FOR THE GIRLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOR THE GIRLS.

BY OKATAINA'S SHORE. MAORI LORE AROUND THE CAMP My Dear Girls, Off the beaten track, and in a perfect mh; towering mountain and virgin bush, lie* hidden m/ 11 * the gem of Rotorua's lakes. Only a rainbow tro ing at some careless fly, breaks the calm of I was once fortunats enough to accompany ther ***** ing expedition, which I never shall forget. * After arriving late the night before, I arose j_ the morning before the rest of the party' to * the shore of the lake. I had an impression of loneliness the bush so dark and the water p r „ to Mack; but this passed as the sun awoke to lif " j 0,1 bird world began to herald the new day. Breakfaj'f me quite happy and ready for an eventful d?.v , I had never seen before. After much fussing 11 we tumbled into the open boats; soon, with outboard engines, we were skimming aiontr for all the world like huge dragon flies. Wti»f " g "* c c Clear as crystal and icy cold, its depths reveakd*AJ bottom of the lake. But stop—what are those 1 white things lying half buried in the sand? 'The bo"* of my ancestors," speaks Wee, our party's Maori ntiL And surely, on closer inspection they prove to b» k bones. This is an old burial ground. Swish! Away the line runs from bent rod as a hunmfish strikes. The lucky fisherman winds at his redfZ dear life. All is suspense. Will it break away? But * a few moments the fight is over; glittering at our fJ+ lies a nine-pound trout. * By this time we have reached the sonthera shorn. Approaching I espy a cave some twenty feet cliff. A strange greeting is there, for from its —ri^T opening whole skeletons grin defiance. We have f. L t another Maori burial ground. "Tapu," cries Wee- anJ despite our entreaties, he will go no closer. This m- . j place must remain undisturbed. But the fishermen®* eager now for return to the "finny" regions. Sport is good, so that it seems a very brief hour befora night's approach makes the sun retire defeated; no : r»ntL retirement this, however, but a blaze of glory whieL makes the surrounding mountains regal and majestic. The evening meal over, each member of the party li given an allotted task—some cleaning and preparing fish for smoking, and others scalding, scraping mj -'m, ing the wild pigs which have been taken by two oftfe* men and their dogs. Many hands make such light work that we are soon about a great fire of biasing logs. *3 there one knows the lore and mystery of a camp From the dogs which lie just within the circle of Hgfcjj comes an occasional growl; moreporks call from the QZ while Wee is entertaining the party with stories ofQ gods, his ancestors, and their ghosts. So passes an crm of complete contentment. ] The fire dies down; the others retire. But I ana rest without wandering alone on the coast. Surely j jjjj now in another world. The lake reflects countless sUnj in its perfect mirror; myriad glow worms make the km alive. Here one lives at peace with the whole unhm3 Would that the . : world could rest from turmoil as I • \ A did by Lake Oka-