AN OVERLAND TRIP FROM OHINGAITI TO TAUPO.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1683, 1 June 1904, Page 15

AN OVERLAND TRIP FROM OHINGAITI TO TAUPO.

(By K.S.)

We had long, been contemplating r a trip to Taupo, and at last it' has become ail accomplished fact. - We decided to drive through, so formed a party of Six, with two vehicles, my husband and myself goihg in a'gig with one horse, and the remaining four in a very roomy waggonette drawn by a strong pair. As w« had made up our minas that we should camp at least part of the time we look with us two tents, blankets,, rugs, plenty of provisions, and everything necessary for a ten days’ trip. We left Uiiingaiti on Good Friday morning before sunrise, and indeed the air was very keen and frosty but wicn every promise of a fine day. ±Sy the time we reached Mangaweka there was a heavy fog'coming down the nangitikei river and things looked vory gloo.uy, but in a short time„the sun. shone out ana immediately our spirits rose. From na. gaweka to Taihape the native oush is ia places magnificent, great ijnssi. e it-unks crowned with wide spreading branches. “This is the forest pri neval." No wo inis could more aptly .describe t. but of necessity there are saw .ills '.o ted lisr. and there, and this grand lofhiy will in a few short years be a thing : f the past. . . We reached Taihape a btile bet ore noon and made our first st pping-pl e, ar mile beyond the village, on a pretiy grassy slope beside the road, we vvaro. all ravenously hungry so the b lly was boiled, bread, potted me t and to natoeswere brought out and we fared ri royally. Needless to say before lo king after ourselves wo had groomed the horses and given them plenty .of feed which they were quite ready for A couple of hours’ rest and off we started again for we had decided th*t our first camping-ground sh uld be a mile or two beyond Taurangarere.' After leaving Taihape the character of the land changes very much. Hitherto we bod been driving up and down hill, and be tween hills but now it became ©-"eh less broken and we could sea to a very ”’uoh greater distance.- We pass'd a li'-te Maori'settlement a few ""tes bm-o'd Tailiapo, and, in fact, for tV-» v> s J -ti M journey we saw -Maoris b : fb- T- w nearly five o’clock whop w> • » rangarere. where there is a sawmill and is extra busty just now f ” b fv

tion of the Main Trunk line i? going on there. It is a real canvas- for in every cosy corner we could ©*e w-’ ’te' » dn nestling. The Hautapu a lev My lit h ■ river,’ teeming with trout, flow t-b rough the valley, and near this we debited to pitch camp. My husband and myself had completely outdistanced 'Jm others and by the time they ca"© t»t» find °"0' > - ed and covered our horse not a /tee g'""ng, and collected bracken, ©to for bedding. All was animation when the others arrived, and we • soon had notate s cooking and the tea made. We made a right merry meal in the firelight, bush overshadowing us, the river wire curing along, in the distance the splash of a waterfall, and every now and then the voice of a night bird calling to its mate. T’ents were pitched beds "'ado un nml after an hour of laughter and iokes w* were glad to get to our te f te T bid bcr-n rather dreading that exm?rmnco for 1 had never slept in a te’te Imtere but T lay down and that is all T r< vv,y> mhpred. We all woke up in the as fresh- as possible but 1 did "'iss my morning tub. Mv Husband and Mr T went off to the Hautapu for a dip. but .the Misses Me. and I had to content ourselves with A WASH IN' A BUCKET.

However, we made the best of it, and busied ourselves with brete-teist: tomatoes stewed in butter, potted meat, and home-made bread making delicious f«r~ The birds came hoppirm around us and we gave them of onr crumb* -making friends with them at once Our Imrees had been tethered all u ght, and in addition to their hard which wo carried with us, they had had plontv of grass. As we were packing up dozens of Maoris passed, by, tiding and clrivteg in all sorts ancl conditions of vehicles. We learned afterwards that there had been a sitting of the Native Land Court at Tokaanu, and that these Maoris were on their way back to Moawhango.

We were soon on tlio road again, and ’ oh! it was a glorious morning. We drove along getting bewitching little views of the Hautapu as it laughed and -danced along. It was here, too, that we first noticed the red burnt soil, and that wai one of the distinguishing features right through to Tokaanu. The whole district must be a'j<-y to goologists. By eleven o’clock we were fairly on the plains, and got our first good view of Ruapehu—a mountain rarely and regally magnificent. I had heard much of the monotony of the plains and how tired one became of them, but speaking for myself. I have rarely enjoyed anything half so well as I did Easter. Saturday. We did thirty miles that day with a ' STOPPAGE! FOB LUNCH.

and it was all through the tussock land. I shall never forget it. As far as w© could see tussock bending in the wind, warm brown in hue, the shadows coming and going, the beautiful light bathing everything, bringing out the colouring; great massive Ruapehu, crowned with snow, overlooking all; graceful Ngaruhoe. sending out rolling columns of smoke; Tongariro. broken and dwarfed, also smoking; here and there a rushing mountain stream, crystal and clear; now a waterfall, now a little rapid, clio blue sky and the white clouds above—it was beautiful ! beautiful! Then to breath the .fresh, pure mountain air. to feel it fill the lungs, it was good to be alive and to have the .capacity of enjoying it all. As the sun got lower in the horizon the colouring was marvellously beautiful on mountain and land, but it soon faded away, and we were alone in the Rangipo desert. The mountains had now turned grey,- sombre twilight was on us, we were miles ahead of our friends, not a sound say© the. patter 7 of our horse's hoofs broke the stillness. We could feel the .silence,

it seemed to close U 3 in., and on, on we drove into the unknown. We had been told that there were disused stables at the. 22-mile peg, so we made for them, and right glad were we when finally ■ we reached them. A good grooming for White Wings, our faithful and staunch horse, her feed set before her, and then we explored, got a good fire going, and did all that we could before the others arrived. Tea over, we played euchre until wo were so sleepy we could hardly hold our heads up, so off to bed we went, and as on the preceding night we were asleep before one could say ‘Mack Robinson!” Just before daylight I awoke with a start, for it had got bitterly cold and there was A MOURNFUL WIND moaning round us. with such a weird, eerie note in it that I felt quite nervous end thought it no wonder that the Maoris had such ghostly legends—one could imagine anything with that wailing in their ears. I dropped off to sleep again, and wrke to find the wind gone and the sunlight streaming in. It was Easter Sunday, and such a calm beautiful Sunday. / f .or breakfast and packing up we were soon on our wav again—only 22 miles to Tokaanu —a short stage this time. It was a lovely drive; there was so much to take notice of—the different kinds of soil, ti e burnt wood in the earth showing Wh.it a terrible beat must once have been here, more mountain streams, two or thi a© of which we forded crossing others o:i- bridges. My husband, who had liis ca era with him, procured some beautiful views, and then on we drove to fresh -.Anders. The dainty little ferns we found, the graceful lyco-podiuni trailte everywhere, the white heath we gtehwed, the quaint little blue bells a wing in profusion —it would require a volume to tell all wo saw'. We took walking and gathered specimens of ML kinds. {Smothering the barks was a very pretty little plant with waxy, berryshaped flowers, and the colours seemed endteas, pale pink, white yellow, red. I do not know its name, but I have managed to get some to grow since, I have b'-'OYi at homo. It is a sweet little plant. E ■■eking the summit of a hill we got OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF LAKE TAUPO. and a most enchanting glimpse it was —a p "-ct picture. The w'icle blue sheet of \y t ‘-r lying among the hills like a beautiful gem in its setting, seemed more like a ill earn picture than reality. Descending .he hill to cross another little torre we lost sight of the placid waters of tii© lake but on ascending the other side w -i Signin'saw it in its serene beauty, but a little further and it was lost again. T ii m- eleven miles from Tokaanu we Tented a little stream that was rather (.te-p for my liking but our good White Wings brought us through safely, and on w • w nt crossing more little bridges, and not fa*r from Tokaanu we stopped to adire ’The. Meeting of the Waters,” for s we christened it. A smaller stream bore flows into the Waikato, forming a lovely little scene. Out came the camera and a counle of views were taken, from different points. ■ •*- We reached Tokaanu at noon, and can * pen near the Conical Hills. As soon as the others arrived we had lunch and after see ng the horses safely pad docked gome of us went te explore Tokaanu, my 1 usbond and Mr T. remaining to pitch tho tents. As everybody knows Tokaanu has not. been exploited like other parts of the thermal district and so the baths and eteamholes remain in their primitive state. Tokaanu is essentially a Maori settlement, and rmedless to say pigs and geese are very much in evidence, the first-named enjoying the warm mud-holes immensely. We saw all that was to be soon in the village and then we returned ca upwards to such aromatic tents, for we had cut manuka for bedding and the perfume was delicious. We went to bed, but alas! T could not sleep for we li d camped near a stream and the mosquitoes came out in battalions. Tlio ■Misses Me. slept calmly on, hut there w’'<s n ' rest for me from the bloodthirsty little creatures. I was thankful when morning dawned and.l could get up and dress. I left the tent fully convinced that TOKAANU MOSQUITOES are the most vigorous and energetic in Now Zealand. Alter breakfast we struck camp and were soon on the road to Taupo, but “man proposes and God disposes.” It was so in this case, for as we drew near the river we saw that there was something wrong with tho bridge, and a Maori happening to come along he informed us that two cylinders of the bridge had been washed away making it impossible to cross it and that the ford was unsafe for light vehicles. We tried to bribe him to" cross us, but lie persisted that it was unsafe so back we had to go. We decided then to cross the lake by boat, leaving everything in Tokaanu. As the boat was almost ready to start my husband and Mr T. stayed with the vehicles and horses to see them safely pnt away, and the rest of us crossed over to Taupo in the Tongariro, a fast little boat commanded by a most genial and kindly captain. As soon as we reached TAUPO we drove out to Wairakei to seo the sights there, passing on the way the famous Huka Falls. The driver stopped on the hill for some time to enable us to get a good view, and very beautiful they are, the colouring especially. The water rushes along a narrow race, foaming and frothing and then breaks out over a wide ledge of rock, and it is then you can see the marvellous colouring. It ‘is not blue, more like opals, but altogether it is indescribable. I thought I had never seen anything so beautiful, but even the Falls were to be eclipsed in a day or two. We reached Wairakei early in the afternoon and were taken in hand by Bob, the guide, who has a world-wide fame. We spent a most interesting and instructive two hours in the valley among all tire wonders. The Great Wairakei Geyser is very fine and so are all the other geysers, but to my mind the most interesting thing there is the lightning pool. Bob knows his business thoroughly well and gave us a good deal of information, but to tell the truth I felt relieved to get away from it all—-

it is too uncanny and awful. Bob insisted on passing us through the Dragon’s Mouth and we went obediently, but once is quite enough. We saw everything in the valley by six o’clock and were glad to get away. The year before I had visited Rotorua and had “done’’ the surrounding districts thoroughly so WAIRAKEI was not the treat to me that it would be to people who had never seen anything of the kind' before. What struck me most was the fact that ferns should be growing in the valley. Ferns and boiling mud, geysers and steam holes seem to be opposites and not likely to be found in close proximity to each other, hut there they were, and indeed the vegetation round affords a great relief to the eyes. At Tikitero and at Wliaka there is absolutely nothing to relieve the awful glare. ' If, was dark when finally we~ reached the Spa so we could not see anything of tho grounds. We dined in the carved Maori house and one could hardly imagine a quainter dining-liall. The carvers of those hideous figures little dreamt to what use their whare would ultimately be put, and indeed that night we thougnt it a very good use, for we were dead tired and so hungry. A hot bath, then bed in one of the quaint little cottages dotted about the grounds, ( where we slept soundly after our day’s exertions, ■ Next morning we were up betimes and did the Spa sights before breakfast. The Crow’s Nest is a particularly fine geyser and gave us some splendid displays. We were- fortunate in seeing a display of the “Bottomless Pit,” a geyser on the edge of the Waikato, which flows through the ground. . This geyser goes up irregularly and without any warning whatever. In fact the moment before it went off we were bending over it and were only a few yards away when up it went with terrific force. Besides these two geysers there are various other sights to be seen in tho Spa grounds, hut nothing so fine as at Wairakei.

After breakfast we explored the grounds still further, and in the afternoon walked into Taupo. In the evening Mr T. and my husband arrived, having crossed the lake, so our party was once more complete. They had had a good time at Tokaanu, owing chiefly to the kindness of Mr Hamilton, the native teach©”, who had taken them round and showed them all there was to be seen, including a trip to the Waihi Falls. After, breakfast on Wednesday morning we decided to drive to THE ARETEATEA RAPIDS, a distance - of six miles, so we all got into a coach and away we went. The road lay through rather uninteresting country', hut we were amply repaid when we reached our journey’s end. I am sure that there are few things in this world approaching.these rapids in beauty and grandeur. I am not capable of describing them—the wondrous colouring, the mighty force, the unoa rail elec! beauty—the whole effect is indescribable* To realise what these rapids are they , must he seen, for no painting or portrait, can give one the least idea of their superb beauty. For one thing the extent forbids it. for they extend for half a mile, and for another it would be impossible for anyone to transfer that colouring to canvas. Opals and pearls! That was mv first thought wlmn I caught the firstglimpse of the rapids. Imagine millions and millions of opals strewn over the surging seething waters and the dashing spray falling again like a very cascade of pearls. Wo walked alone the cliffs and got views from different, points, and then we went down a hill and right on to a rocky ledge beside one of the falls. Close beside the great, tumbling mass of water one feels one’s own insignificance. What a mighty power is here! The great, rushing, roaring masses of blue green water tearing on; the spray flying up, dashing against the rocks and back again as the water continues its headlong rush like some restless fury, fretting and chafing in its narrow channel —the effect was,magnificent! I have travelled New Zealand from end to end and I unhesitatingly say. tlffivt with the exception of the mountain scenery in the South Island there is nothing so well worth visiting as the Areteatea Rapids. Once seen they can never be forgotten. In sharp contrast to the Rapids are the placid little backwaters lying here and there among the rocks, with ferns, dabbling in their crystal water. One could go again and again. The fascination would only grow with time, and hours could be spent there with the result surely that one must come away feeling grateful for being privileged to see such a wondrous sight and with the determination to live a life more in keeping with this beautiful earth of ours. Nature has indeed been profuse in her gifts to this land of New Zealand, and we, as a people, ought to be better for the knowledge that we liav been so bountifully treated and render our thanks to the‘Great Giver of all ndfts. It was with great reluctance that we drove away, straining our eyes for the last glimpse and feeling that we should have liked to stay a whole day, but one o'clock found us back at the Spa. After lunch Mr T. and my husband went out to Wateakei while the rest of us-went for a walk. It grew very misty towards evening l nnd us tlio mglit advanced it rained heavily. We were all very tired, and as soon as we had our baths we were thankful to creep into bed. The water in the Spa baths is very buoyant and seems different to that at Rotorua and Wliaka, though I do not know' wherein the difference lies. The water at Rotorua, in the Mdme. Rachael baths, seems more velvety to the skin. Oil Thursday morning we said “GOOD-BYE” TO THE SPA and once more boarded the Tongariro. The morning was cloudy so the water looked rather grey and mournful. We made a quick passage to Tokaanu, although the captain went out of his way to take usi under the huge cliffs on the. western side of the lake. Looking up, it seems an immense distance to the top —in reality it is 1250 feet—a sheer rocky wall rising straight out of the water. The captain blew the whistle several times, aiid tlie sound °choed and re-

echoed for some time until it gradually died away. Here birds have their homes, building their nests on the rocky ledges. We' saw numbers of shags, and as he came within range the captain shot several from the boat.

Arrived at Tokaanu it began to rain, so we made for Blake’s Hotel where we enjoyed our lunch immensely. We had intended leaving Tokaanu that day, but as the rain continued to come down we decided to stay at the hotel that night and make a start very early in the morning. Accordingly half-past five next morning found us on our way, the horses being as fresh as possible and ready to go with their heads cowards home. After doing ten miles we made a halt for breakfast, and then on again to tne 22inile peg where wo lunched. We did 32 miles that day. and as the wind was very cold we were very glad to draw up at the stables at tho 12-mile peg. The two men in charge were very good to us, bringing us into their whare to a roaring fire and giving ns heaps of sacks for our tents. These were pitched in a sheltered spot, and as soon as we had had our tea we got to bed, dead tired. Towards morning it grew very cold, and no wonder for when we got up everything was white. It was A VERY HARD FROST, and as we were 4500 feet above sea-level one can imagine what ""the temperature was at 6 a.m. The mountains, towering before and behind us, were marvels of beauty in the early sunlight. Ruapehu was covered with snow, which changed from a pinky blue to various shades as the da>' advanced and the sun gained more strength. Seen first thing it was beyond expression beautiful. We got splendid views of the mountains all the morning, tho day beuig beautifully clear ancl fine. At mid-day we made a halt at Taurangarere for lunch ancl then on again, making Taihape the same evening. Here we made our last camp, meeting with much kindness . from some settlers living opposite our stopping place.

Next morning, (Sunday, we packed up for the last time and at two o’clock arrived home safely, horses in splendid condition, ourselves ditto, feeling that we had had a real good time. I question if, in any part of the world, one could see such a variety of scenery in such a. short time; bush, mountain, river, lake, the thermal district, plains—it would indeed be a hard-to-please person who could not evolve a good time out of all that. The roads, too were excellent for driving, and everywhere there is abundance of good water. It is ten thousand pities l that the whole district is not boomed more. In her scenery New Zealand has a magnificent asset, but how few of even the residents realise that?