MOTORING

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 292, 10 December 1929, Page 18

MOTORING

BY SPARKWELL

WITH TENT AND MOTOR. THAT CHRISTMAS VACATION. WHERE SHALL I SPEND IT ? FAVOURITE NORTH ISLAND JOURNEYS. (BY TEIP.) •Readers who want any advice on motor camping, or on routes not so far describeed, may obtain this by writing to "Trip," Motor Editor, "Auckland Star", enclosing a stamped addressed envelope for reply. It is none too early to be planning the journey to be, undertaken at Christmas time. Whether it he long or short depends solely on the spell available, for with tent and car every road in the island is open, and every beauty spot is a potential source of enjoyment. . Beaches, of course, no matter where .

BDGFKJGNDFKMFD[F

'{4MK«KwwwoM<HMaHaH«»wwo< they be, will be packed, but for motor campers who. like the freedom of beach life, without the disadvantages of overabundant humanity, there are many secluded places.: The bays north and "south of Auckland, and especially the Coromandel peninsula, are favourite Christmas camping resorts, and here and there along both coasts are beaches which, while not crowded, offer fine, swimming, and in some cases fishing and boating. -■ Rotorua, Wairakei, Taupo, National Park and Mount Egmont, are among the most popular Christmas resorts, and now that all can be reached on good roads, they are within easy access of any North Island town. Excellent facilities for camping exist at all these places, ;and no matter how many motorists make the journey, there is always room for more; The North Auckland district,..too, offers wonderful possibilities for a , jaunt of a few days, or a few weeks. . Roads are steadily improving there, but of course, there is still the danger; of: being held up by bad weather. A Round Trip. For those who have more time on their hands, a round trip probably commends; itself, and while there are several routes, open to choice, there are certain special ''features which anyone travelling afield should be certain' to see, and which;'may easily be missed, if some definite plan is not outlined before starting. South Island motorists who come across to the North Island especially want to see as much as they possibly can, for the expense of bringing a car across is. such that the journey is not made very often. With the improvements of the roads in the centre of the island, it is easier to reSch Taupo and Rotorua from the south;' find a very good trip can now be made from Wellington, through the centre of the island up to Auckland and down the West Coast, If plenty of time is available it would be more interesting to make up the East Coast, then, make to Rotorua through Whakatane, then go to Tauranga and Auckland, and return down the West. Coast. A brief outline of tlie§e two routes will be given, together with a few of the most interesting tilings to be seen on each. . For real enjoyment ample time is needed, bacause places like Wairakei, Taupo and, Rotorua can only be properly seen and genuinely appreciated when' several days can bes spent at each place. The Central Route. For those who can afford to spend only a fortnight or thereabouts in the North Island, the central route is. advisable, as this gets you rapidly to the most interesting places. Probably the best way (taking Wellington as a starting point) is to make up through Palmerston North to Bulls, and then take the road through Taihape out to Rae-. tilii, camping there a night. Motorists starting from the north will simply reverse the proposed plan, while those from east and west would work- 011 to these roads by the shortest routes available. From Raetihi you would make to the National Park, spending a day or two there/and running on to Tokaanu, where at least a day could profitably be spent. Camping anywhere along the ' shores of Lake Taupo, between Tokaanu itself and the township of Taupo, is delightful, and if the journey, so far has been strenuous a quiet day or two can be spent here, in pleasant fashion. Wairakei is only a few miles from Taupo, and here thermal activity is seen at its best. There is a good camping ground, and frequent trips are made each day to the valley in which one sees, compressed into a few hundred acres, a most varied range of weird and wonderful sights. Using Wairakei as a base, visits can be made to the Huka Falls and the Aratiatia Rapids, both of which should be seen by every visitor. •

From Wairakei to Rotcvua is an easy day, and with headquarters in the pleasantly situated motor camp at Rotorua, several days may be spent seeing the various lakes, Fairy and Hamurana springs, and the sights.at Whaka. If the weather is good a very interesting trip can be made up, through Tauranga to Auckland, camping, a day or two at Tauranga, which, is a most attractive place. The roads from here onwards are bad, and should be-avoided if wet weather is experienced. The run can be made up through Waihi, Paeroa and Thames, tlience to Pokeno, and so on to Auckland. If time permits a run can be made down the Coromandel Peninsula to Coromandel or, better still, across to Mercury Bay—a wonderful bush drive. Whan the pohutukawas are in flower there are few finer sights in New Zealand than the coast line between ( Thames and Coromandel. From Auckland the run back would be made through Hamilton and Te Kuiti, the Waitomo Caves being visited from ' the latter place. The road down through ' the Awakino Gorge and over ..Mount ! Messenger gives many beautiful glimpses ; of bush scenery, and in the vicinity of . the Mokau Gorge there are some great «' camping places. The run down can be i

made along the coast through New Plymouth to Hawera, from which point Dawson's Falls and Mount Egmont can be' easily reached, and *'thereafter;/ the return journey made through Wanganui to Wellington. I have purposely refrained from mentioning the attractions of the various towns en route, assuming that the intention is to see much of the natural beauty and thermal activity of the Island in the shortest possible time. With a month in which to holiday, it would be possible to see almost the whole of the Island, and in this case the best plan would be to make up the East Coast. Using Wellington as a convenient starting point, the journey could be commenced by runing up through the Wairarapa to Napier, thus saving going over any old ground at ali ion the return trip. From Napier ,you could go to Wairoa and then strike inland to Lake Waikaremoana, at present one of the lesser-known beauty spots of the Island. Before many more years have passed it will be possible to make through from Waikaremoana to Rotorua by a direct and very beautiful bush road, but at present a very long jpurney must be made.

From Waikaremoana you would strike back to Wairoa and thence make to Giisborne, a centre of one of our wealthiest pastoral districts. Between Gisborne and Opotiki you run througn the Motu Gorge—one of the finest bush drives possible —on a road that is both steep and narrow in places.' Then you would make through Whakatane to Rotorua, run down to Wairakei and Taupo, and then double back to Tauranga, over the route previously outlined. These are, I think, the two most interesting round trip routes in the North Island', and are easily the most comprehensive, for.whilst they miss out some of those odd gems that are far off the beaten track, they, take in all the principal tourist attractions. : . Moreover, with the exception of one or two short I stretches in the centre of: the Island and .the roads round Tauranga,. they cover' only well-metalled roads, in itself is no mean advantage. The motor camping facilities all over this "round are excellent, and at comparatively little; expense it would be possible for a family to visit' every place mentioned in this article. _ . Next week: Christmas in the South Island.