AN ATTRACTIVE ROUTE FOR TOURISTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15169, 7 December 1912, Page 8

AN ATTRACTIVE ROUTE FOR TOURISTS.

ttOTORUA TO WAIKAREMOANA.

SOME ROAD-MAKING WANTED.

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Fob travellers in New Zealand who desireto get away from the beaten tracks that .lead to populous holiday resorts there are attractive possibilities ,in the .overland | route flora *Rotorua to./Uke, Waikare- j rnoana: A - few people have made the journey, in spite of the existing difficulties, •*>nd their narrative* show that the small -expenditure necessary to make it more accessible would be fully justified. The usual route recommended to , th* traveller'is by way of Napier and Wairoa. The route from the north is too arduous to be popular, but little is necessary to make it a splendid avenue for the visitor to i Rotorua who wishes to go further afield. !l'he distance from Rotorua to the lake is officially stated to be 123 miles, and Almost the whole distance can be traversed over fairly good roads. From Rotorua to Murupara, 42 miles, the road is in suffi--ciently good order for motoring, cycling, or driving. The road continues in fairly pood order for vehicular traffic to To. Whaiti, 14 miles beyond Murupara, passing through open country with picturesque patches of bush at intervals. Thence to the Ruatahuna native settlement, another 18 miles, the road is still available for •wheeled traffic. For the greater part- of the distance it traverses bush, broken by an occasional clearing.. Up to this poiut there are regular, though infrequent, coach services, and for those who wish to break the journey, good accommodation is available at Waiotapu, Murupara, To Whaiti, and Ruatahuna, One great disadvantage of the road is the want of a bridge over the Whirinaki River at Te Whiuti, as very little rain soon renders the ford dangerou* and impassable. The requisite structure would not cost above £500. So far travelling is not difficult, but- a short distance beyond Ruatahuna the road .merges into a. bridle-track., and the route is so rough and undefined that the services of a guide art; indispensable. It is upon this remaining distance of about 20 miles that some improvement should bo made. Tho bridle-track is formed for about 13 •miles. It crosses the Huiarua range at an altitude of about 3100 ft, some portions of tho track being; very ste-sp. About two miles below this crest of the saddle a track leads off to the 111 anient established by Rua at Maungapohatu, arid four or five Maori villages are situated in the vicinity of the route already traversed. The remaining seven miles to the lake have to bo crossed by a Maori track along a. bush ridge and down a sour into the gravelly bed of tho Hoporuawahine Stream, which it then follows for several miles until it strikes a. formed track leading into the . gorge. About half a mile below the stream empties itself into the Waikaremoana '.Lake, where tourists are met by arrangement by a launch to convey them over the lake to the Government accommodation house. The greater part of tho last 20 miles is through virgin bush, and the services of guide.-;, who can be obtained at -Ruatahuna, are necessary. There are alternative routes from the lake to Napier. Tho journey may be made fay two days' arduous coaching, with a stop overnight at Mohaka, or by coach to Wairoa and thence by steamer to Napier. The latter method is not reliable, as the bar at Wairoa prevents any regularity in.

the steamer service. By those who have made it the journey is described as a most interesting one, with ample compensations for its difficulties. From Rotorua. the lake may bo reached in two days, so that there is no reason why this trip should not be developed .and made greatly popular among travellers who wish to see tho natural beauties of the Dominion undisturbed by "the changes of civilisation. ,