THE UREWERA COUNTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17112, 18 March 1919, Page 9

THE UREWERA COUNTRY.

LAKE- waikare-mqana, a TOURIST CENTRE. NEGLECT OF THE ROADS. [by our special commissioner.] No. V. Prom the Hopuruahine arm, or the most northerly inlet of Lake Waikare-Moana, where the alleged road comes in from Rotoni»> there is a so-called road round the northern shores of the lake to the Government hostel, which stands on the eastern chores of the lake. If it were passable it would provide a most attractive tourist route, and moreover a valuable means of communication between Auckland and the highly-important districts of Hawke s Bay and Poverty Bay. Like the former work, a great deal of money has been spent in its construction, and. like the former, it has been simply allowed to fall into ruin bv the Government. No more striking evidence of public waste and neglect can he found in the Dominion, and if there were any genuine public spirit among our people those responsible for this neglect would be called to account. In spite of the statement made in latest publications of the Tourist Department that travellers can ride from Ruakahura to Lake House in one dav, under present conditions if anvone vrishes to visit Waikare-Moana trom the Auckland side, he must arrange beforehand to be met by launch at the Hopuruahine inlet. The only possible approach to Waikare-Moana is by coach or motor from Wairoa, Hawke s Bay, but as Wairoa has to depend on an infrequent small-steamer service with Napier or .<eliington, communication with Waikare-Mo-ana even on the eastern side of the country ib distinctly bad. When ono compares what baa been done by the Government in providing excellent roads and railways, steamer services, rest-houses, huts, and such-like conveniences to make the mountain lakes of Otago, Canterbury and Southland available to the public, one wonders ■what sort of men nave been responsible for the development of our tourist attractions in the North. The lakes Manapouri; To Anau, Wakatipn, Wanaka and many others have been easily .accessible fcr years. They have been advertised ar.d 'illustrated and described continually, and here is Waikare-Moana, more wonderful and beautiful than them all, practically inaccessible, and the shame of it ifi that* it is inaccessible apparently through sheer stupidity, or worse. Large sums of money have been spent on making roads to it and these have been thrown away for want of » little attention.

Ail Unrivalled Lake. Lake Waikare-Moana is unique; there is no other lake to compare with it in New Zealand; few to rival it in all the world. It has some of the grandeurs of our West Coast fiords, with the rich colouring of Eokianga Harbour. The stark boldness of the Panikiri Bluff accentuates the exquisite beauty of its sheltered forest-fringed inlets. Its waterfalls and its bold cliffs add to the charm of the wooded islands and its protected bivs. Its altitude of over two thousand "feet above sea level gives it a bracing summer climate, and if those people from the warmer parte of the South Pacific countries wish to see snow storms and winter effects, where could they see them under more romantic conditions? If anyone desires sport, there is deer-stalk-ing and' wild cattle and pig hunting to be had about the mountain shores, and if fishing is wanted aikare-Moana offers angling such as no southern lake can offer. It is one of the few places I know where trout can be taken on the fly in absolutely . still, deep water. At the head of nearly I all the numerous inlets are low, level banks fringing winding creeks. One can cast a Silver Doctor or almost any large j_audy fly into these waters and take out Magnificent rainbow— and seven pounders, in ezxcellent condition. Mr. W., an Auckland angler, whom we met at Lake House, told me that he has taken baskets of ten and twelve pounders with the minnow in the Mokau Arm. We were only able to spend a week end on Waikare-Mo-ana, bi&'we. saw as much of the lake as possible. A voyage over it in the launch offers one succession of delights, there is such infinite variety of scenery. Perhaps the voyage through the Straits of Mania into Wairau-Moana offers the most impressive sights, but every arm and inlet is beautiful. Waikare-iti, a few miles from Lake House is a gem set in perfect surroundings. One can row across the Whangania-o-Parua am to the Ani'.vaniwa inlet and up this inlet to where the lovely falls come down over a bier cliff to pools embowered in rich vege-, tation and take a forest path which winds through groves of noble trees upward until at an altitude of nearly 3000 ft Wai-i-areiti snddenlv spreads its beauty before one. It "is dotted with exquisite islands and though its shores are neither so bold nor so precipitous as those of V* fti* Ure-Moana it impresses one in a curious Way with a sense of harmonious grandeur.

S onset on Waikare-Moana. On Sunday evening we saw WaikareMoana under a sunset so gorgeous, so Wonderful that it awed even the most careless of the visitors at the hostel. It had been a perfect summer's day, brilliantly clear, radiantly bright, but toward evening a golden haze spread over the lake transforming all the bold, strongly marked features of its mountainous shores into soft outlines. The surface of the lake, rippled by a faint breeze, shone like polished brass. The massive background of the Hinarau Ranges to the westward was illuminated with the slanting rays of the sun. The endless pile of lofty peaks and ridges to :he northward became a land of mists fnd mvstery. The great fciufi of Panikiri, which frowns over ♦he lake and southern shores, turned U> a picture in light and shade with that wonderful shining streak on its highest precipice blazing like an electric arc. The changes in that glorious scene were magical. A thin cloud came over the sun, and from under it there shot a path of blazing gold across the lake, from above it hafts of crimson colouring smote the peak? of the Hinaran mountains, and threw all the eastern shores into gorgeous relief. Then the colouring changed from gold and crimson to purple and pale blues, and later the rim of the sun appeared blood red beneath a solid cloud, and shot shafts of ominous colour, like great search-lights, across lakß and mountains. Douglas Perrit, the artist, watched this wonderful sunset, and worked with feverish energy to preserve some of ite marvellous effects, but no human effort could ever give to the wor.d more than a faint conception of its beauties, and certainly none could ever leproduce ilts magical changes. Waikaremoana lends itself uniquely to sunsets; its altitude ; its bold and varied shore line; its mountainous surroundings; its curious shape, and the fact that it runs east and west, all aid in effectiveness. I believe, too, that in winter time the effects from snow storms on the lake are marvellous, but if it onlv gave occasional, instead ot frequent sunsets, such as I witness? ) they would be worth a pilgrimage across the world to see. A Wet Day in Camp. All the northern shores of Lake WaikareBioana consist of steep broken Palaezoi slate country, absolutely unfitted for settle went purposes. On the southern side a papa formation exists which extends more or less richt down to the upper part o 51' 1 Hawke's Bay. Here already large areas Stf We been turned into pasture and eice • W lent sheep farms. To the eastward Poverty "v; . Bay wards, there is another great exten of papa formation which will make sheep■l.runs, and further north and east,_ sprea ing toward the East Cape, an immense ". . stretch of country which has yet to D 8 I; .. settled. ' , We returned to our camp on t e _}y. Hopurtiahine arm of Waikare, struck our ■pfSvtent, and made a short stage up the "orge, f .'V; "f 'atending to make Ruatahuna tflfl Dex § &y, but during the night rain cams on, « litiSfc

and it was raining heavily next morning. We had pitched our tent on a small sandy flat, close to the edge of the Hopuruahine River, and we watched with considerable interest that swift and turbulent stream rise and increase in volume. On one side of us was the river; on the other side the dense and impenetrable bush rose like a piant wall. Wat weather does not add to the comforts of a small tent. We managed to light a fire and cook our food, and amused ourselves playing "five hundred." Next morning the weather had cleared somewhat, an J we packed up ready (or a start, but Mapere, after a long absence, came back and told us that the pack-horse had gone down the gorge, and bad joined a mob of half-wild horses. We rode with him through the wet bush and the swollen river, and after an exciting hunt, managed to catch the cunning grey—then hurried back, but it was late afternoon before we got ready for the road. We pushed on up the abominable old track again, and climbed to the Fltiarau saddle. It was evening, however, before we reached the turn-off, ana then Mapare made the pace hot, for the nearest grass was some distance away, and we must have feed for the horses. I believe some people have considered this part of the road dangerous, but we cantered and trotted along it in the twilight to the clatter of swinging billies and the clang of our old frying-pan. We might have made a camp at Wai-iti, a Maori village, where there is a good grass clearing, but as the moon had risen, we pushed on, hoping to reach Hannah's boardinghouse, and save the necessity for pitching the tent. Ruatahuna, however, seemed to have disappeared, our horses were jaded, and their riders were tired and saddleworn, so, somewhere after eight o'clock, when we struck a bush clearing, we called a halt, and made a camp.