| Show 4 AA A A 01 4 WA 2 V 4 aw 4 7 A i ON MILFORD bound HOUGH not generally known as a field for tourists and not THOUGH often visited by american travelers the south island of new zealand is so rich in scenic attractions tr that it merits more attention from those who seek the beautiful or imposing places of 0 the earth moreover it is not at all difficult of access there is a direct railway running from bluff to what is known as the cold lakes district of about two hundred miles the visitor to that region usually begins his tour of the lakes at kingston where a government steamer meets all trains and conveys the traveler up lake waka to the pretty town of queenston a distance of 25 miles writes W D hornaday in grit another steamer plies between queenston and the upper head of the lake good driveways skirt the shores of this and other inland bodies of water and running oui of aud queenston enston is a road to the summit of ben lomon mountain which has an altitude of feet other pleasant drives may be made to picturesque towns and villages scattered through the rugged region lake Waka is of great depth soundings having been made to 1242 feet in one place there are reveral perpetually snow capped moun tailors la in new zealand and on the north island a smoldering volcano which emits smoke at frequent intervals ter vals affords diversity to the view some of the glacial mountains are so situated upon tl uie le sea tossed shots shore of the south island is the town of bluff which has the distinction of 0 being what might he be called the jumping off place of 0 the southern hemisphere I 1 its ts citizens cit izena claim that it is the most southern municipality in the world there is an element of romance in the very atmosphere of 0 the community it was there that several antarctic expeditions paid their adieus adicus to civilization and entered upon voyages into unknown seas in the earlier days bluff was the headquarters tor for many whaling expeditions this industry gradually decreased until it is now conducted only on a small scale living there today are a number of the sea hardened men who belonged to whaling outfits some of them still have enough strength left to bring in their daily catch of fish and others of their comrades spend their time idling about the wharf watching the steamships and sailing crafts go to and fro and regaling any listener that they may find with stirring tales of their ocean going expert ances it Is from bluff also that most of the sea elephants and penguin oil expeditions set forth some distance to the south of here lie the macquarie group of islands where most of these expeditions operate during a certain season of the year tasman sea Is rough it is miles across the tasman sea from bluff to hobart tasmania the most popular route ot of travel to be M i k I 1 I 1 ll 11 sag 1 1 11 1 1 fa 11 11 1 1 I 1 za 11 0 Q HAIM HAIMM M 1 S 1 1 bi 1 MAORI precipitous that thoy they offer extraordinary opportunity for the exercise of prowess on the part of mountain climbers it is considered quite a teat feat to reach the summit of the highest of these rugged peaks many natural phenomena are to he be seen in both the north and south Ia islands lands besides the wonderful and awe inspiring outbursts ol 01 lire fire and water that greet tho the eat eye in the thermal district of the north island there are some remarkable caves and other manifestations of an unseen power in the different parts of the dominion not long ago a new set of stalactite caves was discovered in the nelson dis district of the two or three caves one Is supreme it Is tunnel like in formation a huge underground way in its whiteness and the superlative perla dative tive decoration of deposited silta f cl river that loses itself is also tween new zealand and australia is that which runs from Auck auckland lai d to sydney auckland is about 1100 miles north of bluff while the distance between bluff and hobart is some less than that between auckland and sydney the former route is usually much rougher there are few days in the year that the tasman sea is not in a rage A dougl area of water extends far to the souta and even borders the ice locked land that surrounds the south pole so tar far as the town of bluff ia concerned it presents few attributes of beauty it occupies a site on th the c beach and running up into ino the hnis hills a short distance and nor bordering dering it on all sides except that which fronts the ocean are arc rugged and desolate look ing rocks that give the spot a forbidding aspect the country efte extending anding towards the interior of the I 1 land island s la is well adapted to sheep raising and la iff tsa taken eu up by large ranches or runs N |
