New Zealand Walks: Westward Ho! to appreciate

Westward Ho! to appreciate stunning scenery

In 1855 British histo rian Charles Kingsley published his novel Westward Ho! The phrase itself comes from westward + By ho (variant of Phillip Donnell“Hey!”), the call of Thames ferrymen indicating their proffered direction.

Set initially in North Devon during the reign of Elizabeth I, the novel records the adventures of Amyas Leigh, who as a young man follows Francis Drake to sea. Amyas loves local beauty Rose Salterne, as does nearly everyone else. Much of the novel involves the kidnapping of Rose by a Spaniard.

Amyas spends time in the Caribbean coasts of Venezuela seeking gold, and eventually returns to England at the time of the Spanish Armada, finding his true love, the beautiful Indian maiden Ayacanora, in the process, but not before fate has brought misfortune into his life. Blinded by a freak bolt of lightning at sea, he also loses his brother Frank Leigh and Rose Salterne, both caught by the Spaniards and burnt at the stake by the Inquisition. The book is the inspiration behind the unusual name of the current village of Westward Ho! in Devon, the only place name in the United Kingdom that contains an exclamation mark.

Kingsley’s novel was perhaps the precursor to the catch-phrase “Go West, young man”, the origin of which

Below left: In the Hokitika Gorge.

Kiwi on the Camino

by Vivianne Flintoff

900kms along an ancient pilgrimage trail in Northern Spain

Available from independent book sellers or directly from author E-mail : vivianneflintoffbooks@gmail.com

is often credited to the American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley. It concerns America’s expansion westward, related to the concept of Manifest Destiny. Widely held rhetoric of the nineteenth century suggested to Americans that it was their divine right and responsibility to settle the West with Protestant democratic values. No one has yet proven who first used this phrase in print.

In more recent times, Into the West is a song written by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox, and performed by Lennox for Peter Jackson’s 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It has since become a popular song to play at funerals. This is possibly because in British English, the primary meaning of “to go west” is to die, although this phrase later came to also mean to be lost or destroyed; to disappear or vanish, to end in failure or come to grief.

In March, 1995, my twin brother Roger and I set out from Mount Cook Above: The world famous Franz Josef Glacier. Below right: At Jackson Bay.

Westward Ho! to appreciate stunning scenery

Village to trek westwards over the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. Having clambered over the slippery and eroding moraine walls of the Hooker Valley, we ascended a steep spur of loose talus to the permanent snowfield just below Copland Pass (2150m).

Once over the pass, we traversed numerous alpine basins before reaching the valley floor and Douglas Rock Hut. A night at Welcome Flat was memorable for the dozen or more stark-naked continentals frequenting the hot pools. Eventually we emerged onto SH6 some 25 km south of Fox Glacier.

It was on this trip that I first came to appreciate the stunning scenery of the narrow strip of land between mountains and ocean now known as Westland. It was a revelation.

I have visited this region several times since then, and each time its landscapes of untouched beauty have seemed even more unique and impressive.

So it was a no-brainer to shout “Westward Ho!” to the walkers of New Zealand, and offer day-walks in this region as part of the Footsteps Walking Club repertoire, with the next trip scheduled for 2-8 April, 2023.

This one-week excursion begins in Greymouth, accessible by bus, shuttle or the famous Tranzalpine train from Christchurch. We sample the delights of Lakes Kaniere and Mahinapua, Hokitika Gorge, and the Ross Goldfield, before arriving in Hokitika, hometown of Richard John Seddon, the Premier of New Zealand 1893-1906, whose statue fronts the old Government Buildings.

Continuing south, we enter the UNESCO-designated Te Waipounamu Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area, one of the great natural precincts on earth, covering some 2.6m hectares (10% of NZ’s total land area) and encompassing four national parks: Westland Tai Poutini, Aoraki/ Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring and Above left: The information board at Ships Cove. Photo FQG Middle left: The pretty walk from the carpark to view Franz Josef Glacier.

Photo FQG Below left: The sign on the beach at Hokitita. Photo FQG

FOOTSTEPS

OFFERING THE BEST DAY WALKS IN 20 REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND!

Each region has a week-long package (for 6-10 people), including transport and accommodation.

We welcome your enquiry: footstepsanz@gmail.com or phone 021 172 3244

Fiordland. It contains rocks, plants and animals dating back 80 million years to the ancient super continent Gondwana.

The spectacular fiords, lakes and valleys are amongst the finest examples of glaciated landforms in the Southern Hemisphere, and a stronghold for rare plants and animals living in a range of habitats. The mountains nurture kea. The mature stands of southern beech and podocarps are home to takahe, and three taxon of kiwi, two of them the most endangered.

Overnight stays at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier allow an extended focus on not only the two famous rivers of ice but also the Harihari Coastal Walkway, the Whataroa white herons, Okarito Lagoon/Trig and the glorious Above: Lake Mahinapua. Photo FQG Below: The Kawatiri Track that runs from Carters Beach to Westport. Photo FQG

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Westward Ho!

to appreciate stunning scenery

reflections of Lake Matheson.

Bruce Bay, Gillespies Beach, and Monro Beach introduce us to the frenzied and foaming littoral, characterised by shingle banks, stalwart stacks, battered cliffs, pounding surf, strong currents, and a fascinating array of rocks carried to the coast by the many rivers.

According to Māori folklore, Bruce Bay is where Maui first landed in New Zealand. My wife and I utilised a pure black, a pure white, and a combined black and white rock from here as symbols at our wedding.

South of Knights Point at Ship Creek we encounter ancient kahikatea swamp forest which gives the water a dark, inky colour from tannin and humus acid. The wild and lonely beach here has associations with a curious shipwreck.

Fragments of unusual wood discovered in 1871, 1875, the 1920s and 1973 came from the stylish sailing clipper Schomberg, wrecked on 26 December, 1855 off the southwestern coast of Australia near the end of its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne. The flotsam had drifted 2000 kilometres!

This is the prelude to venturing into the almost-palpable remoteness of Arawhata and Jackson Bay. “Arawata Bill” (in real life gold prospector William James O’Leary, 1865-1947) was a pioneering folk hero who spent decades in this unforgiving area.

He was immortalised in a book by Ian Dougherty and a poem by Denis Glover. At the end of the road is the iconic and quirky Craypot Restaurant, offering seafood treats not-to-bemissed.

Then it’s over the Haast Pass (570m), opened in 1965 and featuring Roaring Billy, Fantail, and Thunder Creek Falls, along with the mesmerising Blue Pools, before we skirt Lakes Wanaka and Hawea en route to Queenstown via the Crown Range. It’s easy to fly back to Christchurch from here, or join the Footsteps Southern Lakes excursion which follows.

To sum up, the direction proffered is definitely west! So long as you come prepared for the pesky sand-flies, walking in this region will be an experience you will never forget. It leaves a lasting deposit in the memory bank.

You can obtain details of the Wondrous Westland excursion by visiting www.footstepswalkingclub.com or contacting them at 021 172 3244, footstepsanz@gmail.com. Registrations for the trip close on 2 February, 2023. Opportunity knocks!

Above: A mirror image on Lake Kaniere.

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