A CAMPING TOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18996, 18 April 1925, Page 10 (Supplement)

A CAMPING TOUR.

holidaying at taupo. adventure with a bullock. An Auckland motorist, whose choice of pseudonym " Rainbow," conjures visions of many a happy hour W' S ® trout-filled streams and lakes of the tner ;r, V™Sy, sends the following aocoool of a fortnight's motor camping holiday spent at Taupo:— f„„;iv T " With the members of my family left Auckland one fine morning with a compiete camping outfit The Wm were reached about mid-day, and ue ui ioved a light lunch of luscious grapes undei weeping willows beside a silent-ninning stream. The motor registering over 100 miles, and finding ourselves in the vicinity of Tirau, wo begun to look out for a good camping ground. There was no d.fiiu t> in this respect, as there arc several ideal spots in the locality. " Going via Putaruru and Atiamun, Lake Taupo eventually loomed in sight, the colour of the Mediterranean. Snowcapped lluapchu, Ngauruhoo belching forth puffs of steam, and Tongariro, the threo ureal mountains standing in line and overlooking the great lake formed a sight never to bo forgotten. I have travelled round the world, and visited most countries, but have never been impressed with grandeur of scenery to equal this. "It does not take long to find a good camping site. There arc thousands of them around the lake, which is 136 miles '» circumference. The second purest watei in Now Zealand, plenty of scrub for fireWood, the lake teeming with trout, stores and usual township facilities at hand no better camping ground could bo wished " There was, however, a fly in the ointment. On returning from sight-seeing one line afternoon, we found an unwelcome visitor inside our tent in the shape ct a bullock eating up our provisions. Potatoes, onions, and even the sugar disappeared down that animal s throat. He had had the audacity to rip the tent up and walk in. I might say that he did not stop to dispute the right of possession. However, after experiencing the taste ot cood things, he thought the middle of the night would be a good time to pay another visit. On this occasion he start eel using his horns to rip the tent, but evidently did not count upon anyone being at at home. The free range ot cattle at Taupo is a great nuisance to campers. There were dozens of them passing our camp daily. 1 complained to the chairman of the road board, and ho informed me that the board is bringing in by-laws shortlv. Therefore the owners will be obliged to keep their cattle off the roads. " The sights at Taupo will keep one busy, should ono wish to see them all. The principal sights are the many active geysers, throwing boiling water in some instances over 100 ft. in the air, the Karapiti Blowhole, the safety valve of New Zealand,. emitting enough steam to drive several railway engines. Lake Kotokawa, part of which is boiling and the other part cold, the Huka Jails, the Aratiatia Rapids, and other well-known sights. Trout fishing is the principal sport, and it attracts anglers from all parts ol the globe. " Bathing in the warm sulphur swimming baths is a most exhilarating experience. There is an ideal spot for swimmers about one mile from the township, where steam is to bs seen rising from the lake. The water has the appearance of being too hot to enter, but on testing it I found the temperature just right, and this spot became the favourite one for our daily swim. " After spending a fortnight's most enjoyable holiday, we returned via Rotorua, promising Taupo a return visit some day." NAPIER TO ROTORUA. DIVERSION OF TRAFFIC. The desirability of doing something to the Napier-Rotorua roads at once and thus preventing a diversion of tourist traffic from Napier to Rotorua by the way of the Tokaanu arid the Waiouru road is shown by the observations of Mr. H. I). Bennett, of Wellington, states a Napier paper. " Motorists one and all of them," says Mr. Bennett, " appear to be anxious to avoid the Napier route with its stiff climbs and bad roads, and I believe that if this road across the Waiouru Plain, which was formerly used by the coaches, were cleaned up a bit few people from this end of the island wishing to drive through to Rotorua, would bother about the Napier route, which certainly does take it out of a car. Besides avoiding the mountains, the Waiouru road offers a level surface with Tongafiro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, snow-capped and always beautiful, within view the whole way across. The Minister for Public Works may be induced to go over the road shortly, and I am hoping, in the interes s of all" motorists, that his visit will be the prelude to the reopening of the road." SPEED ON MAIN ROADS. ' .The opinion that there was a growing tendency on the part of motorists to travel at " unreasonable and dangerous speeds " was expressed by-the chairman of the Makara County Council, Mr. E. Windlev, at a recent meeting of that body. He said he had seen cars travelling through Pori,rua township recently at a speed which was a positive danger. He would like to know if the council had any power, and if so to give effect to it. It was getting "over the fence" altogether, aiuj so far as ho could see they should ask the police to take action, but they were not always available. It was a hard matter to deal with, but something should be done. The clerk pointed out the by-laws provided that speed must not exceed 20 miles per hour unless there was a clear view for at least five chains. A good deal depended on visibility, and speed was not so important if they kept on the proper side of the road and had visibility. Tho chairman said he supposed they would have inspectors when the surfaced road was put down. Other speakers referred to the speed in other parts, including Makara Hill, but it was felt that no action could be taken at present. It was expected that the operation of the new motor legislation would have some effect. THE TAKAPTJNA CONVICTIONS. Tho Auckland Automobile Association has decided to appeal against the conviction of a number of its members for exceeding the speed limit of 20 miles per hour in force in the Takapuna borough. It is maintained that the decision of the magistrate was against the weight of evidence. EXPERIMENTS AT CHRISTCHUROH. Road making experiments are to he made by the Christchurch City Council on a section of road on tho west side of Fitzgerald Avenue, from Ferry Road to Moorhou.se Avenue, a heavy traffic and traction engine route. Three distinct types of road construction are to ho tried, the idea being to put them to a thorough test under exactly similar traffic conditions, The first section, ori which work was commenced last week, will be constructed with reinforced concrete. The. next section will he made with reinforced tarred macadam, similar to the piece of road on the went side of Colombo Street between Moorhouse Avenue and the railway crossing. The third section will be ordinary tarred macadam without being rcmiorced.

NOTES. Eight miles of bituminous pavement have been laid in Wellington to date. Classes for motorists are to be inaugurated at the Hamilton Technical High School. The Hamilton branch of the Auckland. Automobile Association .numbers 164 members. A road exclusively for motor traffic is approaching completion between Rio de Janeiro and Petropolis, a distance of 34 miles. A Wanganui solicitor remarked at court recently that claims arising out of motor collisions were almost as common as judgment summonses. Husband: " Hero's a bill for £450 from the Blank Motor Co, Wonder what that is forV Wife: " It's for the car that I got for your Christmas present, dearie." Specifications for standard direction and danger signs have been circulated to the various automobilo asociations and county councils by the Highways Board. It is proposed to hold a motor olynipia at the Waikato Winter Show in June. Additions to the show buildings include a largo motor hall, which will house a comprehensive display of cars. Nelson City Council does not want assistance from the Highways Board toward the maintenance of main highways running through its area, as it prefers to keep the full control of its roads in its own hands. Hawke's Bay County lias asked the Minister for Public Works for a £1 for £1 subsidy on the experimental mile of concrete road outside Napier Borough on the Hastings road. The cost of the road is estimated at £SOOO. With the object of securing more camping grounds for motorists next season, the Auckland Automobile Association is asking its members to take note of any suitable areas for this purpose and advise the council of the locality and the owner. Crown lands are considered the most suitable. Speaking at the annual dinner of the senior officers of the Criminal Investigation Department, New Scotland ai d, Mr. Travers Humphries said that a great deal of the stealing of motor cars was carried out by young men, whose record was excellent while they were under Army discipline, but who had since " gone oft the rails." Mr. N. C. Staveley, engineer to Wanganui City Council, claims that Wanganui maintains its roads for less per mile pel annum than any other centre m the Do minion, having more than 10,000 population. The Wanganui figure is £206 petmile per annum, whereas the average for . all boroughs and cities above 10,000 population is £619. The gymkhana arranged by the Auckland Automobile Association at Mangeie, to-day will commence at 2.30 p.m. on the site of the proposed speedway. r lhe entrance will be from Pukaki Road, thus saving the run across the grass which was an inconvenient feature last year. Among the various events will be special competitions for the ladies. The prizes and trophies won at the Muriwai race meeting will be presented to the successful competitors during the afternoon. MAIN ROADS. Wbangarei-Dargaville.—Work is being pushed ahead on the Wheke Valley, and only about one mile remains to be met- j ailed. It is anticipated that the road will hold traffic right through the winter. Taupo-Putaruru.—'This stretch is reported to be the be*t in the theimal region. The Public Works Depa.tmmt is at present taking a toll of cars to and from Taupo for information re a proposed deviation on Fern Hill. Auckland-Helensville.—The road is in a shocking condition. North from Huapai the surface is covered with loose metal, which has evidently worked loose, although a small amount of loose metal has been scattered on some of the hills. Futaruru-Lichfield On the HamiltonTaupo Road a good alternative route is now available for the five miles between Putaruru and Lichfield, where the main road is apt to cut up badly in winter time owing to the large amount of traffic over it. To travel the alternative route motorists should take the main road to the right at the post office corner, Putaruru, and then turn down the Arapuni Road at the hotel corner. About three-quarters of a mile along the Arapuni Road the alternative Lichfield road takes off to the left. It has now been ■formed and graded throughout, giving excellent travelling. It is little or no longer than the main road, and provides good views of the upper portion of the Thames Valley. The Kaimai Road.—Reporting to this month's meeting of the Matamata County Council, the county engineer, Mr. M. E. Fitzgerald, stated that the metalling already done on the Kaimai main highway was seriously disintegrating, and constant maintenance was necessary. Fortunately, metal was available against the road over a good deal of the route, and thus the big expense of bringing metal from elsewhere was saved. However, when a culvert became blocked in wet weather water would break over the roadway and wash metal away into the gullies. The road could well do with a permanent surfaceman with horse and dray. As this road was of little interest to Matamata County ratepayers, it was considered the Highways Board should pay all costs there. The council resolved to recommend that the board declare the Kaimai a Government road.