Joyous Days of Care-free Respite.

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3842, 4 December 1936, Page 5

Joyous Days of Care-free Respite.

*T'HERE are variety and interest in harbour excursions. Rakanui has almost unexcelled charm. The channel entrance is guarded by jagged limestone formation which at times assumes grotesque shape. Then comes magnificent bush, clinging tenaciously to great towering cliffs of rugged limestone. In such surroundings the picnickers land and explore the depths of bush clad valleys or climb I he slopes. As likely as not a swim in the placid waters will feature the day. The trip to Mahoe takes you almost down to the heads before the launchman turns to follow another channel which leads to Lemon Point ! and on to a paradise of native bush. 'The launch threads its.way through what is almost a canopy’ of bush, with the vegetation right to the water’s edge. At some vantage poini the launchman will disembark the picnickers. The day’ is all too short to roam the bush or climb the heights. Te Maika is'situate on an isthmus that guards the harbour entrance. Seas, which roll in from the Tasman, pound its shores, and there are safety and excitement in the surf. On the inside beaches the waters are more placid. Te Maika offers everything the picnicker who would roam the sands or prove his prowess in the water can desire, HOT • MINERAL WATERS. There are only’ a few known places in the world where the bather can alternate between the tumbling surf and hot mineral waters. One of these places is at Kawhia. The location is about 4 miles from the camp site and vou can journey either by launch to the Heads and then trek along the ocean beach, or you can march over the sand hills which fringe the

coast line. The hot springs are one of Nature’s phenomena, because they are actually on the beach and are accessible only when the tide is low. At high tide they are completely submerged beneath the breakers that roll in from the Tasman. Walking along the sands barefoot (when the tide is out) you will notice the increasing warmth underfoot. You will drive your toes into the sands as though they were a thermometer to measure the heat you desire. At the spot you select, you shall carve out a hole in the sands. It fills as quickly as you throw out the sand, and in a few minutes you can recline in your own self-made mineral bath. And, only a few yards away, the surf pounds the beach unceasingly. At your pleasure you can alternate between the tumbling breakers and the lazy tepid pool. Such surroundings are not quickly forgotten. WITH ROD OR LINE. Every day can be a fisherman's delight. You can cast your line from the beach at many vantage points, I or you can explore the many c.hanI nels in the harbour. Most likely the launehman will cast anchor at the rocky point near Te Maika or maybe, if the weatheg is favourable, he will venture out into the more open sea in Albatross Bay, or he may go to the hapuku grounds at Gannet Island; but wherever you go the odds are that you shall find the, fishing good. You will be able to take more stories from Kawhia than you have hitherto known; you will be either the envy of or the suspected “ tail-story-teller ” of your home-town friends when your holiday is over. But you will certainly have had the delightful experience of wonderful fishing.