WATERS OF LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 254, 27 October 1938, Page 8

WATERS OF LIFE.

KAIMAI STREAMS AND FALLS.

(By .T.C.) The Land* Department lias done excellent service to the nation during ihe last year in acrjnirinir privatelv owned land that shoi>4<l he owned hy tlie State for scenic, water supply and finest and soil protection purposes. It is h:indica]i|ve<l. however, by inadequate financial resources. 1 lie Department urges that. a reasonable expemlit nre in the acquisition of 1 areas is not only a good investment hnt i~ a jiec<s«ij y if the Dominion is to maintain its. reputation as a country possessing forest and river an<l lake scenerv of an unspoiled

: cha meter. I The largest area of mountain forest countrv acquired by the (iovorninent through the 1 .amis Department dnriii'r 1957-S8 was a valuable area on tho Kaimai the water-lied hotweoii the Upper Thames \ alley and the Tauranpu side—which holds the sources of'the Msitainata town water supply. The Wai-a-te-ariki stream, from which this municipal siipplv is drawn, rises ill the bloek of -t-l'.Hl acres on tho. ramies lieliind Matamata. A well-namod stream; if means "Snored Chief's Hivor." or. say. "Divine Waters."' 'Ibis stream of life, from which the bush miii'ht otherwise be strip]K"<l away, has happily Ih'oii seoure<l now bv the expenditure of £4(110 oil its I purchase: of this sum the Lands Department provided .£2j()o and the .Matamata Borough ('ouncil the rest. Forest v. Water Pressure. This Knimai Ranue. over which the motor highway to Tauranjja passes at a height of about 1:100 feet, is a backbone ridjre which should be secured as a forest and water protection reserve throughout its length. I'nfortuiiatelv tho bush is disappearing 011 the Taurnnsra side, where tiniber-fellinjj is {join;* 011 very clcso to the steep summit of the raiero. One very lieautiful area of ranpre top has already been saved as a scenic reserve; it was set aside in IflOS. This is the part oont aill ill rjr the Wairero Falls. These oan be seen, after heavy rain, from the Kotorua railway, at a point eiuht miles away.

The Wairere ( " I-'lyinsr Water" or "Leaping River") takes its ri~e oil a plateau on the main rau'je -trefching from To Arolia to Mamakn. The falls commence where the stream nt ;i height of 1311 feet al»ove sea level lirst plunges headlong over the side of a precipice in a sheer drop of about 300 feet; a short distance further down there in another fall of 2HO feet ami then a series of cascades and rapid*, making a total decent of about 1200 feet. After heavy r*l:i a magnificent hodv of water fhnnders over the falls, the roar of which can lie heard for miles around. The gorge into which the waters make their leap is covered with native hush, com pricing rata, ritnu. mahoe. tawn. pukatca. makomako. titoki. hinau. niapan and tree ferns. The whole reserve i- clothed in forest with tawa predominating. The falls seem to he dropping ■oxer from (he top of tin- range; the tableland sonr:n frniii which they come is not seen from the western side.