A NATIONAL HERITAGE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 87, 11 January 1928, Page 8

A NATIONAL HERITAGE

TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK MR. G. A. TROUP’S VISIT Speaking of his summer holiday trip to the Tongariro National Park and Lake Taupo, the Mayor (Mr. G. A. Troup) said yesterday that he felt that it was his duty, as a member of the board which controls the park, to take the earliest opportunity of visiting the place, and seeing for himself the possibilities of this great national heritage as a placg pf recreation and rest, a testing ground for endurance, or a commanding centre in which to study nature in her grandest moods. • As' a keen nature-lover, Mr. Troup admits that be was thrilled by his visit to the park, and particularly by his climb lo the top of Ruapehu, in which he had Mr. Salt (also a member of the board) as his guide, philosopher, and friend. ' The Ruapehu Climb. “I want to say,” said Mr. Troup, "that one does not need to be a hardy mountaineer to climb Ruapehu. Anyone that is ordinarily fit can do it, though, of course, it is wisest when visiting the park to do two’ or three good walks round about, so as to harden up a little for the big climb. There is a fine sense of exhilaration experienced in traversing the snowy heights, and there is something to interest all the time.” Mr. Troup said that bathing m the hot lake at the top of the mountain was indulged in on occasions, but nothing of the sort could be attempted when thev were there, as the sides of tiie crater containing the lake were coated thickly with ice, and anyone wishing to bathe would have had to be lowered down the slippery sides by ropes. In addition, there was a great deal of soft snow about, and it was not possible to say where there were crevasses underneath. Sufficient that thev were “on the roof of New Zealand,” and there, in the midst of ice and snow, was a hot lake to remind one of the hidden / forces concealed within the ancient cone.

There were twelve people in Mr. Troup’s partv, including Mr. Butler (his'' brother-in-law), from Napier, so that it may well be imagined that there was somewhat of a crowd for the one-roomed mountain hut to accommodate. Wheh they arrived at that point thev found the hut full of loose snow. This had to be removed, and then thev heated stones at a fire, which were rolled into the hut, thus drying uo .the floor and heating the room at the same time. Everyone slept in the one room—the ladies in the bunks and the men on the floor, under which ' circumstances no one was called upon to doff the clothes they had worn the day through. Good Fishing in the Lake. Mesdames Troup and Butler had preceded the party to Taupo, where they , had the use of a comfortable house near the lake-side, near to a pood fishing ground. Mr. Troup said that he had heard a good deal about the trout of Taupo having become slab-sided through lack of proper food or their natural enemies, but their experience did not bear this out. They caught a great many fish, and there was only one “slab” amongst the lot. On the return journey Mr* Troup paid a visit to the great hydro-elec-tric works at Arapuni, and was much impressed with the volume of water that was passing over the spillway of the new dam, whilst the rush of turbulent water in the confined channel below approximated the Te Horo Horo rapids in velocity and volume. The return journey was made via Te Kuiti and Mount Messenger. The road between Arapuni and Te Kuiti was not by any means good, but from the Mokaii right through to Wellington there was" nothing to complain about.