A TRIP NORTH

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1932, Page 13 (Supplement)

A TRIP NORTH

SOME IMPRESSIONS

(By

“Tripper.”)

It was recently chronicled that a liner left for Home with a full complement of passengers. February and March are the flitting time for humans as March and April are for the godwit. The fact that the Dominion is passing through the worst economic time in its history apparently has no effect upon the migratory propensities of New Zealanders. But are they not making a great mistake in tripping abroad when there is so much to be seen and enjoyed in their own land? Few New Zealanders actually know their own country, or have seen its many places of interest and attraction. True, the Dominion has no old historic buildings, cathedrals and ruined abbeys, classic monuments in stone and brick, nor greens and gardens whose history runs back into the dim past, nor scenes of rustic beauty which characterise the older lands. But New Zealand possesses other assets just as interesting and just as valuable. Indeed it may fairly be claimed that in no other country in the world has providence distributed its largesse with a more lavish hand than it has done in New Zealand. And. it is therefore meet that 'New Zealanders should know their own country better before succumbing to the lure of distant fields. Besides, it is very much cheaper, for in no country'is living and travelling so reasonable as in these fortunate isles.

The northern peninsula is one of the parts of the Dominion that offers unique attractions to the holiday-maker and tourist. It is not as popular as it ought to be, probably because of the poor means of communication in the past. It was designated the “Roadless North,” and the roadless north it is regarded to this day by many people, though in recent years the condition of the roads, o. at least of the main ones, has improved immeasurably. Unfortunately the powers that be did not concentrate upon the construction of one good main highway throughout the peninsula, but gave' way to the clamour of sectional interests, and the result is seen to-day in first-class roads joined to terribly bad ones and no through main highway worthy of the name. During the past year or so, however, a definite effort has been made to complete the system and in another two years a first-class main highway from Auckland to Russell should be an accomplished fact.

Until last year Russell was isolated by road from the rest of the country. To reach it one had to go to Kawakawa and thence to Opua, boarding a launch there for Russell. From Whangarei to Helena Bay on the coast the going was fairly good, but onwards over the Waikare mountains there was little else but a bush track unnegotiable in wet weather. This, has 'been changed. A splendidly graded and wide road has been constructed all the way from Helena Bay to Russell. There is still a short stretch to be done, but the work is being pushed on energetically, and it is now possible to make Russell by road practical l ” in . any weather. The real stumbling block in the North at present is the Dome valley road, which is being reconstructed to the main highway standard. It is a big work and will take a year or two to finish. In fine weather it is negotiable, but it is not a road to be recommended to inexperienced motorists. The surface is of clay, deeply ruttecl, and in other parts of jagged rock with cavernous holes from which the, most skilful and resourceful motorist cannot escape. An alternative route. is via Warkw.orth, Kaipara Flats and Port Albert, joining the main road again at Wellsford, and thence to Waiwaka, Maungatoroto and Waipu and Whangarei. In wet weather the unwary motorist is provided with a good many thrills in the hilly country. The surface is of a kind of papa which only requires to be dampened to become exceedingly greasy. In the early days the road engineers almost invariably chose the ridges for the roads, and the motorist is treated to a series of switchbacks, the thrill of which is enhanced by inability to keep the motor in the middle of the road. The engineers also believed in making the approaches to the innumerable bridges as steep as possible, and so you have to bieak hard as you descend and change into second gear to ascend. This course is made all the more necessary by the big holes in the road on either side of the bridge flooring. Evidently the local bodies do not worry about bridge approaches or tliev would have the holes filled in and the” loose planks nailed down. ■ But away from this alternative route and on to the main road to Whangarei the going is reasonably good, and there are stretches of bitumen that make the Taranaki motorist think he is back home again. From Waipu to Whangarei there is a stretch of about 20 miles of excellent road. A few years back it was a perfect quagmire, and many a settler added appreciably to his income by having a team of horses always available to pull the unfortunate motorist out of the mud on to terra firma. From Whangarei the road through Kamo and Hikuraugi is of ordinary metal, much of it loose, and pot holes are the order, but at Whakapapa, where you turn to the coast, the road surface improves, though the road itself is narrow and winding. The scenery over the Waikare hills is very beautiful. The road passes through the middle of the pristine bush, which is liberally studded with the magnificent kauri and mamaku ferns, as well as the smaller ground ferns’ Then here and there glimpses of the sea and the Bay -of Islands may be obtained, and on a clear day the view, or series of views, is one that will long be remembered and cherished. This new road to Russell must prove a very popular motorist route as it becomes better known.