THE JOYS OF WALKING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 234, 4 October 1927, Page 6

THE JOYS OF WALKING.

It is a great thing to be able to walk away r om .. e troubles of life, or even from its little stupidities. Unfortunately, we are not born walking; some children are certainly born wanderers, a propensity that is apt to be severely curbed by distressed parents, alarmed by the dangers attached thereto. Nevertheless, the habit of walking should be acquired early in life so that whenever we look towards the distant blue hills we shall forget the valleys that lie between and start off thinking only of the joy of reachin-r the summit. °

Children of eight or ten years will easily do fifteen miles a day without taking into account the energies used up during the time spent midway on beach or in bush, and will return at evening to play cricket without a thought of tiredness. They will know, too, every hedge row on the way, where birds are building their nests and they will have successfully dammed up every tiny creek flowing across the road—and you would be surprised to know how many creeks do flow across this narrow neck of land on which Auckland st&ndsi

A quarter of a century ago, Aucklanders were comparatively independent of the then inadequate tram and bus services provided. When Ponsonby x? ,i i w . ent to B f e a football match at Potter's Paddock—now Alexandra Park—they crossed the .Newton Gully and went through the open scoriastrewn paddocks at the back of Mount Eden to Jbpsom, walking back again by the same way. To-day no one but a member of our Tramping Club would think ot walking such a distance.

xXS y ? U , wou,d really know your Aueklanr! start out from Queen Street wharf, and, turnin«» east, walk along the sea front to Kohimarama and ht. Heller's, strike across to the Tamaki, turn again towards Otahuhu, and so back to Onehuno-a You can easily do it in a d»y. From OnehunW the coast road follows the beautiful Manukau shores past Waikowhai on to Blockhouse and Green Bays, whence another road will take vou well within sight of the sea, to the heights of ? ay leads downhill to Cornwallis and the Hum. This is another day's tramp, well within the capacity of healthy boys and girls or of men and women of ordinary stamina. From' Huia to Whatipu at the North Manukau Head is ! only a few miles, but the road leads through such glorious bush and the views of the Manukau Harbour and of the Western Ocean are *o entrancing that one is apt to loiter on the waV so that, while it is easily possible to do the' further six miles along the smooth ocean beach to Karekare m the day, most lovers of the open are tempted to make Whatipu their dav's objective especially if they want to visit {he beautiful Parenga Gorge half-way between Whatipu and Karekare. A coach road over the hillsbnngs. one up to Nihotupu, on the crest of the vvaitakeres, and once more within sight nf Auckland. To complete the circumference of the city it is only necessary to go down through Oratia, Glen Eden and New Lynn to AvondaTe and on along the concrete road to Point Chevalier and Grey Lynn, then by way of the Ponsonby waterfront back to the citv.

Walking seems to be an activity in which Wellington people excel Aucklanders. It cannot be a matter of climate, either, for, if we have rain and mud during the cool season, they 'are similarly handicapped, and, in addition, those who climb into the Tararuas have to contend with heavy fogs, deep snow and bitter cold. \ feuweeks agq a large party which got as far as the top of Mount Alpha had to turn back because it was considered that those who had to wait while others cut steps in the ice would be in serious danger of freezing! Week after week throughout the entire year, parties of Wellin«tonians go into the ranges and perform feats of walking and climbing that Aucklanders rarely attempt. "The taking of rain and sun alike befits men of our climate," said Meredith, himself an enthusiastic walker. It should be equally true j of New Zealanders. —E.W.W.