XIII.—The Silverstream Valley.

(By G. H. Turton).

This lovely valley may be visited either by walking, riding, or driving, although the last-mentioned cannot be recommended, as the road is very steep and rough in some places.

Leaving the terminus of the Roslyn Extension Tramway, we pass down to the left through the Kaikorai Valley, and on up the steep slope on the other side to the Halfway Bush. After passing the Halfway Bush Hotel, a very primitive road may be noticed on the right side of the main road, leading towards Flagstaff. About half a mile further on, the road, which has all this time been ascending, reaches the top of the ridge and begins to descend into the Taieri Plain. We need not dwell on the fair prospects spread before us at various points along the route, as they have probably been already visited in some other excursion; but their beauty never palls, though reiterated attempts at description would doubtless do so. As we continue our descent we notice a large water-race, which comes winding round the face of the hill, and diving underneath the road, stretches away in the direction of Dunedin. This is the race which conveys water to one of the Dunedin reservoirs from the Silverstream, a distance of about twenty miles. Another half a mile on our road takes us to the bridge over the Silver stream. We do not cross this, however, but turn up to the right and follow a track which leads page 293along the left bank of the stream. Passing over some grassy flats we come to several clumps of kowhai or goai trees, which in early spring bear quantities of large yellow flowers, to sip the honey from which the tuis gather round from far and near, and make the air melodious with their music. The track we are following, which is nothing more than a dray track used for bringing firewood to the farms situated lower down the stream, now crosses the stream once or twice; but as the water is shallow, there is no difficulty in doing this. As we go on our way, the mountains on either hand become higher. On the left rises Chalky Hill, and on the right we see the back of Mount Flagstaff, over the shoulder of which we have to climb to reach town. After crossing the stream for the fourth time, the road branches. We take the right hand branch, and leaving the Silver stream behind us we pass up a pretty wooded gully, down which flows a small branch of the main stream. The left hand side of the gully is covered with dense bush, in which birds of various species disport themselves. About half a mile further on the road again branches, and this time we take the left hand branch, and begin to ascend. A little way up we again cross the reservoir water-race, and after a stiff pull up the hill we arrive at the highest point, whence we descend, in a short time arriving at the main road, close to Mr. Hume's asylum; thence we return to town as we came. For anyone who enjoys a good long walk, there is no more pleasurable excursion in the neighbourhood of Dunedin, for in the romantic valley of the Silver stream we find a fair wilderness where mountain, wood and stream combine to form picture after picture to delight the eye.