A HOME OF BEAUTY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7047, 8 February 1910, Page 5

A HOME OF BEAUTY

A TBJCP THROUGH THE ILVKC'EI gorge. (By P.E.) With all that can bo said of Now Zealand scenery in tlio way of eulogy, tho fact remains that it is impressive rather fhau beautiful, tho spec rarer is inipres--kI rather than delighted by its stem outlines. Like all tilings impressive, it luis a tendency to become monotonous, and it kicks tho haunting loveliness of Australian eocnery, where areas of weird solitude are diversified by sconce of purt-im; elmrrn. Nevertheless. there are places in this Dominion in which a chmnn of softneso and shtxie hang-, round tiio more characteristic te-Aiues of tho country, and lends it a special beauty and oilers ih« traveller a pleasing surprise; where prelipitoui rang-s sn/1 (lark ginhev. <o-d msliijig streams have their harsher tea‘uns modified by htxuT-Uxnil ioiiai?© and somo romtirkablc iwciifeiritiva. New Zeala.r.der.s -A the ordinary type,! Who tread the daily round of tod, mental or physical, and wiio must perroice spend a vacation within their own liouiidaiios, often find Xlotetua. the Spunos. the Cold J.ako.s. the Bay of Islands, too remote and the rust of reaching them amt sojourning there prohibitive. Web linrgton citizens are oontjnutiliy askin„. ivhurts shall wo go for a Millay. Pw le.l and Polorus Souikl present them-, .•elves and let mo wnptesiso every comPKTuiation cf these as delightful Twrts. Put /they aro both fairly well known,, mid everybody does not enjoy a sea trip. There are manv who desire to visit souie handy spot. Where they may bo atone with Naiburo. and to roach which involves a mm'hmun of oast anu discomfort. Jj*t mo tempt the hobday-scekcr whoso ctu?o comes under Dr's heading,, io nocii?xn»pJi7iv mo on n iaiint which ho* will c: *r(i»i rjl v fi ntl <le Li srhit-f ul— th tho Makuri GnTfjc. c , . AVo m-ako Tahlatna our pomt of. oeAnd Pahitvfcua Ims its pomtpi It is a thriving’ brisk town of the clou-] mW or Palmersbornan type, a Inv© e£ cemwniissien agency and finance. overh«n ß with webs, into which the hackhlocfc flirai cocaftonally wander. Thorn is , f-V’V ' dance of good accammoctotKinte bo na.t, there, but, arriving at 1 ‘J! traveller has no time or inclination ml h.is Imlf-famfished state to observe ilia feafaras of tho town. The inner man craves attention. . „„ At 2.30 the toorrist finds _ himself on tlio box-scait of tho Makuri cac F’ + ~A side a driver who is a twcn-ioJi riratu-y successor of the "Cabbage Tree Xeds. . nnd Who has a county reputation for .tare-fulness and courtesy. Cobb s coach t As vou mount to the box ol the. familiar old fabric, what fragrant memories of tlio pioneer days oomo back to you. tlio d-ays when the world was w.de, andi tho horizon boundless and hope wag at meridian height; when the mere escape, from convention that yon had ]usfc madei across tho world had exhilarate! yon and prepared you to regard as positive luxuries, and to prefer prn mftive contrivances to olegan-cM*. tne; bulteck dray to the boroncho. - ta delightfully early jaunts by Cobb a‘ chanted coach, a yohicto more splembili than tho glass coach of Arabian ni„hts stories, in which princely lovers transport lovdv pauper maidens to palacesand bowers—-how it whirled yon away Into the nostwrons bush with de eombro dopfcbs and its strange sounds and devious tracks; bow the whole pauorama of Australian early days is unioldid '°B'itt 1 by tins tin lo we 3XO c!ei t, r , .F 3 ! hiaitua. and have passed the villas that • so prettily adorn its environs and are oemmittod to the "up-hill and , itown--11010" tourney, along an exo<dl«n- ioacl. past thriving hcaneErtoads. Hero and there we stop to pick up a inaxl-aa,. or to receive parcels or commissions from housewives or cherry-cheeked danieels, glad of a few minutes talk with the gonial jarvtry., _■ On we go for same Bcvonteon miles, till wo coano upon a charming homestead far below us on tha river side, a model of beauty and cultivation are its grounds: and now ju3l| nhoad Tf -S is the portal of tlio famous, mmre Tie valley suddenly contracts,. thY bills cteo in, and tho river floid more noisily in it f sl^!^ 0 b Mv.lv in turn of tho ro-ad. and we are fairly 11 th™i>rgo. Far below is the river wWh winds along between masses of with hero and there-a cascade gleamintWhite, then a ; sivii’l cf ivater around come giant obstructing bonlder. Thei fXmo is everywhere, of every variety,, nndSne drives -along through, a cd bower. Tha road is sufficiently wide to allow two vehicles to. pass, ““d ®-t sufficiently high level to impart to the unaccustocuod- travnUOT section of cxcd'tament; jnst that dctoebtfttl anl( which aooomjiames tho nnspoi..-’- 1 tlmnght—what if wo were to capsize, here? But your eyes never taro of itoiw doling across the stream to the darlq stoop tree-clad hill opposite, or into tha profunidity bel-aw, and you hardly how tho roadway winds, and turns nmtal) presently across the river you ece tile, Fittlo toirahhip of Makurj. lyong plcafsuitly asleep on tho hillside Over a .iord, ami up d steep pinch to the poet office,, where Jehu delivers hasi moil, *hcn oa to tho hostelry, whore tho worthy Fedor-, sen entertains man and -boast with abundanrfc cood faro. ~ A night hero, and then on by tUa, wadi cart or by hired ‘ Coonoor, suxoly ono of the- most £ohJittill of drives, eleven miles throngn lvme-| »tono country, with a liuge scenic r«®^e : on ono side of yon. and thriving fawns, on tho other; everywhere embowering, trees stretch their arms across the .rood | Hero is tho forest —here tho matai, the, rata, the mairie, tho willow m places, and innumerable forest beauties, with hero and there a glancing stream . But| now tho country takes on a peculiar aspect Hugo square rooks appear at intervals, and high natural fortresses of sandstone, some having vast caverns with stalactites nnd all tho accampanimenlß of the caves of tradition; caves wherein are said to dwtfil hideous reptiles and, mysterious genii. Hero and there, too, nxo vast deep "jxrt-holos" formed by the action of subterranean streams of great depth and a certain f earsomenesu, boi body suggests that these may comtam) cold deposits; -but each one has ite leoond cf an unfortunate cow or homo, that has fallen, never to nso again, and, whoso bones arc bleaching below. Through hospitable, delightful by the loiter rood, wo pureuo our way through another gorge of mmch inld beauty. Tho road .is overhung -nath vast, rocky tows and trees that bend over, at a shuddory angle. Hero ono goes in fear, for it looks ns though the hid, side might at any moment como douh on masse- And tho road challenges attention.: for tho. County Cpiinoil, in whoso charge it is, has allowed it toj fall into a rparlous state. Still the drive through this haunt of wUd beauty W onotebo long Tomenibcretl, and at length ■we emerge through the gate in tho rab-bit-proof fence, into tho territory of tins Hawke’s Bay county. And now the road becomes a bowling green, and travel is delightful. A drive of sax miles has carried us to tiro most office at Mangatoro Talley, where there is o charming homestead and where tho coach for Bannevirko awaits tlio tourist. A delightful drive of eighteen miles takes ns to, Itawko’s Bay’s second city, with a stirring history ol indn-s-trial pioneer daysi Here, in Host Cotter’s comfortable astsibldshmdnt, ono may recruit oneself! and chow tho oud of pleasant recollection. and whence the train bears us back next day to town, and its worry and Ims-. I earnestly commend this trip, so littlct known, to persons in search of a healthful trip and a glimpse of natural Van tv. ■paxticularlv to trout-fishers, for the trout streams hereabouts are wonderfully • well stocked. The journey is short, tho , convej-anoes ooonfortablc, and the aocom-.

f iridlati-on and attendance everywhere ex'n!!i. and the material for enjoyment, is t-vcrvwhei-o round you m proiusiui. And, bkc the "harp in the air,” you have always tlio vision of u. light railway that 1-. to link up Liam.vvuku vain, tins delightful countiy.