ON THE MAIN TRUNK.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6411, 7 January 1908, Page 8

ON THE MAIN TRUNK.

ATJCKT/A NO TO WELLINGTON. INCIDENTS BY THi; WAY. J! v Urn liev, ./oM'pti King. ot Mol bon rn*'.; Wo loft A uokb./.d ;it a.in. on CbrhrfanaK Day. It wa.s a very wA morning, Im]t U.e heavier rain, an w« traveller!, chang'd into occa* iomi 3 showers, ami as Urn light improve*! wo saw more of lira j/i'ir-lry than we anticipat'd- Al Buck--land wo saw Urn first wood'd lulls, am.l ./, M<*r-cm- we had our first glimpse of Dm Waikato, lor miles we travelled with (!.U firm river in v,-w. ami by its banks v.o /mal.M onr-olvtu in the dI u i ng-rar oi Iho ! rain ami at our < 'h rmtiem; d iiircr. u' Jiot a SI-'-pi livu. dm i. tu-.k the convonl ional nlum pudding. Tho { .n,K.'auM',- >N;u r.i panorama of llm na.r ..i-fumry add. d 'n i er« ai n men I. oi’ tho most ploaKin;; kiml to our meal. Ar 'I I iim.inv we pfm-ad many coal min-r-oi.ta.ges, ail' I Oijlni.in men collage a group ol lather, mother, children a'u! trieiu.l.s looking happy iilirr Umir ( h ; k,i,iinw dinner, ami \'« l waved our C< to tuem. At i'ranrktou J ;uetion wo changed trains for Tannuirnnni, King Country, U*uime more broken. 'l'n) 1 ' groat Maori reserve has not ion;,' been opemd up. At m Kniti. i.;«e P'K.c;pa.l town, we had afternoon tea ni a very primitive* refreshment; room, and Imre we Lou;.;hh the f M diroiiirle” of a recent date, a now local newspaper. iMirlhrr on uo ran into tin* watomind of the (mopapa (:) and travelled for null's along the ridges, witll the mountain stream winding m and out on tin* valley Ixmeath us. tne eJhv.L* being exceedingly fine. 'This river junctions vv.it.fi the v'vanganuj a\ Taumarn n ni, and together they make tlie splendid river by which tom-isle get one oi. him most picturesque trips in -now Zealand.

u wiuj now evening, and with a most magnificent kuiih>L Ihe day closnd. The yborm clouds which had made tho day nhow’cry httcd on the horizon, tho near horizon which shut, in Uin valley down which we u-oro travelling. ;mkl the mih lit up a lino 01' clear sky ot tho most o ri ii i ~tt o bl in-, ami .no morn-a 'vha-n ha;.;: Above were crowned with a- golden glory. Thi." is what uv srv as v.e !0./U'd up from the worse? along which the train was winding with the swift. Ttioiintjiijfi i-1 roam tumbling over the rocks in tho name direction,' and so our Day depart rd. Before tho light had quite gone, however, wo had another most .interesting fop no at Taringamuia, the station hrfon- the toi ininn .. A groat Cl- 1 istma< IV»d attended by r>(iO -Maoris had been hold, and numbers of thorn joined our train, their friends crowding on the platform to bid them good-bye. They had all donned the best drosses their wardrobe contained, and bright colon red costumes in satin, silk or muslin gave a gay elVecb to tbo excited 'groups an they rubbed posas and look. aflerVonale fa rowel! ol the departing guests. The interest tliey all seemed to Dike in each other showed how' the jjfood fellowship of Polynesian communion still prevail amongst tho Maoris of Now Zealand. At Tauniarujini we went to Meredith TEoueo. whore wo found Hpatlos«ly clean accommodation, and, like tired travollers, slept soundly. »,Vn arose next morning, refreshed and ready for another day’s travelling, which was, in some respects, to exceed in in tercab, our Christman .Day's journey. Tho oidinary route from Taiiinanmui is a two days' river journey to Wanganui, but as this involved considerably more expose, we took tho main trunk railway route and were amply rewarded for our economy. This line of rail is not yet completed, and after leaving Taunurunui wo Had first to travel 30 miles on the Public Works line, which has not yet l)e©ii handed over to the Railway Department, and then, after 112 miles of coaching, we picked up the Public Works line again and proceeded another 30 miles or to over thin newly constructed section. The carriages used by tho Public Works arc not the best, but w© found it no hardship to travel by them. We .started from Taumamnui wdtli several Maori© in out compartment, who were only going a short distance- One couple, an oldish man and inn wife, especially interested tis. Tho wife made herself comfortable in tho corner of tho carriage, with a short pipe between her( Ditooocl lips, and her husband entertained her by what seemed to I>© a most interesting story, in the telling of which ho became eloquent with hand and arms wliatover tho quality of his words may miliar to us by IJm similarity to Samoan. The scenery ou the first railway section is very charming. Wo had hardly left Taiunanmui, our starting point, when, looking ahead of the train and along tho track, which had been cut through the dense forest, wo saw tho white elopes of Ruapehu 3000 feel high *md CO miles distant. Later in tho day we had other glorious views of this majestic mountain. This route commands many good views of tho highest snow-clad mountains of the North Island. Soon after beginning tho roast journey we had an uninterrupted view of Tongariro and Ngauruhoe, the kittor being an active volcano. Further on. as wo wore rounding a mountain ppu.r at a high altitude, and.in tho midst of etately forest tree© and bush, wc suddenly came upon an outlook which commanded a far reaching view of tho country, and our driver stopped the conch and told us to look toward tho west, and there, more than 50 miles away, rose the graceful lino of Mount Egmont, with is snow-clad peak, so suggestive of the Japanese mountain of similar shape. The lc*won which this route affords just now in railway pioneering will repay one for tho journey. The scene** wo witnessed in and. around the transitory canvas homes of the hundreds of workmen, while they afforded jwmieemont. called forth admiration for the men who face tmfcold imxmvtmitxncee to provide us with our tnxorriouG railway travelling. The Christimifi hearths of those workmen, were of tho most primitive kind. Tho majority had shut up their rude mountain abodes and had gone to spend Christmas Amongst their friends, but not a few families were making the most of Christmas beneath tho giant trees of the forest or the fern-covered banks whore, in snug shelter, they were to be found quite "at home,"

It was through meeting in Auckland Mr Louch, the engineer in charge of the northern section of tho works, that wo had iidoptod bids route, and after seeing tho ondlews smaller gullies which, had to. bo spanned, and the deeper chasms which had to bo crossed by viaducts, one of them being tho second highest in tho world; and the hill sides which had to be pierced, not simply by ordinary tunnels, but in one place by a s'piral railway of remarkable construction, wo wore ready with a largo meed of praise for the surveyors, engineers and workmen who had so nearly completed this great underbaking. Admiration was also called forth for another c-hiss of men by this journey. Our safe conveyance over the tSU miles of hill and ravine by con oh impressed us with the of the debt which travellers owe partly to the sagacious horse, and fdiil more to the •rdcady brain an<l hand and keen eye of the men who hold the reins, as you sweep

round dangerous curves on the edge of ala,, ruing preyipirn*. \ , nidr-Ht po.eubiv'apologv for railway sta(ion, where, hmr. the mid.-d of mos> eovered lr-es ami the greened of ferns, we M e.pped into our eo ’pa rtuient. ami in I<l ue lime re.mhed Tails.pe, where wo i rdeid. Our weather condition* had been I abso)u(e|y perfect. T’he re-ejil rains had i laid Urn d.-d. the ;,0.-.o.vpl.ere nm, transI ,iarejd |y elm.r, and Urn mountain streams j a m { uvers sparkled in tiio brightest ol ! (</breathe the 'spirit of Ch ristmaeride, i for our fellow pa-.-engers wen. dispos'd Mi, make friend-, with everyUMy. W e ; were Hred at (he end of the journey, but 1 very thankful for a day of rest and rmh ; mjovment. : . Oi.. oi the amueing jnejdents of the I j'.»uriwv wan that at one of the stations ; a "I-Ptfeman eame to Die earringe window i and a.dmd two of my fellow passenger* ,■' I ... as Mi- Keir Ha/die. 'i'hey turned, ..ml after- a .-,e a robing hK#k at mo, they • d that I hm- dicin’', think i was. Mr Hardie wa* expected to travel to Wellinglon bv the tonlle train.