NAPIER TO KAIMANAWA AND BOTOAIRA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1096, 29 October 1869, Page 2

NAPIER TO KAIMANAWA AND BOTOAIRA.

NOTES BT H. S. TIFFEN, ESQ. Fkom Napier to Matapirou; (Mr. Cartwright Brown's station) 25 miles, the road is well known, and therefore needs no comment. Beyond that, owing to the encroachment of the JSTgaruroro river, a short side cutting is necessary to make it a good dray < road. After leaving Matapirou, ;the road continues along the flat for about? three miles, when it takes to the low grassy hills on the right, passing through a gateway on the boundary line between Messrs. .Brown and McDougall's runs. The ground is undulating, and, with very little expense, a good dray road could be made to the Ngaruroro . river, on the left bank of whichyis Whana Whana, Messrs. Herrick and Williams' outstation and shearing shed. To reach this you have to cross the Ngoruroro twice, but the road to Kaimanawa would leave the station to the left and wind amongst fern hills, saving one mile of distance, and missing the river , crossings. From Matapirou to Whana Whana I estimate the distance to be 10 miles, and to make it available for dray traffic, I think £60 would be sufficient. After leaving Whana Whana, the present track goes; over some very rugged country, but I believe- a' very easy gradient could be maintained to the Ngaruroro river, which is again and for the last time met with at a distance of 15 miles. At about five miles from Whana Whana is a house built by Henare, now unoccupied, often used as a halting place. The road turns to the right, a few chains from this. The Ngaruroro river is of small dimensions at this place, with rather 'a sharp current. It runs between rocky banks, and could be very easily bridged— absence of timber being the only drawback. Here the Messrs. Birch have erected a "Traveller's rest," where .will be found cooking utensils, an axe, &c, which the public are privileged to use but are expected to leave for the use of other travellers, ,On crossing the river you immediately have to breast the hill called Kurupapanga (Little Annie). I had heard such a bad account of this hill, that I was agreeably surprised to find it only a quarter of an hour's pull. As far as I could judge in the short time I had to spare, this hill can be avoided ; from the summit of the hill, before descending to the Ngaruroro, I observed a very easy descent to the river through a valley to the left, and a corresponding valley on opposite side by which , an easy ascent could be made. The soil of the hills is extremely light, of volcanic nature, and side cutting would be extremely easy, excepting where bold rocky bluffs crop out. I estimate there would be 15 chains of this rook work between Whana Whana and Ngaruroro, and two cuttings of 15 feet deep through saddles. After ascending Kurupapanga (little Annie), the track runs through broken, but easy country for road making, until you descend to a brawling stream called Tauruarau, distant six miles fromNgaruroro. This stream could be easily bridged, having good firm high banks. Here a side cutting, deviating to the right of the present track, and with a gradient of 1 in 15, could be made ; a saddle would require cutting through ; and two rocky points have to be blasted. These points, although expensive to make a road past, would furnish the metal that will be imperatively necessary on all roads running. to or from the Ruapehu and Tongariro country. It is a very erroneous opinion some have that by traffic the pumice soil will consolidate ; evidence to the contrary is apparent everywhere in that locality; the horse tracks, instead of consolidating, are worn down, in many places 18 to 24 inches. But I'm getting out of my road. After crossing Tauruarau, you have to ascend Long ' spur, covered with dwarf shrubs, flax, fern, and grass. Exploration is necessary before any line is determined upon here, as the natives inform me there is a track to Kaimanawa ranges which would very materially lessen the distance to Taupo ; even should a dray road be impracticable, if the Kaimanawa; proves a ' payable gold field a bridle track would be highly desirable. : Once having ascended Long spur, you reach some beautiful rolling downs, well grassed. The road here is good until you near the Rangitikei, the descent to which is rather steep, .. but could be made very easy by winding down a long spur on the right hand. The Rangitikei is a considerable stream running out to the West Coast ; it has good firm bainks, and does not appear to be liable to heavy freshets. A bridge over this would not be an expensive matter. Cross tbis ( river well up, and not where the whares ariv I estimate the total distance from TSuiaarau to

Rangitikei to be 12 miles. After leaving the Rangitikei, the track goes up a steep fcce of the table land, on the left of a pretty little cascade. A side cutting with one zigzag, I believe, would enable this ascent to be accomplished with a gradient of 1 in 13. After reaching the top you are again on fine grass downs. Sheep tracks perhaps will puzzle the traveller here; keep the track running close to the right of some curiously laminated rocks for say a v mile and a half, whence a good road takes you past the shearing shed of the Messrs. Birch, and from there to their station, Ohinewairua, you follow the dray road. Total distance from Rangitikei —seven milei. The Kaimanawa is now approachable; indeed the Ohinewairua run comprises a portion of the grassy slopes of that range. From Ohinewairua there is a driving road crossing the low part of Kaimanawa, which probably could be made available for drays, in which case the distance to Potu (Rotoaira) would be shortened by 30 miles. I purpose inspecting this early in November. The present track, after leaving Ohinewairua, runs between grassy hills and over undulating ground to Ruapunga, three miles distant. Here is a very comfortable halting place, clean whares, poultry of all lands, sheep, cows, &c. After crossing j Ruapunga, the road proceeds down the fine grassy flat to its end, where it crosses a low spur, also a stream at a slip-panel, and takes .up a grass and clover valley, which brings ihe traveller to Pukaiwi pa, at. a distance of five miles from Ruapunga. After leaving Pukaiwi the road runs first over fern hills, and then through pretty little valleys, with a boggy creek or two, hard at the bottom, the bottom a long way off, until you arrive at a waterfall on the Turangarere, above which you cross the river. This is another good halting place. The road, after crossing the river, ascends a sharp pinch, passing through three small points of bush on the way up; after descending the range, the track runs through a grassy valley until the plains are reached, at a distance of seven miles from Turangarere. On the left, at about a mile of! from the track, is a clump of bush called Ohautupaku, where is a good whare and native plantation. Persons not anxious to camp out should make this their halting place, as there is neither whare nor firewood for the next 20 miles. Resume the main track, if Ohautupaku has been halted at, and proceed through fine grass land for about 10 miles. A nasty piece of boggy land, about two chains long, is met with in this part of the road. A bridge eight feet wide would avoid it; by bearing a little to the left the bog is less difficult. You now arrive at Bangipo, a most desolate tract of land, six miles long and three miles wide, covered with volcanic ashes and large boulders, with scarcely any vegetation. It is well called "The Desert." Here you are advised by the natives to " ask no questions;" it isn't lucky. On first entering the desert you meet with the Wangaehu river, the water . of which is whitish and very sulphureous; indeed quite unuseable. After crossing this the track follows alongside for two miles or more, and then turns a little to the left, and proceeds in a N.N.E. direction for four miles, re-crossing the Wangaehu. Should the driving road from Messrs. Birch's prove available for dray traffic, it would strike the present track somewhere hereabouts. The volcanoes Ruapehu and Tongariro rise up from the western edge of the desert, and when we passed them, on the 20th instant, were magnificent objects, clothed with snow to their base. Ruapehu is estimated to rise 7000 feet above the level of the plain, and this it does without any intervening object to lessen its grandeur. The path leaves the desert between two high sand-hills and enters upon grass land of indifferent character, crosses several black-birch gullies—by the edge of one of which is a good halting place, with wood, water, grass, and a whare—and meets the Waikato, here but a small stream, rising in the Tongariro. Cross this river and a few miles will bring you to Potu, at the base of Tongariro, close to Rotoaira. The first solfatara here meets your sight on a low spur of the Tongariro called Aruhoe. Distance from the desert to Potu 18 miles. About 250 of our forces, Native and European, are stationed at Potu. Proceeding onwards, the road crosses Potu, and follows the base of Pihanga (Tongariro's wife according to native mythology) to Tokano on the Taupo Lake, the distance being about 10 miles. I had no occasion to proceed so far, therefore at half-way crossed the Potu and Waikato at their junction, and struck to the Kaimanawa ranges, where I found Capt. McDonnell and his party, the Star of Wanganui Co., and the Happy go lucky Co., all encamped at a potatoe field. It took me four days to travel to Potu, and 3£ days to travel back, and I have no hesitation in saying that an excellent dray road could be made the whole way at a very small cost. I expect to be in the Kaimanawa ranges in a fortnight's time, and hope to give you a description thereof on my return to Napier.