WITH TENT AND CAR

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 132, 15 December 1928, Page 26

WITH TENT AND CAR

COROMANDEL PENINSULA LITTLE-KNOWN BEAUTY SPOT (By "Trip.") (All Eights Reserved.) New Zealand's scenic resorts are principally of two kinds; they are either easily accessible and very popular, or they are isolated and less widely Jcnown. ■ Within the latter category falls the Coroniandcl Peninsula, which, with its; long white-sand beaches, itsbrilliant poliutukawas, and. its outlook over the Hauraki .Gulf, is. one of those quietly beautiful places w.hich offer so much to the visitor. During recent years, ■with the great" increase in motorcamping, it has become steadily more popular, but the • stream' of traffic is' mainly from Auckland, and;few of those who come from the south realiso how diversified are the attractions along this route, which first passes through tho prosperous Waikato dairying country, and then through a gold^mining area which has made history. Probably the best known gold-mine in the world is the Waihi mine, which has consistently, over a very great many years, won dividends for its fortunate shareholders. Many of the old diggings towns are mere skeletons of their former selves, and to-day Thames is but a sleepy little town with- a hotel on every corner, but the visitor who gets off the beaten track can still see gold being won. •The road from Hamilton runs eastwards, the first place of any size being Morrinsville, a centre of dairying, and surrounded by well-farmed small holdinges. From Morrinsville two routes are possible, one of which would be available only in good weather. The main road, which is, of course, always passable, runs on through Waitoa and Te Aroha, but if the visitor is ■nXious to make a round trip ho can cut across country through Kerepeehi, Striking the main road again some miles from Paeroa. This journey is not particularly interesting, but it gives one the opportunity, of seeing the work of swamp reclamation in full swing. The road —a clay one which gets badly cut tip after rain—runs out through swamp country—desolate fern and manuka land until it is taken, in hand and manured. Further along the road, svhere the reclamation has been completed, smiling farms greet the eye, and it is possible to see something of the effect of reclaiming the swamp land. Difficulties are still experienced after rain, the farms all being on low-lying land, but thousands of fertile acres have been added to the dairying land of the district. TE AEOHA SPRINGS. The main road, which will be followed by the_ majority of motorists, runs out to Waitoa, where there is the largest dried milk plant in New Zealand. This factory, which now turns out well over 3000 tons of dried milk a year, is owned, by the Now Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., a concern which has factories dotted throughout the whole of the Waikato area. Milk drying is a most complicated process, and the production of milk on the farms has to bo carefully watched, as only the finest possible quality can be used. Special permission has to be obtained to go through the plant, but to those interested it is an education. " < Waitoa is but a. few..miles from Te Aroha, one of our lessor known spas, where hot mineral springs and (fold springs may bo • found within a few

yards of each other. A camping ground is provided at Te Aroha, and in addition thero are places within easy reach of the town whero camp can bo pitched. I Many fine walks can be made up the steep mountain, #hich rises sheer behind tho little township, and the river provides excellent boating and fishing, so that a few days can be well spent 'in this vicinity. Everyone tries the Te Aroha waters, but most people do not li':e them, tho general taste being that of hot water in which an excessive quantity of baking soda has been dissolved. They posses excellent curative properties, however, and invalids come from far and near to drink the Te Aroha waters. GOLD MINING COUNTRY. From Te Aroha onwards for the thirty miles to Thames, the motorist is passing through the gold belt, and at various points along tho road it is still possible to see mining operations in full swing. The road runs out through Paeroa, Hikutaia, and a number of other small towns, going mostly through farmIng country, and eventually reaching Thames—a typical, straggly, gold-min-ing town, living largely on the glories on the past. Thames was once supposed to have over a hundred hotels, and judging by the number of empty structures along every street, one can well believe it. For tho size of the place there are still a great many, but few make any pretence of catering for tho tourist traffic. When tho tide is in Thames Jooks quite picturesque, but when the tide is out, and the whole estuary of mud is exposed to view, it is far from it. There is nothing of beauty about the town itself, and the motorist-camper will be well advised to push on a few miles past the town, and camp by one of the beautiful beaches which skirt the coast between • Thames and Coromandel. A BEAUTIFUL RUN. When the pohutukawas are in bloom, thero are few coastal runs as beautiful as that from Thames to Coromandel, which skirts the coast, thon runs over ono or two steep hills, and strikes the coast again. White sandy beaches, fringed everywhere with the pohutukawa, stretch out along the road, afid camp can be pitched in secluded spots and the open-air life followed to tho heart's content. Another feature of special interest along this road is the mangrove swamps, these being reminiscent of the tropical swamps with which the mangrove is usually associated. Many.who have seen these weird trees for the first time have found it impossible to believe that they were actually tho same- as -the mangrove of tropical fame, and.this is one of the few places in New Zealand in which they occur. Coromandel itself is another of the nondescript towns of the mining area, and has little to recommend it except that it can bo made :i centre from which a number of very interesting journeys can be made. ' Camp can bo pitched close to tho town, or further out amidst the-bush. From Coromandel several in- j teresting launch trips can be made to' points from which the bush-clad ranges ; beyond tho town can be climbed, and the opportunity should also bo taken while hero to run across to Mercury Bay, which provides further vistas of rugged scenery and more stiff climbs for the mountaineering enthusiast. All down this area the visitor sees scenery of: t type that is found in few places in New Zealand, and it is undoubtedly a fact that ono of tho reasons why touring in tho Dominion is of neverending interest is this diversity, which means that wherever one goes ono sees something new and fresh. The steep bush-clad hills rising sheer above the bluest of seas, the vista of the Hauraki Gulf, dotted here and there with dainty islets, and the panorama of tho pohu-tukawa-lined beaches, all make this journey an ideal ono for tlie summer vacation.