OTHER TERRACES KNOWN TO EXIST.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 7113, 10 July 1886, Page 4

OTHER TERRACES KNOWN TO EXIST.

The Neio Zealand Herahl says : — "So little has been done to open out one of the largest sections of the Hot Lake district of. New Zealand, that some of the most lovely and marvellous portions of it are still unknown to the ordinary tourist. But we are informed, upon tho best and most trustworthy authority, that other beautiful terraces exist at no great distance from those recently destroyed. Te Tarata and Otukapuarnngi, the lost marvels oE Rotoniiihana, havo so generally been spoken of and written about us " tho Terraces," that wo have been prone to look upon them as uniquo of their kind. They wore indeed unique, in tho sonso that they were, far beyond all comparison, tho most perfect specimens of siliceous sinlor terracing the world has ever seen. But they were not the only lovely ones in New Zealand, although they were the largest. There are others at Maunqakakaratnea, on the left track leading to Galatea, skirting east of. tho Paeroa rangp, which are veiy littlo know to Europeans, as they aro quite off tho well-know track of tourists, and near them thero are no hotels, or guides, coaches, or accommodation of any kind. Q'hey are situate in nalivo territory, and virgin country, but could easily and readily be opened up by roads and tracks at Bmall cost. The whole of this part of the district is of a most marvellous character — hot springs, geysers, mud volcanoes abound ; and it is to be hoped that in future tourists will extend their researches along the road to Orakeikorako. Hitherto the sole object of the hotelkeepers at Ohinemutu has been to retain tourists, as nearly as possible, within sound of their own dinner bells — or, at least, not more than a day's distance from Ohinemutu. The destruction of the Rotomahana Terraces will, however, undoubtedly tend to ' make the district better known, in that it will send tourists further afield in search of the other countless wonders and beauties hitherto neglected. But the best now of our terrace system, and the one, or rather the series, most worthy of comparison with the two that are lost, is to be found at Orakeikorako. A ■ great part of the banks of the Waikato is ] here silicated into terraces, pink, white, and numerous other colours. The secret of this colouring, and of its source, was long a mystery to scientific visitors. It is, however, not known to be caused by the growth of confervas, which give the extraordinary variety o£ colouring to the Orakeikorako river terraces. This, as a matter of course, does not apply to the piuk colouring entering into the very substance of the material, as in the late famous Pink Terrace. Tho principal of the terraces we are now describing is tho one leading to Waiwhokato, the famous alum cave, the exquisite, and yet weird, benuty of which would alone be a sufficient inducement to undertake the journey from Rotorua to Orakeikorako. When to this is added the countless geysers — the long ranges of other terraces, coloured from white to every tint of the rainbow, the exquisite beauty of the scenery, the natural marvels of every description, it will be seen that though the central beauties of Rotomahana havo departed, yet that numberless others, scarcely inferior, remain to attract the admirers of the beautiful, the picturesque, and the wonderful, and to reward the researches of the naturalist.