NEGLECTED ROTORUA

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10546, 24 March 1920, Page 6

NEGLECTED ROTORUA

BEAUTY AND UGLINESS POINTS FOR TOURIST DEPARTMENT TO CONSIDER. Special to "Times." ROTORUA, March. 19. Practically every person, who visits Rotorua, inspects the- sights at Ohini»natu. Thore aro many boiling pools there, but it is an unwholesome looking spot. No attempt has been made evidently to clean the pah up, and old tills, pieces of rag. and all kinds of. iubbish litter the shores of the lake and boiling pools The locality is not inviting in its present condition, and it the Government has jurisdiction ■ over' it, should be renovated in the interests ot New Zealand so 'that tourists might bo given a better impression. "Whaka" has not been improved, and is in the same condition as years ago. There are few improvements that could with advantage be made to this piece of wonderland. The paths are well kept, and no doubt the charm, of the surroundings is the fact that everything is in its natural condition. The Eachael- pool, which supplies the wa'ter for the swimming baths, in the sanatorium grounds, is droppinsr to a lower level through some unknown cause, and it is proposed to flume the water from, the hot lake which supplies the water for tho spout bath at "Whaka" to Rotorua, by gravitation, to augment the Rachael supply. Ten miles from Rotorua.the Hamurana spring is situated. The best means of transit is by motor launch, as the road is in an atrocious condition. Hamurana is a delightful spot, and could be made one of real beauty at a small cost. A visitor 'to the spring feels overcome with tlisgust at seeing such a charming valley allowed to go to rum. A walk ot less than quarter of. a mile along the banks of the stream brings the sightseer to a small jetty where a boat is moored. There aro poles in the boat with which to pole it to the spring, and, as the current of the stream is fairly swift and the wa'ter deep, to the uninitiated noline is not the easiest of tasks. The labour that has to be expended is more than amply repaid when the spring is reached under the delicious shade ol overhanging-trees. The wa'ter is so clear that the smallest stone can be distinctly seen in the deepest part, and, the amount of water that bubbles forth, from the spring of unknown depth is sufficient to supply the wants of a large city. Hundreds of coins have been thrown into the spring. They cannot sink, and atr.er beine tossed about thev find a. resting place on a side of the aperture where attempts to rescue them are made by native children. TOURIST TRAFFIC. As the thermal regions become more widely known so the influx of tourists increases from outside New Zealand, io many there is a fascination about the district that lures them to it year after year, but it is the systematic advertising that is carried out by the Tourist Department that has been mainly responsible for bringing the wonders of the Dominion into prominence abroad. The tourist season, which has now practically closed, has been a record one. The increase 'may be gauged from the following figures which represents the revenue received from the people who booked through the department for the round .(lakes) trip. The return is only a. slight indication of the number ot people who have visited Rotorua during the months of November, December, January, and February as thousands do not undertake anv of the trips. The revenue for the 'season was as under, that for the previous season being given in brackets:—November, .£2OB 2s 6d (£57 lis 3d); December, £285 3s 9d (£l2O 7s 6d); January, £470 8s 9d (£250.109); February, £265 7s 6d (£220 10s); total £1229 2s 6d (£6-18 18s 9d). The number of people carried; on .launch and coach was 3263 adults and 26 children, while last season the total was 1721 adults and 19 children. • -