steamer from Lyttelton. The favourite way of reaching Akaroa is by train to Little River, and thence by coach. The drive of nineteen miles is as difficult, as varied, and as beautiful as any coach trip in New Zealand, outside the main range. The relics of Maori life, and the vestiges of the old whaling era, of French settlement, and of early English colonisation, give Akaroa and the country round a high historical interest. The following extract from Mr. S. C. Farr's Reminiscences, published in “Canterbury Old and New,” may give some idea of the Peninsula as it was in the early days: “The panoramic birds' eye view we had of the luxuriant and romantic country almost baffles description. Over the whole scene sublimity reigned. The grand rugged mountains, with summits of rocky crags, reared themselves around to altitudes varying from 1500 to 2800 feet; ridges of wooded hills sloped to
Aylmer's Valley, Akaroa.

Aylmer's Valley, Akaroa.

page 53 the edge of the placid sea beneath. Over the bay, the water without a ripple, mirrored the forest-covered mountains, with their soft purple tints. A scene so exquisite and fascinating could never pall. We were charmed with all we saw; the vegetation in its primeval beauty; mighty giants of the forest overshadowing dainty ferns and delicate mosses; the musical waterfalls in the valleys leaping from rock to rock; rippling streamlets winding in sweet cadence amid the forest trees, entering shaded pools, or coursing through stable rock and over rounded boulder on their journey to the sea. Numberless were the changes as we sat and gazed; the soft white evening mists rising in the valleys and the distant summits glowing in the radiance of the setting sun filled us with admiration and delight.” The loss of the bush has robbed the Peninsula of something of its pristine beauty, yet any one who has, in coming down the Purau line from Mount Sinclair, seen Akaroa Harbour for the first time, may well doubt if he has ever looked upon a fairer scene.

In addition to these more celebrated resorts there are scores of spots in Canterbury wherein the tourist can find interest and occupation if he is so inclined. The Mount Grey Downs, the Rakaia Gorge, the country at the head of the Ashburton, the country beyond Geraldine, the Oxford, and Kowhai bushes—these districts are all directly accessible from the railway, and well repay a visit. Casual visitors, seeing only Christchurch and the plains, know nothing of the varied wealth of natural beauty concealed in out-of-the-way corners of the province, quite apart from the magnificent alpine scenery to be met with in the two principal tourist trips. There are few parts of New Zealand, however well advertised, that surpass Canterbury in scenic interest. The steps taken by Sir Joseph Ward, the present Minister for Railways, to improve the tourist traffic will be watched with much interest in Canterbury. The Government has now placed all health resorts, such as Mount Cook and Hanmer, under the direct control of the Minister for Railways; and one of the district traffic managers has been appointed Tourist Commissioner. Everyone experienced in these matters will admit that the resorts in question cannot be reached at present so easily or so cheaply as they might, and that the accommodation to be found there is capable of improvement; and everyone will agree with the Minister in his statement that “every pound judiciously spent in making provision for the comfort of the visitors to the colony, and also for the comfort and pleasure of the people who reside amongst us, will be recouped indirectly over and over again.” Of the general benefit thus accruing to the colony, Canterbury will gain by no means the least important share.