DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF NEW ZEALAND. 



'97 



is its port, and the last point of departure for steamers hound to Melbourne. "The 

 Bluff" is situated at the mouth of the New River, seventeen miles south of Invercargill; 

 it is a rather bleak little place, and does not give the visitor from over-sea a favourable 

 first impression of New Zealand. 



TIIK OTAGO LAKKS. 



From Invercargill the tourist may visit that very remarkable country to which is 

 applied the vague and general designation of "The Lake District," and which comprises 

 a chain of twelve lakes extending from the neighbourhood of Preservation Inlet, in the 

 extreme south-west, to the head-waters of the River Rangitata, in the province of 

 Canterbury. They are divided into five groups, of which the northern, or Canterbury 



group, consisting of Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau, has 

 already received descriptive attention. Pouteriteri, 

 Hakapoua and Hauroto are the principal of the two 

 southern groups, while Monawai, Manapouri and Te 

 Anau, which are drained by the Waiau River, form 

 the south-western group. There remains the central 



DEK STREET, INVERCARGILL. 



group, consisting of Wakatipu, Hawea and \Yanaka, all drained by the Clutha River. 

 The traveller's attention may be advantageously confined to the south-western and central 

 groups, with more especial attention devoted to the latter. The first stage of the railway 

 journey from Invercargill to Kingston, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, may be said to 

 end at "The Elbow," otherwise known as Lumsden, a township situated on the Oreti 

 River, fifty miles north-west of Invercargill. It is the custom with most tourists to go 

 right through to Kingston, but those who wish to make the acquaintance of Manapouri 

 and Te Anau must diverge at " The Elbow " from the beaten track. 



Hiring horses at " The Elbow," the distance between it and Takitimos may be 

 traversed the same day, provided that Invercargill has been left by the morning train. 

 'From the Takitimos Hotel it is only a short ride of about ten miles to the shores of 

 Manapouri, and five more up the valley of the \Yaiau to Te Anau. Manapouri covers 

 an area of some fifty square miles, and is so cut up into bays, gulfs and arms, that 

 it is said to be almost impossible to exactly determine its length an d breadth. It is 



