THE TAUPO DISTRICT.

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 209, 5 December 1896, Page 2

THE TAUPO DISTRICT.

Tjik Terraces Hotel. In drawing attention to the announcement of Messrs Ros* and McKinley of the Terraces Hotel, Taupo, an opportunity isafforded of describing the house and grounds as they appeared on a recent visit. The hotel is situated about two miles from the Taflpo P">Bt office and at an altitude of about 250 feet above the lake. The road skirts the lake a part of the distance and then striking off to the eastward follows the course of the hot water (neck which flows through the hotel grounds and them forms the Onekeneke Hot Lake, the largest hot water Bwimming lagoon in the Thermal District. Approaching the house one cannot fail to be struck: with the immense amount of care which has been bestowed on the laying out of the grounds. Tree-planting has only been carried on during the last seven years but the growth i" that time is something marvellous. In the plantations adjacent to the house may be seen 1(5 varieties of Australian gums including the apple-leafed gum. red gum, peppermint gum. Btringy bark, blue gum, and so on. The bark Wattle has also been planted bore and, though, well sheltered suffered so much from the frosts of the early part of November that there is but a poor chance of those planted by the Government on the Kaingaroa plains succeeding. Nearer the house ornamental gardening has been indulged in and flowering plants of all e'escriptions are bursting into bloom while magnificent specimens of maorooarpa, cypress, California pine, tree-ferns. &c, refresh the eyes of visitors. The house itself is of two storeys with a projecting wing of one storey containing the dining-room, bar, kitchen, &c. There are 20 rooms in all, the bedrooms being mostly on the upper floor. The entrance hall extends right through the bouse giving it two frontages, the Napier coaches passing on the one hand and the Tokaanu coaches on the other. The whole of the rooms are lofty and well-ventilated and luxuriously furnished. The domestic arrangements are at present, in the bands of Mrs Crowther. late of the Atfamuri JHotel, recent"y destroyed by fire and about to be rebuilt. It is unnecessary to my that the acme of I comfort is experienced by guests. Above I the two main entrances are roomy balconies from which magnificent prospects are afforded. To the north at a distance of about a mile stands in solitary grandeur, Tauhara. 2,392 feet above the lake, wooded almost to the summit save on one or two of the spurs, on one of which is a practicable track negotiable even byladies. In the middle d.stance may be seen frequent jets of steam denoting the presence of the Crow's Nest geyser, the Karapiti Blowhole and the numerous other geysers, fnnieroles and hot springs in the neighborhood of the Spa and Wairakei ; in the background Mount Tarawera and the Paeroa range loom up. The finest view is however offered from the balcony looking towards the south. Taupo Moan a, the great inland sea, 200 square miles in extent spreads out its blue waters beneath, one solitary islet, Motutaiko, dotting its surface. On the further shore the eve first rests upon the coneshaped peak of Ngaurnhoe from which a wreath of steam is rising ; the flat top of Tongariro is also discernible and as we gaze To Mars, a blow-hole about 1,200 feet from the summit and which har been in eruption intermittently for the past week or two, suddenly bursts into activity and great volumes of smoke and ashes shoot up into the air. Almost at the same moment steam rushes fiercely

rßiac-^sn»»-<r>-if.—i.r. ,T,ri ir-«£j ■—.■.-g—r-;nt-mg^i from the crate r lakes on Tongariro anj Ketetahi another outlet, on a parallel with Te Mure, manifests it-elf in an unmistakable manner. Ngauruhoe and Ibiapehri now take a Land in the game and the writer is afforded one of the most magnificent sights he has ever witnessed. The smoke and steaffi blow over in tie direction of the Kaimanawa ranges btt as an evidence of the intensity of the heat the snow-capped cone of Ngauruhoe gradually darkens till scarcely a vestige of its white mantle is left. The vast snowfields of Ruapehu, so immaculate iii their whiteness that it is almost impossible to tell where the mountain leaves oft' and the fle Joy clounds in the background begin, glisten in the sunshine, but seem to assume a greyish aspect as the volcanic action increases. It is undoubtedly a magnificent picture and one that will remain in the memory for ever. Hut this was an exceptional sight and it is necessary to return to the description of the hotel grounds. An easily graded footpath bordered by flowering plants o: all descriptions leads down to tbeOnekeneke Lake where the baths are situated. It is a serpentine shaped piece of water about 200 feet lower than the hotel and its banks are c ivered with luxuriant vegetation. It is fed by two hot creeks which have their apparent sources a few hundred yards up the gully, and by numerous boiling springs close at hand. At tinhead of the lake is the Iron bath which can be raised to a temperature of 120 degrees. This bath contains iron in solution and is fed from springs the water from which falling over a sinter slope lias formed what is known as the Black Terrace. Near the terrace are several ngawhas and puias, all steaming briskly, and here also are the old cooking holes of the Macries who at one time dwelt in this sheltered nook in considerable numbers. TJetween the Iron Bath and where the Lake narrows into a creek before it again widens out to form the Hot, Swimming Lake is the garden where fruit and vegetables mature rapidly on account of the extreme humidity and the absence of all frost. Along the la' c and up the gullies well-kept paths run in various directions all nicely shaded and with seats placed at intervals for the convenience of visitors. Here, it seems to la; the "time of roses," for they are blooming in every direction and loading the air with their sweet perfume. Where the creek empties itself into the Swimming Lake are the Sulphur and Spout baths. The latter is simply the whole force of Sue creek turned into a shoot and under this the bather sits and revels in a hitherto undreamt of luxury. The tepid swimming hike is only a few yards distant and after such a douche a plunge into its depths is a fitting termination. The whole of the bath-houses are kept in excellent order and their use is free to visitors.