WHANGAROA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 87, 11 April 1906, Page 3

WHANGAROA.

■ I 0 RESOET S job a hoeebat' lounge.

PART L

at las* a rrives ' tila * blissful „f the year when it- becomes \\s~rr to positively make up one's s 2 S Jhere one shall spend the brief span of holiday, the question --1 srßes for the New Zealander is much as "which." The Actions are legion: the difficulty is **'. I ™ celect. This difficulty applies I & & notable city m the colony though, of course choice is to limited by time. Anxious, as may be the Dunedenite ejo 3 .the Hot Takes, the trip, though could only be to a very niodi•"Tjjgjree successful when compressed §jg "a two weeks' limit. A similar * HlitT j s imposed on the Northerner - Q ardently hankers to conquer some Southern Alpine peak, or to C Sor the wonders of the Tasman gla- -'" But even, say, for example, to iha jueklander the choice is bewildering, j the difficulty of making up one's is correspondingly great. Yet ftju, a°ain. pocket simplifies the mat'to- ana wipes off the slate many dejAtfal projects, and in the end ona is —jwtranied to pick amongst some dozen at less, which meet the requirements «f one's tastes and the decrees of a Sjjged purse. In some such quandary ,35 the writer hereof this year, when Bgaecme who had "done it before"* SsHfieentiy suggested Whangaroa. fyjujjgaroa seen on even a flying excuras the annual cruise of the Company—must ever prove t dekshiful memory, hut to really apellate its possibilities needs a long indeed, and a fortnight or three simply stimulate the appetite «jr more- Yet even in this period, to cose with simple tastes for launching. ; gdnz, picnicking, riding, driving, and if eer*eiie climbing, Whangaroa will furjgi a holiday to be day-dreamed of many a winter evening -when tie smoke from the pipe curling upward f-ames -picture after picture of pleasures rasi If a brief and exceedingly imperfect account of some of the doings of 5 smalt party of three during a fortsigfitfs stay at this little known resort skrald send half a dozen readers in garch of similar enjoyment* some other -tear, assuredly the task of scribbling sad mnstrating will have been "worth ge candTa." Behold us, therefore, embarking one Eenorahle Monday in February on the Joriiern S.S. Co.'s Clansman, two ordieev mortals and a photographer with a most amazing quantity of gear, over siaeh he clucks with anxiety, after the [Earner of the domestic hen with a eoul& of chicks. The stewards are obligißgiy certain everything will be quite 'mc, and at last, after the inevitable Ke passenger has arrived after the i fsgway is on board, and has been I saled" on deck in a manner certainly S snter in re, to the accompaniment of j kjjaage not at all suaviter in modo by it much tried mate, we are off, and. down the harbour on as perfect s summer evening as the heart of tired man could desire. Oh! the bliss of those efter (muter pipes -on deck, while with * -raole fortnight of freedom before us resolved like school-freed children, taat the cfiiee be anathematised for 14 Rrfeet days, and feasted in imagination en coming joys. Early to bed was the order, and.consequently it was early to rise also, for fereaifast was announced for 6.30 at fatesi. little after five, therefore, fonui all on admiring the fine isadTand of Cape Brett, the famous "hole ffi the wall," and, finally, just about foeakast time, the entrance into- KuseS. Arrived at this once busy port, a large proportion of our passengers leave is, aifi we decide to stop ashore while Se steamer goes across the harbour to %h to coaL To my mind, Russell and Be 'Bay of Islands have been much overBad from a scenic standpoint. We "did" fte traditional sights of the place, the »H church with its bullet marks, and M cfareh with its bullet marks, and the femb of the great Tamati Waka Nene. Swise, we climbed Flagstaff H2L, njßs. whence the view is certainly magand looked over to Waitangi: W tnough we took our time over all Sese things, it was yet early when all *as done, and we were driven to the of heaving ducks and drakes j nam. the shingly and wondering - «aea on earth—or rather water —the I would return, and we should pt dhmer. This we ultimately had to tgiat the hotel, and did not finally get ®*f of BnsseH till well after three. ?ptdn Farqnhar did the honours of « ferboar and coast with his famous recounting legends and pointocr peculiarities of the rock forma&a,ete. j hiiras long after five, with a strong ge blowing and a bloomy sky overhead! reached the entrance to the fam-1 TSaarbour. and were set the puzzle set !f*fl newcomers to Irnd the entrance to j Heads. This is practrcallv an im-! task till you are "in the know." sfcown the landmarks by which | rfiiarrow passage may be found. It is i °f mine to attempt a de-, gjicn of what is certainly one of the | JS? aad most picturesque harbours in 'rfjorld. Towering rocks of majestic lovely bays stretching this way -sfoK 3 * with its attractions. |H *ould. take a month alone to exand the thousand other g8 make up Whangaroa are bewe skill of any pen to describe, j %m^L aII inj(iifferejlt scribbling of ! a* wf 3 * Something too much 0 f the accidental resem- j certain rocks to certain people, & Jl t y■*"^ ne called upon to admire c, ~^?; 3 i'ose, Mushroom Socks, etc., \ ad nauseam, but the granj§jr?^ e r ock formation as a whole, , if tile !lartlo ' ar windings, and ! %so» >ar of ac toufc ensemble, with steSd mass of st - Paul Qmlt on the and St. Peter on the other, with rt ? ra tJie 6ack S roraid s **& Triri ,eea c J ll^-!05 *°- an< i SOnic ' New Zealand Domto sing its. praises. to- .get on. Whangaroa about six, there be--51131 Cstßame " feT' crowd to mW Clansman .berth." Arrived at Mi Sbtel, where a warm welwaited ns from T£ osfc Gothard— % W ta& P«iy having stopped -with %hj£*?~ Ve found ourselves instaHll iote ia ? iart to be found in of a much more pretentious and high-sounding icputa-

' ------ -.-. :"_":.- / . ' 25552 We were, early afloat nest morning In- - charge of Engineer Hare (jxm.), of Kaeo, and in our launch. Wild Rose speeding down the exquisite reaches of the harbour to pick up a place for a camp, for it had "been agreed that as the finest photographic effects—so far as mists and reflections were concerned: —are only procurable within half an hour after sunrise, it wonld he well to camp out for one or two nights. Concerning how this fanned out" more anon. Of camping places at Whangaroa there are an infinity, but we. wanted to be near the Heads and Okahumoko Bay, ; We therefore chose the spot called Banfurly Cove, where there is good water an unsurpassable outlook, and good landing facilities from the launch at all tides. Further up Okahumoko is another ground which many might prefer, for the water here comes down in a eonsiderabie cascade, filling a large pool several feet deep, and suitable for a j fresh water bath after a preliminary dip in the sea. It was at this latter spot we enjoyed the never-to-be-for-gotten "'-"kapu Maori" picnic to which I shall revert later. Tor convenience of fishing, etc., etc., both may be said to be equal. That night we did spend in c-amp, and by coincidence it was the one cold night we had during our stay — •one of those curiously bitter nights , which "blow in" to a New Zealand suni--1 mer three or four times in the season. We slept but poorly and rose chilled and shivering. Now, whether it was this, or the fact that we found we could reach any bay we wanted within half an hour from the hotel—so speedy was the launch—or whether it was the flesh pots of Egypt that kept us back, in the shape of Mrs GothanTs inimitable cookery, I leave to the conscience of my companions, and the acuteness of the reader. Suffice it to say that each evening our photographic fraud —I mean friend, of course—would say that- "the indications -were not favourable; it would be no use going down to the- camp,'' and as -we always joyfully acquiesced, there is, I am free to confess, no doubt we were "particeps criminis/' But those breakfasts were too good to miss: at all events, we never again occupied the tent, though it made a convenient store for our photographic gear. In this Bay of Okahumoko we spent a very great part of our time, and never exhausted its delights or failed daily to discover new beauties. Fishing here is also excellent, though the kahawai arenot so large, and therefore do not fight quite so strongly as those outside the heads. Those who have never tried fishing for these splendidly game fish with a, rod and light line will wonder at our spending hour after hour, on day after day. at the sport—for sport pure and simple it is, the fish being valueless for food. An hour's trial would, however, convince the most phlegmatic, unexcitable individual that nothing like it- exists in linefishing, and that it is one of the keenest pleasures in the world. The outfit needed is a rod of good quality greenheart, a light "tarpon"' line, and a large size Nottingham reel—avoiding the cheapest makes. We tried many spinning baits, j but found far the most cr MUing" a large size gold or silver minnow, or the patent "otter" bait, which is cheap, strong, and ] very effective. As sport, and not "killing for killing's sake;,'-" is the object, a fairly light trace should be used, hut trout gut I is not suitable, as, however careful one may be, the"striking of the fish at the : rate the Whangaroa launches travel (one i cannot reduce the speed to less than hair j speed with success) one is almost certain j jto snap the gut. Launches specially J built for fishing, such as.are used on Rotorua, would, of course, enable any evtm j fairly skilful sportsman to strike his fish j without undue risk. The horse-power |of the average Whangaroa launch is a trifle high for very light tackle. If the gut does not snap, of eonrse the fun is all the keener, tut the risk is 99 in the 100. The line is let out j some twenty to thirty yards, and th«»u operations start. If the fish are about, their presence is signalled by the ; sea-swallows, known as "kahawai birds," which follow them round (it is said) j j for the smaller fish they are chasing. If ! ! the fish are about, as I have said, you , j ha~e not long to wait; there is a jerk, I j and the reel whirrs round with a veritI able screech, which is the sweetest music | in the world! •"Fish, hoi" you yell to the engineer,: and the engine is stopped, or even, if | necessary, reversed. Nine times out of ] ten, as you frantically reel in your line i (some fifty or sixty feet will have been taken out at least), you will imagine j that the fish has got off, for nearly in- -, variably the fish, when struck, swims towards the boat. But a reassuring fresh ; bolt convinces you he is there, and if the j fish be large, then commences a battle the j joys of which are far, far beyond the ; j telling. Giving Mm the butt, and keep- ( ing a gentle strain on the rod (don't j have too "stiff a one. there's far better I fun with one with a bit of j |in it) you gently wind in the reel. Then ! comes a sudden tension, your rod bends, j and with another exquisite whirr out ' goes another twenty yards of line, -And • so, according to the size.and gameness ; of the fish, -the struggle goes on,..you' gaining a few yards after every rush as j you bring your prey in. Time and again \ he will spring out of the water j then j smartly lower your point, or you may j lose him, tackle and all. Careful, too, J lis the word when the brave fish comes I into sight of the launch and fatal gaff, j Down, down he will bore, and now, only t just give him as much as your trust in j yG3r rod and tackle require; keep on the j 6train, stiff and steady, but more severe, j Gaffing requires some little skill, both by the man behind the grdf and the fisher- J man. For. if your rod-be ten feet or! upwards in length, and you have a long-. J ish trace, it is difficult to "get back" in the boat far enough, so the fish, i caving a fair swing and headway, there is always a danger your prize may make a filial dash for the propeller, and then what faEs falls —language.has no;word for it:- since tackle, fish and, perchance, the top of your rod, will.probably go, and you he' left lamenting: -'As* a '■rule, when the fish are feeding, both.; rods— only two can well fish at a be occupied at the same momentr but if not, the slack line is reeled in in case of complications. The third, who is not 'fishing, handles the gaff, and also usually shouts direction ; Warnings (always disregarded and sWorn at) 'to the fishers. as a good, heavy, game fish -will often fight fen or even fifteen minutes, and one strikes again again, one is always, after killing a fish* or two, physically tired out for the moment aiid only too willing to take a "smoke, ho!" give up the rod, and assume the - control of the steering, gear and the charge of"the gaff. No. amount of description can, as said, give the-remotest idea" of the charm Of this fishing, and of-the erfjoymenfe, secured in- cruising round and round' the harbour" from. one lovely resort •to another in search of it. - When tiredper for a change, and for the pot, there is.magnificent sehnapper .and. rock cod- fishing "outside;? and, witbtnegun. on board, the frequent chance of aunsuccessful—«t the > detested shag. 4X9. he~£oal3Ziued.2,;:l - ' : |