CHAPTER VIII 
Letter VII. Christchurch. — Timaru — The Mackenzie Country— Lake 
Pukaki — Fording the river — Cliffs of ice — Sliding down the cliff — Back 
at the Hermitage — Wind and rain — A riding party — Keas — The Tasman 
glacier — The wild, wonderful beauty of the mountains — A cold swim — 
A snow-storm — Christchurch — The foremost flower-painter in Australia 
— Little River — Lyttelton. 
Christchurch. 
We left Christchurch by the eleven express for Timaru 
a few days after. The force of the strong current of 
the Rakaia River, with the late rains, had washed 
away several of the piles of the long railway bridge, 
and each of the motley crowd of passengers “ humped ” 
his own baggage as best he could across the very 
unsteady planks to the train awaiting us beyond. As 
we slowed into Timaru the long breakers on the shore 
were coming in with a booming sound in the distance, 
and we saw the spray of their white crests breaking 
over the rocky cliffs long before the sea came into 
sight. It was three o’clock when we steamed into the 
station, and half-past five before the other train started 
for Fairlie Creek, on another line, where I was to meet 
the coach for Mount Cook. 
I had a cup of tea and some fruit at a clean little 
restaurant in the town, and then went to a bootmaker 
to get strong nails put into my soles. “You see,” he 
said, “ putting them sideways you gets a little more 
purchase,” which I took for granted and paid my bill 
R 
