A NORTH ISLAND TOUR.

Mataura Ensign, 18 March 1909, Page 4

A NORTH ISLAND TOUR.

Till'. W'O.NDKKS <>!•' liOlOlil'A.

| (By Miss Kt'inn-dy.j

-Nil. iS. 'I o continue my description oi lite p'.vsers a| Whakarcwarcwa : Beyond the geysers pa I lis lead you l»y what seems rather uncertain ground. ICvery here and there close t<» your track are holes. some ;i loot in diameter but many arc three or tour feet across. Looking into riieiu you see about tour l;> ei-lu I eel down greyish black mud, boiling mid sputtering a.s iI heated by a great lire below. One of these holes smells exaetiy liU» v cooking ham, and I mm this circumstance gets the name ol ihe "llam IN)!." There is one great round hole like a mud lake, rejoicing i» tile name of the "Devil's Reception, its peculiar glop-gloppy noise seeming lo sound an invitation to the unwary. Hy iJ»t* Whaka stream you ean ihniftt your hand through the cold water into the sand below but you quickly withdraw ii before it. has gone many inches because ol' the heal. Vet in spite of all this activity and unrest the Maoris live close by, happy and unconcerned. Nature is kind to ihem. I hey can cook their lood in oin> spring nnd wash their doilies in another, ll' ihc weather is a little cold the .Maori '•an wrap himself up in his blanket and placing a board over a hoi spring can he do\\ n and '•Jeep or smoke as comlortahle as anyone could wish. One vimi to Whaka i> n<u enough; n is interest iug to return again and a-ain. THK. WAIMANCC CKYSEK. Seventeen miles fmm Hotorua u. the most I anions geyser iu the world—Waimangu I he coach road winds in and out "1 great hills covered with blacken. One flat covered with mounds marks a ! »a 11 h'lield, reminding one of the times when the white man and the Maori tllei in conlliel. |>y the side of (he road vou ttnd iu pla •cs givat long cracks in j 'he earth, many i'eei wide and very leep. where the earth opened after tin* ;reai eruption of !SSl>. Between the Waimangu and the Taupo roads is a wide track of low Hat land about a mile Wide ol iMptal letlgll; which sank alter the same event. This pari is aptly called '• Karth(|itake Klat." The day we passed great numbers of wild horses were grazing on it. As you proceed yon come ju sight ol Rainbow mountain. which appears to be siriped with niai.y colors. 'lbis is <|ue to the ditlereui sands found there. Wry diilerent m appiarancc is Mount Ta rawer.! which is sighted on your left with its huge main <*rater like a ;:.reat excavation in its >ide. while still miles from the mountain you see by ihe road ibe depth ol the deposj: increasing from a few inches til: at Waiiuangu. in wliich direction the wind was playing 'hinng the eruption, you liave twelve Uei of deposit. Krotu ih»« (oHernmeut here v-m l:>;«k dow: on a ..c;>e of aw ful <h -olatii.-n, ju>l hill after hill ribb.d ani| seat"red v.iih rh»» 11\ n of twenty-three ago. Ju a d» cp "alley j:es 11 - ♦ • givit Black C«cv-er, •tow dormant. bu; at etc tiiuo sending irom its hv,ge Kisiu tvovnejiihms e<,]nmns ol iuliv black water, mud and trailers

to a, height sometimes el l.'iUU I'ecL Your approach leads over a Hat where tlie hot sulphurous vapour sweeps across your faco as you pick your way among the. little boiling springs, and the earth becomes most unpleasant ly warm if you slaud more than a few minutes in "no place. Frying I'an Flat n ilic h you pass nost' was well named, tor here tlio water of a little stream jusi bubbles and splutters over its hot, lied like greaso in a frying pan. Behind is a tall, sulphurous looking hill with jets of steam putting; out' ol innumerable little holes and a little larther on is the large blowhole whence a ureal volume of steam conn's hissing out of the side ol the hill, like some imprisoned demon struggling lor its freedom, It is u i Lit a feeling akin to relief thai you turn your hack on this valley and follow your guide the remainder of the three mile wilk to Lake R-otomahana. A walk of another half-mile brings you to Lake Tarawera, which yon cross lo reach the buried village of W'airoa. A MEMORY OK THJi I'AST.

Another guide conducts you to the' ruins here, perhaps the most interesting of which is the wliare where the guide Sophia gathered about fifty people into safety during that awful night of June iSBG when Tarawera sent forth its rain of ashes, piling them up till every roof tottered beneath its weight, and Ml upon ils unfortunate victims. It was only by st rengl lieu ing the roof by beams Irom lime to time and sweeping the deposit from it that those in .Sophia's whare escaped destruction. I'll 10 (IIIEEiY ANI> Bl.rK LAKES. Leaving Wairoa, I lie coach leads you past the beautiful green lake, which is only separated by a narrow strip of land from the. bright blue lake. Many who have seen pictures ol these lakes will be inclined to thinkthat the coloring is exaggerated, hut you have to see the lakes themselves to realise that sueli vivid colors are possible. Jiy this time as you return lo Rolorua you feel that you have indeed reached the wonderland of i\enZealand. Ohineinut ii is a Maori village close to the town of Rotnru-i which is interesting in much the same way as \\ hakn is. Nearly every one makes a trip lt» j he llaiiinrana Spring which is reached by crossing Lake liolorua At Ihe loot of a hill, you ■ fili'l t Ik- spring uilh its clear, i-oltj water welling up out of a chasm otill deep and forming a constant source ol supply to the In tie ILimurana stream which weeds its way to the hike between groves of willow and cherry trees. So great is the upward pressure that coins thrown in do not sink but just lloat about till Ilie.v settle in the embankment. Occasionally lit tit- ii.-.li, all blind, may be seen swimming al>.nit. Prom tiaimiraiia we sailed through Ihe Ohau channel on lo Okere on Lake Rotoiti. It is Irom the falls here that Rotorua, L! miles away, gets power for its light. The lake,' we lound, can be as rough as anv sea. and we were glad to touch land again alter the tossing and rolling of our light narrow boat when returning in a stonn. (To lie continued.)