The Otira and Arthur's Pass.

“I waited underneath the dawning hills,

Aloft the mountain lawn was dewy dark,

And dewy-dark aloft the mountain pine….

Far-off the torrent called me from the cleft:

Far up the solitary morning smote

The streaks of virgin snow.”

—Tennyson.

Mere words are inadequate to describe the “glory that is Otira,” but the traveller who chooses the old coach route from Greymouth through the historic old diggings and the Teremakau Valley, is assured of an interesting run through some of the finest natural scenery on the West Coast.

Leaving Greymouth, the tourist passes through the old mining towns of Kumara and Dilman's, then eastward along the valley of the Teremakau. After passing Dilman's, the road lies for several miles through typical native bush until comparatively open country is reached in the vicinity of Wainihinihi. Beyond Wainihinihi the road passes through magnificent forest avenues to Jackson's. Looking northwards one may discern the silver sheen of the waters of Lake Brunner in the distance, nestling at the base of the rugged, bush-clothed Hohonu Range.

From Aicken's, the next settlement, the route lies up what may be considered as the lower Otira Valley. To the left rise the steep wooded ramparts of the Alexander Range dominated by Alexander—a symetrical snow-capped peak standing sentinel-like, near the junction of the Otira and the Teremakau, while immediately above the road tower the forest-mantled buttresses of the Kelly Range.

Leaving Otira, the Westland terminus of the longest tunnel in the British Empire, the road ascends the famous Gorge. Narrow and precipitous it is, and at the bottom of the canyon swirl the turbulent waters of the Otira. Tangled evergreen forest drapes the steep mountain walls, and ultimately gives way to snow-crested crags and pinnacles.

Through the waist of the Gorge, by leafy cliffs, past the gauzy “Bridal Veil” fall—whose silvery spray bedews the surrounding fern, the road climbs steeply up the famous “Zig Zag” to the summit of the Pass. Hundreds of feet below, the Otira River, now a foaming mountain torrent, roars amid the boulders of its tortuous bed. High up, looms the fissured diadem of Mt. Otira—a desolate giant whose seamy slopes are strewn with loose sliding scree almost from summit to base.

The mountain road winds up round the base of Philistine, on whose rocky shoulders is draped the Rolleston Glacier, and proceeding, the roar of the now tiny Otira Stream dies away, and the Pass proper is entered. Past tiny glittering tarns until presently the narrow path descends from the “col” through glossy beech forests to the valley of the Bealey. On the right are the wooded spurs of Mount Rolleston (7,453 feet), the alpine monarch of this region. From a coigne of vantage—the “Rolleston Look-Out”—the mountain seen through the parted boughs of the wayside beech trees, presents a wondrous spectacle of sublime grandeur—a superb and lovely picture.

Presently the gorge of the Bealey opens out upon the lower valley, and the traveller descends to Arthur's Pass settlement. For those who would explore the many beauties of this mountain region, Arthur's Pass township provides a comfortable and ideal base. To the alpinist it offers unlimited attractions in the nature of mountain peak and glacier, and the field for original work is wide. To the nature-lover, and all who appreciate exceptional scenery, it is unparalleled, and with its increasing popularity, Arthur's Pass and the Otira district generally, bids fair to become one of New Zealand's foremost alpine playgrounds.

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