From Queenstown, tourists travel south alongside the beautiful blue waters that lap
the feet of the Eyre Mountains on one side while the road runs precariously along the mountain slopes of the Remarkables. At one stage the road has had to be cut through the mountain itself. This pass, because of its shape and its seemingly treacherous bend, is called ‘The Devil’s staircase.’

The road almost overhangs the lake itself some two hundred
feet below – and this is a spectacular boundary for
Waimea Plains parish.

Before the last ice age the lake, glacier formed, flowed out in this direction to the sea. As the ice melted, the ground rose and dammed the exit. Water from the lake runs into the Kawarau River near Queenstown. Yet the mighty Kawarau drains less than half the volume that pours into the lake. Where does the rest go? It’s a mystery. Nobody knows. It’s true that another river, the Mataura, starts in
the gorge near Garston. Its source is a spring. Is the
spring fed by the lake?
Scientists have tried many
ways to find out, but there has been no proven connection.

On the flat area at the end of
the lake is Kingston. From here in the early days the steam
boat, ‘Earnslaw’, the old lady of the lake, ran to Queenstown. From Kingston to Lumsden passengers continued by steam train. Now that the road has been cut through the ‘Earnslaw’ does not do this trip. However, the ship is still far from the wrecker’s wharf. She ferries thousands of tourists around a small portion of the lake.

The train, the Kingston Flyer

too continues its journey from Kingston but only as far as Fairlight. This too is a tourist attraction.

Kingston is now no longer the busy junction that it was fifty years ago. It is now full of holiday homes and a few permanent houses. Kingston is a fabulous beach for boating and water sports but unlike Queenstown it is the sole prerogative of Southland holiday families.

Travelling on through this gorge, with its mountains on each side, across snow tundra, the road leads past many of our best high stations. Then it passes Garston, a farming support area, and the only pub in the valley on to Athol. The fame of this valley is based upon the Soper family. The first Soper came from England and set up the pub at Garston and now the descendants stretch the full length of the valley.

Two generations ago the Soper family not only fielded their own rugby team but they were the pride of Southland. Another family on the Southland plain, the Boyles, also had a family team and these two teams met yearly. It was a match not to be missed. The Boyles were Roman Catholic and the Sopers Anglicans so an extra rivalry was added to the game. The Soper family are proud of their All Black, Ack Soper. And so is the parish.

Athol, with a train junction, shops, and remarkably sheltered from the prevailing winds, became the centre of the Valley. Here the Athol family established and built their small wooden church. Sadly the railway has gone and the workers with it. Still today the congregation is largely made up from the Soper descendants.

Ack Soper is the lay minister and point of contact for the Church in this valley. A monthly house church service is held in Kingston at the home of Murray and Decima Lott, a high country family. Decima was a Soper. Incidentally, Murray is one of the country’s leading dog handlers.