FIRES, ROADS, AND RABBITS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17986, 1 February 1924, Page 5

FIRES, ROADS, AND RABBITS.

I FROM CHRISTCHURCII TO RAKAIA. A motorist who recently made the journey from Christchurch to Bakaia had several aspects of the trip impressed. on his memory, notably in con- , nexion with fires, roads, nnd rabbits. I The possibilities of some big conflagraI tions from the proximity of the railnay liHe to large plantations with adjoining areas of fairly dry herbage were very apparent, and at many places fires of a very recent date had" caused damage. The first evidences of fire were met with before Kolleston was reached, but tlie iiKun danger zone appeared to be between Rolleston and the Selwyn river. In some high broom just past Bolleston a big blaze had raged, while a little further on, in an oak plantation near Burnham, a destructive fire had .evidently been stopped onlv by a crossroad intervening. Eight "at Burnham a fire was at that moment sweeping merrily across a gras3 paddock, with boaters at "work to cheek its spread. The biggest fire had evidently raged between Burnham and the Sjlwyn river. Here nearly two miles of flame had cleaned up the undergrowth in the plantation alongside the line, destroying several chains of fencing, and had leaped the road to a valuable wattle pine, and bhiegum plantation. Here some very fine trees had been burnt. At Bankside wero seen the fire-guards ploughed to protect the Selwvn Plantation Board's property in that area. As regards the road it was in good order on leaving Christchureh, but gradually became worse until a perfect nightmare of a surface was met with from Rollcston to the Selwyn, reaching the height of friglitfulness near tlio Burnham station. ITuge ridges of loose shingle have been ploughed up by the traffic, and the' wheels now ride | in tho valleys between. The Sehvyn crossing, however, was found to be in very good order, in fact, almost preferable to the> alleged main road. A deviation was made at Dunsandel to a road via the Selwyn school. This was a most decided cliango for tho better, in<fact, the best stretch of road of the whole journey was that first few miles out of Dunsandel.

Oil the run to Bankside rabbits wore very much in evidence, dozens of them being seen, apparently quite indifferent to the presence of the motorists. The only drawback to this route, Dunsandel to Bankside, is the number of open water-races, fifteen of them having to be negotiated. From Bankside another deviation was made to the right to a road ■which rejoins the main road near the Bakaia bridge. This also was .1 good scheme, as a great deal of rough road was thereby avoided. On the whole, the experience proved that the main roads are not always the best., but that one who knows His way about may often save miles of unhappy driv ing by choosing a path away from the beaten track. NORTH ISLAND TOUR. WELLINGTON TO HAMILTON VIA GISBORNE. About the biggest and finest round trip in the North Island is to go up to Rotorua via Napier and Gisbornc and to return via Hamilton, Te ICuiti, and New Plymouth.. Mr W. Or. Talbot, of "Wellington, who recently made this tour, writes as follows in the "Dominion": — I

From Wellington to Napier is too well known to need description suffice it to say that it is a reasonable day's trip, and that once clear of Wellington's corrugated roads, the going is ex. cellent.

Once clear of Napier on the road to Wairoa rough unmetalled roads are encountered in places, with evidence of the expenditure of large sums of money in making the road passable at all times of the year. There are still several gangs of men working on the road, and .while for the most part their operations are followed by a steam roller, their method of dumping large quantities of stones direct from the quarry on to the road and breaking them into somewhat smaller pieces at their leisure eauses considerable trouble, particularly to a car with the low clearance now becoming common. On a dry day the journey can be done in a. day comfortably. Probably on a wet day it would cause much anxiety in places. The hills are pretty; stiff, and there' is little scenery to enthuse over. ■The next stage from. Gisborno onwards compares probably more than favourably with any scenery on any mptor route in the Dominion. The roads generally are metalled as far as Opotiki, but rough. Through the splendid Motu Bush much care is needed on the very narrow roads, and passing another car is not a pleasure. Until recently the bonds on some corners could only be negotiated by a car with a good lock, but thi s has been remedied. The view from the ranges is magnificent. The long run down to the" plains approaching ■ Opotiki discloses some of the finest scenery possible but much care in driving and good' brakes are essential. From Opotiki to Whakatane discloses roads with excellent surface and grand scenery through the "Waimana Gorge. The most troublesome journey is from "Whakatane to Eoforua. There is no metal, and while the writer was fortunate enough to strike it on a fine, drv day, it could not pass observation that in wet weather there would be places requiring chains and some luck to get through safely. There is magnificent scenery when approaching the four lakes, but the roads appear to get •worse as you approach Eotorua, and the last stage of the journey tries one's temper considerably.

Gisborne to Botoraa is a long day's journey. Excellent roads_ are struck when leaving Botorua until the Mamaku Bush road is encountered, through which an average speed of about four miles appears to be the limit in fine weather. In bad weather it is better to leave it alone, and travel via Atiamuri, which is something over twenty miles further to reach Hamilton. Once through the Bush road excellent time can bo made round about Tirau and onwards to Hamilton, outside of which some miles of pot hole's are struck reminiscent of Thorndon quay.