UREWERA FISHING HOLIDAY

Hawera Star, Volume L, 21 February 1931, Page 14

UREWERA FISHING HOLIDAY

OKAIAWA RESIDENTS’ TRIP. A glorious holiday was enjoyed by a party of Okaiawa fishing enthusiasts who recently visited the Urewera country in hopes of striking some fresh fishing waters off the regular beaten track.

Leaving O'kaiavva they travelled by way of Awakino Valley, where a stay overnight was -made and the Awakino River was fished for a couple of hours, five fine rainbow being landed, the largest 61b. The party proceeded through Kihi-Kihi and Araupni to Rotorua, and then eastward by the Rotorua-AVaikaremoana Road to Aluripara, on the banks of the Rangitaiki River.

At Arapuni the work of reconstruction proved of special interest and the best part of a day was spent in looking over this great undertaking. When •one sees the headrace and what were | once the famous falls, free of water, j the magnitude of the task of reconstruction is at once apparent. The pumice road from Rotorua to Muripara passes through the great Government pine plantations, 260,000 1 acres in one block, in which trees in all stages of growth were seen. It was surprising to see liow well the trees grew in such poor, light pumice country, but evidently the officers of the Forestry Department have chosen the right trees for that class of soil. Making Muripara their headquarters

II the party fished various stretches of the Rangitaiki and one of its tributaries, the Whirinaki, and had excellent sport among the rainbow trout, 1 ' also getting an occasional brown. The

fishing in these two streams was really wonderful, the trout being plentiful, in good condition and full of fight. The Whirinaki they consider equal to any fly stream in the North Island and the Rangitaiki is very similar to the Tongariro.

On leaving Muripar.a, the paryt decided to travel south across the Kaingaroa Plains, over the roads recently constructed by the Forestry Department. This proved a fairly difficult undertaking, as the work is not yet complete, but they eventually got ! through to the Napier-Taupo Road. This stretch of country, roughly 42 miles in length, is being laid out in great blocks in preparation for planting and two large nurseries have been established for raising the young trees. Parallel with the road runs the Rangitaiki River, with wonderful fishing water, miles of which have never been fished.

While traversing these plains the party saw numbers of mobs of wild horses, which are gradually being shot out as the work of afforestation proiceeds. The whole of the plains is in - I tested with rabbits, which also are being cleared up by paid rabbiters. Tappo was next visited, then Wairakei, after which several days were spent on the Waikato River at OrakeiKorako, a little-known but weird region of thermal activity. The fishing there, too, was excellent. In this district are the plantations of a private company, which lias already set out 1 o(»,00;> acres and has j large areas in preparation. I The return trip was made via Atia-, miiri, Putaruru and To Kuiti, and the

holiday was altogether a. most enjoyable one, the weather being fine and the roads for the most part in good order, especially those through the pumice area.