RICH VARIETY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 886, 1 February 1930, Page 8

RICH VARIETY

ROTORUA’S ATTRACTIONS “WHAT BETTER HOLIDAY?” The really interesting thing about Rotorua as a holiday resort is its remarkable variety. There _ is every kind of sport, of games . and pastimes, of sightseeing, and amusements, as well as its healthgiving fame. It is the place where nature and man have combined to produce the ideal holiday resort for all the year round. An impression exists in the minds of some people that Rotorua is a place of crowded boardinghouses in the Christmas and New Year season, and an empty town given over to Maoris all the rest of the year. This is far from the truth. For one thing Rotorua is an ideal resort at any time of the year. The geyßers spout and the mud pools boil every day of the 365, the Maoris live there permanently, the golf course and tennis courts are open every day of every month, and the marvellous J natural mineral waters never lose their value. Mlore than that, every season has its own particular delights, and there is no dull time. As for the overcrowded boardinghouses story, that can be dismissed in a word. Rotorua is the spa-town of the Southern Hemisphere, and thousands flock there from all parts of the Dominion, from Australia, Canada and America, and from nearly every other point. Naturally the competition between the different hotels is keen. Every effort is strained to attract tourists who will come back for another season, and the visitor is always assured of every attention. Rotorua is the sportsman’s paradise, no less than the mecca of the sightseer. It is astonishing the number of different attractions there are in so small a compass, and its thermal wonders, its bush-clad hills, its amazing combination of natural

beauties and unnatural weirdness hold charm and fascination for old and young, stranger and old acquaintance alike. To those in search of recreation it offers a varied choice. The golf links on the Arikikapakapa Reserve i provides facilities which even the ; most fastidious devotee of the game ] I

cannot despise. The howling greens and tennis courts in the Government Gardens are well maintained, and provide at reasonable cost the requirements o£ the visitors whose tastes lie in that direction. The lakes and streams in the vicinity provide abundant opportunity for anglers to prac tise the gentle art. Even the sportsman who seeks solace with dog and gun finds game in season whereon

to expend his powder and shot. Then there are the usual excursion trips—Waimangu, Tarawera, Wairoa, with its buried village and superb falls; the Blue and Green Lakes; Hamurana with its monster spring : into which one throws coppers for the ' pleasure of seeing them float just out . of reach, and last, but by no means least, the beautiful six lakes trip, each

of the lakes a source of wonder and delight to visitors. Apart altogether from the routine trips there are many beautiful things to be seen in the district, some of them within quite easy reach of the town. Around the shores of Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti are many delightful bays, ideally situated for pic-

nics, which may be reached by water or by road. Two miles to the south of the town lies Whakarewarewa. After crossing the bridge, where Maori children dive for pennies, a motley collection of shacks in various stages of domestic activity introduce the stranger to, the home of the Tuhanangi sub-tribe of the Arawas. These are speedily forgotten when the Wonderland itself is !

reached. Boiling pools, crystal clear, reflecting in their depths the varying colours of the sky; boiling mud-pools, mud volcanoes, and an amazing variety of geysers are a source of endless wonder. True, the mighty Wairoa geyser now rumbles only in the bowels of the earth, but as he has become quiescent his little brother Pohutu has become increasingly ac-

tive, compensating for his lack of inches by his astounding vivacity. At the northern end of the town, nestling on the shore of the lake, is the native village of Ohinemutu, where still more thermal activities may be seen. Here is to be found the beautiful Maori Church, the interior decorations of which are most interesting to

the student of Maori art. Here, also, is the workshop of the Board of Maori Arts and Crafts, where the ancient arts of the natives are perpetuated. Throughout the whole district there is much of natural beauty strangely intermingled with the thermal wonders. Rotorua has well been named the Sportsman’s Paradise. Aided and I abetted by nature man has stocked

the countryside on a lavish scale. Vast tracks of virgin country in which red deer abound lie within reasonable distance from the town. W'ld pigs are numerous, and although not so plentiful, wild cattle and sheep are also available to the hardy and experienced sportsman willing to penetrate into their country. It is a happy crowd that one meets at Rotorua. They are enjoying one of the finest natural spas in the whole world, finding health, sport, and beauty for the asking.