JAUNT FOR CHRISTMAS TIME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5650, 25 December 1879, Page 3

JAUNT FOR CHRISTMAS TIME.

Once a s nin old Fa: her Christmas Brings his wavsail and his cheer : All unite to Jo him honour, For he conies but once a year--11l the dear old countrv, conies ho, All wiih ice and holly crowned : Her.-, he conns in flowi'nu Flinging fruit and (lowers around— Tnere mound each iireside ingle. Mirth and jollity are seen— Here, we take our Christmas pleasures In so ::c sylvan wihlu-ouil sceneThere, each'family, heathers Hound the iullow'dnama of homeHere, unitinj all their beaulv. Earth and sky invite to roam. And its wondrous liiirvclq scin— Sonic explore primeval forest. All untrodden yet by manSome go South, to view the irrandcur Oi its snow-clad mountain chainOthers may be seen cireoriiijj Gaily o'er the briny mainSome, the southern .-ounds exploring, Gaze with ai\e at Nature there — Others climb the frowni .;g mountains Over crags .ill blea'i and bare— But the not them part of Auckland, Aye, wiih me. bath foremost placoTcerless still in forest I.eauty— Peerless still in svlvan t'race— Cominu' from the woodland giants That their trunks uprcjr In the North, all Southern bushl mils, Wretched scrubs, to me appear— Those who think as I, conic with nje 1 will map a p'eaaant round; In which forest, mountain, island, In be.viljerin- wealth, abound : And where numerous to-.vnUts - Up sonic crtek. or sunny liav, Sweetly blending Art with Nature, Take all moi.otone away. Passing northwards, Takajiuna,

Kith green ficlils and cosy homesteads Cluster round the lnkciut's slioen ; Blending with the wildwtiod forest. And the moorland, and the se» • Filling us with yearning longing Ever in sucli scenes u> beLucas' Creek next claims attention, Bosoni'd in a bush clad nook ; Sleepv in its calm contentment. With a Kip Van Winkle look— Or at least, it so dotli seem ■ But I think they are mistaken Who, the place, may barren deemThen we come to Wahvera, With its thenu;\l springs and batli3— Then we see Puhui; passing O'er some wondrous hill side paths— Mahurangi next appe.ircth, With its noble winding creek— Twixt these places, nnnv ,1 touriit Well could pi-s a pleasant week— Matakana sccmcth barren, But, of promise liath full scopeThen Gri-at Omali, with its circlet Of white beach, in enowy slopeLittle Omah nestl. s snugly 'Neath Cape Hodnev's frowning l>eigi r • With it double-headei harbour Where, with timber, vessels freightThen the picturesqm Pukiri, Hich in kauri forest dow. r— Then reek entranced .Mangawai, With its clay flats, cold and sourThen the rich and fertile Waipu, With its undulating plain— Ru.kakn, with its sketches Of rich le els, fit for grainLast, the queen of northern tjwi let") Pretty, pleasant Wangarei. Nestling in u b>y of mountains, Twenty miles up from the sea. Tourist?, there will find full measur.; Of whatever can delight— They can thread the rocky valleva— Scale the rugged mountain's height Caverns undergro-.ind. exploring; Wa Urn? subterranean creeks f ' Eyeless fishes, catching ia them, Under the stalactite reeks— You may gaze on wildwood nature : Scan her inyrixd beauties o'er: Or, -Maungatapere up-climbing, Its deep crater lake explore ; Or below the roaring torrent Of the rushing waterfall. You may stm<l, while forest beauty, With a spell your soul doth thrall — Or the deep mysterious secrets Of dark you may know In the coal mines at the Kami) If you thitherward will goThere are soda-springs up-gushing On the lull side, from the earthOther springs, upwelling, bringing Bright quicksilver to its birth— If a fernist; fill your lioxea, Nearly every kind is thereGeologists, in their glory. Find thing* cuiious and rareArtists find both hill and uoodlaml. Itock and ravine, grassy dell, Bosky nooklets, ferny uplands, Panoramic views, as wellEven invalids arj suit-d, All they watt doth there abound; Pleasant walk', or rides, or driving, All around them may be foundWhen, at list, the time appioadi-'s, That you must return to town ; On;e a week a steamer calleth ; Ten short hours will bring you down— And a pleasant memory of it" Will your Christmas j uniting crown. Aujfcland, December, IS7». Al.;f.Ss SliAT.™,