WITH TENT AND MOTOR

Taranaki Daily News, 28 December 1929, Page 21 (Supplement)

WITH TENT AND MOTOR

VISIT TO LAKE WAIKAREMOANA. LITTLE-KNOWN BEAUTY SPOT. * (Social to News. —By ‘Trip.") When the Governor-General opened the Waikaremoana power station a few weeks ago attention was focussed on a place that had hitherto been but a name to thousands of people in New Zealand. The descriptions given in the Press show that Waikaremoana was an outstandingly beautiful place, and since then a number of interested motorists have written for further particulars. Waikavemoana is probably the least known of our New Zealand lakes, but in many ways it is the most beautiful of all, and is certainly the best in the North Island. One of these days when the road from Ruatahuna to the lake has been completed and metalled (probably about next April) tourists will flock there and it will be brought within very easy access of Rotorua. Meantime it can be reached easily by any motorcamper, and excursions made afoot and by launch that take one into the heart of a forest wonderland. The road of which I speak has already been formed as far as Hoporuahine along the shores of the lake, but between here and the lake house there is but a track. Within the next few months’ this road should be ready for tourist traffic, but the final portion round the lake may not be metalled until some time later. A SPLENDID RIDE. For those who can ride, it is possible to make through from Ruatahuna, hiring horses from tlie Maoris, who will also act as guides. Sir ■Charles and Lady Fergusson made this journey, which is considered to be one of the finest in New Zealand, and out rivalled only by the Milford Sound track. When the road is completed the journey will be made more quickly and in greater comfort, but some, at least, of its romance will be lost. The usual route in to the lake is through Wairoa, and although the lastsection of the road used Y-o be unmetalled, it now offers no difficulties. Coming-from the north you would make across through Gisborne and then down through Wairoa. while from the south you would make up through Napier. Au additional road that will later give easier access between Rotorua and Gisborne will be from the lake through the Ruakituri valley, but it will probably be years before this is opened up. Meantime a detour can be made from Wairoa through Tiniroto to Gisborne, and the Te Rcinga falls visited. C AMPING AT THE LAKE. The scores of the lake are densely wooded and offer comparatively few places for camping, while the car cannot be taken further than the accommodation house. It. is therefore usual for motor-campers to select either the lake outlet for their camping ground or else go further round the shores of the lake to Rosie Bay—a most delightful spot. Certain restrictions operate against fires, and permission must be obtained by campers from the officer in charge of the accommodation house. Many of the journeys round the lake to spots of special interest can be made afoot, but for others the use of a launch is necessary, and as a new launch has just been sent up from Wellington, and as the accommodation has received special attention, those who visit the lake this summer will be better catered for than in the past. Launching during the summer season is an inexpensive pastime as there are always plenty to fill the launches and the charges per person are thus lowered. There are few excitements at Waikaremoana, but for lovers of all that is best in New Zealand’s scenery and for those who want a restful holiday far away from the cares of business, it is absolutely ideal. PLAC ES WORTH SEEING, There are certain features here than no one should miss, so a brief summary of some of them will perhaps be of interest. Waikaremoana is unlike most tourist resorts to which people go with a clear knowledge of the places and things they want to see. It is not known, and unless you have ideas as to where you want to go you may easily spend several weeks there and yet fail to see some of the most interesting places. There is a good track from lake house to Lake Waikare-iti and those who are camping- at Rosie Bay can make the run to the lake house in their cars, thus saving time. A boat is kept on the smaller lake, and an excursion can be made across to an island on which there is a smaller lake still. That is one of the most wonderful features of the district. Here is a tiny 'lake, set well above Lake Waikare-iti, and just a few miles further away still is Lake Waikaremoana, 500 feet lower than Waikare-iti.

Good fishing can be had at many of the streams running into the lake, the one at Hoporuahine being particularly good in this. respect, the Aniwaniwa falls should not be missed, and walks round the lake and excursions by launch will take you to a number of other beautiful waterfalls amid the perfect settings of native bush which everywhere surrounds the lake. Those interested in Maori culture and history should visit the old carved pa at Whakaari, on the northern shore of the lake, and all round this end, and especially near Mokau, there will be delicious ripe cherries during the season. I should add perhaps that the road up from Wairoa is now an all-weather road presenting no difficulties at all, although climbing steeply during part of its distance. Without a doubt Lake Waikaremoaua will come into its own when the road from Rotorua is ready for tourist traffic and probably the accommodation house will then prove all too small. Meantime it provides a most .satisfying holiday in wonderful surroundings without the disadvantages of overcrowding sometimes apparent lit our too-popular resorts.

‘•’Changes in city conditions a* a result of building operations, the shift of business districts and many other factors in addition to growth in motor

vehicle registration require constant study if a city is to keep abreast of its traffic and safety problems. Formulation of traffic rules on the basis of sound principles and translation of these rules in firm, uniform and efficient administration is a serious problem, further complicated in many cities by a lack of definite, clear cut responsibility and inadequate provision for co-ordination of the functions of various administrative bodies. It is obvious that fullest efficiency cannot result unless departments act in harmonious manner, and such action is impossible unless there is clear definition of respective powers and responsibility.

‘•'The need for a well established and continuing technical agency has been recognised. Thus, for the design of the street system, cities are provided with city planning agencies and for execution” of the plans, with a competent staff for the actual design for the -highways. In most cities the Department of Public Works has a staff of inspectors to see that the building code is carried out. The school system is iti the hands of competent technicians, and so one may go through the principal activities and find that all recognised as proper functions have been provided with professional assistance.

‘‘Surveys made by the Erskine Bureau in many American cities have led to the recommendation in each case that a traffic engineering division be established in the Bureau of Public Works, and that a qualified engineer, be appointed whose full duty should be the study of street accidents and traffic conditions. the preparation of recommendations for improvement and supervision of the placing and operation of all city traffic signs and signals. In the past year Detroit, Boston. Providence and New Orleans have established such divisions as part of their regular administrative machinery, bringing the total of city traffic engineering agencies in the United States to ten, the other cities being Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago. Pittsburgh, Washington and St. Louis. .“Cities have been taken out of the pump and cesspool age by the development of water sanitary engineering under the control of qualificed specialists. Civic hygiene has been revolutionised by the development of public health technique. Traffic control technique promises to gain for cities maximum safety and convenience in traffic movement" The traffic problem has never been more acute, but never has there been a more encouraging prospect for measures, which, based on sound engineering study and applied by competent traffic engineers, will effect tremendous progress in the reduction of accidents and in the relief of congestion.”

LATEST IN CARS

SILENT THIRD GEARS

One of the outstanding features of the Olympia show is the large number of cars lifted with four-speed gear boxes, and the increase over last year of the use of coil ignition, which —it is stated —is now used on 60 per cent, of the makes of cars on the British market. Till recently American designers regarded four speeds as unnecessary on cars of high horse-power, but there are no less than five American makers among the converts to the four-speed near box. The increased popularity oi coil ignition is due to the fact that modern coil apparatus is efficient and entirely reliable. It is also a means of slightly reducing the cost o£ the car, though this is oi small importance compared with reliability. For many years coil ignition suffered from a prejudice against it handed down from the very early days of motoring, when coil, condensers, contact breakers, and distributors suffered from as many defects as did the early chassis themselves. and batteries gave endless trouble, as they were not specially built for the work they were called upon to do. The battery has been so oreatly improved since those days, both as regards mechanical construction and electrical efficiency, that there is now no reason why an ignition system depending upon it should be suspect. The American conversion to the four-speed gear box is not a conversion to four forward indirect speeds, but the adoption of what is known as the “silent third.’-’ This is obtained by various applications of the use of constant mesh gears, some makers using external and. others internal forms. It is the perfection of these systems that I,? making them popular. They are often spoken of as “twin high,” the use of the term arising from the fact that .the driver has the choice of a speed of slightly lower ratio which he can utilise on hills or in traffic without the car giving any indication of being on an indirect drive. One of the American cars, in addition to its four speeds, also has a sprag to prevent backward running on hills. The sprag also enables the car to be started on a hill without the driver being troubled to hold it on the brakes, an easy and clean get-away. HOADS TO LINK FRENCH CITIES. Plans have been laid before the French Ministries of Interior and Transportation of a project linking Paris by an overhead motor road with Nice, Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Brest. Lyons and Geneva. According to the scheme, the roads would be carried on reinforced concrete pillars at a height of about twenty-five feet and would consist of two one-way tracks, each about twenty feet wide. A large proportion of the heavy initial expenditure, if was suggested, could be covered by the importation of materials from Germany under the reparations plan and the upkeep could be more than met if motorists paid a special tax oi 100 francs a year. F—' EIGHT CYLINDER CARS. THEIR INCREASING POITLARITY. The latest Britishh, American and Continental models show a distinct trend towards the adoption of eight cylinder engines. Tho American figures give a good indication of a similar swing from sixes to eights as took place from fours to sixes.

In 1923 only 10.4 per cent of all passenger car engines produced were eights. To-day the figure is 41 per cent. Among all American cars selling over 2200 dollars no less than 88 per cent, are powered by eight cylinder motors. The “straight eight”' easily predominates. Twenty-one manufacturers in America have adopted the “straight eight” principle as against five using the V-typt eight. Among European manufacturers there are 41 straight eights being manufactured, but not one V-type eight. These figures are taken from statistics supplied by the Studebaker Corporation, who state they are the world’s largest builders of eight cylinder cars. The reason for straight eight popularity is the resultant increase in smoothness and flexibility of operation with the added efficiency that permits production of all and more of the power output of a big six at no increase in petrol consumption. The makers of some of the newest ‘•'straight eights” are claiming. 18 to 20 miles per gallon for their gara/