Overland to Auckland.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 11935, 8 April 1902, Page 1

Overland to Auckland.

A DELIGHTFUL HOLIDAY TRIP. Some time in November last we en deavoured to enlighten our stay-at-home readers as to the extent and value of the back country of Taranaki served by the Ohura Road, one of the great highways which in the near future will connect this with the neighbouring province of Auckland. In the course of the ensuing article it is our purpose to pursue our explorations to another highway which does^ already actually connect us with iho northern province. At the present rate of progress it will be a considerable trait: before it is possible to drive through the Ohura Road to the Auckland province. It is already possible by way of the Mokau- Awakino Road, and in comfort, too, in the bummer time, as we will show. The party of four, including the driver, which left town shortly after four o'clock on the Thursday afternoon preceding Good Friday, in a pair-horse buggy supplied by Mr if. Jones, was by no means the first to essay the journey ; yet so much misapprehension exists as to the difficulties of the road that a somewhat detailed account of the trip may prove instructive and possibly interesting. Everybody knows the road to TJremu— at any rate everyone ought to know it, for it is one of the most charming drives in the district and the road. is absolutely the best. The distance, 20 miles, is com fortably covered in 2£ hours, and at the Urenui Hotel Host Tom *sitt provides capital accommoJa;ioa and fare for h s visitors. URENUT TO TONGAPOHUTU. Departure from Urenui must be timed so as to reach the ford near the mouth of the Tongaporutn river from one to two hours after low water on the beach, for at that time the water at the ford is at its lowest and quite slack. Before next summer the river will be bridged, and uo such consideration will be needed. In oar case there were t'-vo alternatives, to leave Urenuian hour before sunrise and catch the tide at nine o'clock, or to make a more leisurely journey during the day and cross the ford after dark in the evening. We chose the former, albeit the kncw-alls predicted that we should riot catch the' "tide, one even offering to lay fifty to one on the tide. The assurancu of Mr C. N. Rowe, than whom we could not wish a more corr^etent adviser, that we could get through in four hours determined us to chance it, and fortified with a breakfast which, considering the early hour (4.30 a.m.), did credit alike to the landlady and the cook, we made a start hi ten minutes to five, taking the inland route over Mount Messenger. The waning moon gave scarcely light enough to enable us to see much o£ the country we were passing through for the first few miles, but the Mimi Valley is familiar enough to many o£ our readers, and "the crisp morning air, invigorating as a tonic, as day broke was a delight in itself. Shortly after starting we were passed by Mr K. J. Matthews, of Waitara, and his sons, who were on their way to their farm beyond Awakino. They, however, took the old beach road by the White Cliffs, and we saw no more of them till meeting them on their return journey oa Monday. About two hours' drive brings us to MOUNT MESSENGER with its stiff pull up a,rise of nearly 1000 feet. The scenery 'here is most delightful and grand, and we were loth to hurry. The road winds round and round the hills, each bend opening up a more magnificent view than the Ust, gorges of great depth at our feet, steep banks overhead, all clothed with lovely bush, nikaus, and tree ferns in all their virgin beaaty ; beyond, forest-clad heights untouched by axe and fire ; and vo crown all, lending an additional charm to the scene, the sweet notes of the tui on all sides welcoming the rising sun, as it gradually dispels the morning mists from among the hills and vales. It is difficult to imagine anything more enchanting than the scene as we near the top in the still early morning. But time ana tide wait for no man, and we must needs lose no time in descending in to the Tongaporutu valley, where the road follows the river for a few miles until ib emerges on to the beach near the mouth. The road traverses the Tongaporutu Small Farm Settlement, in passing through which one is able to realis* the extreme folly of placing inexperienced settlers on small areas remote from' centres of population. Here were dumped down on very small allotments, comprising a few acres of moderately good river flat and a few more acres of steep hillsides, all in bush, quite' a nfcmber of unfortunates of varying vocations — anything but bqsh farmers, for no bush farmer would have ventured to settle in such a place under guch conditions. The inevitable resulted : all but a few of the settlers were starved out as soou as the process -of spoonfeeding by the Government ceased, and a few who renmn are just able to make a living off the combined holdings. Near the ford is the Post Office and Telephone Bureau, kept by Mr R. O'Donnell, and close by also is the bridge in course" of construction by Mr Grayling, a most substantial looking structure which will be finished by the spring. We had no time to inspect it, however, for Mr J. C. George, whom we met half a mile back, had told us to haste to the ford, which he had just crossed. His wheel marks guided us to the best crossing place, and we successfully negotiated the ford, withomt shipping any water, at twenty minutes to nine— ten minutes under the four hours from Ureaui — thus falsifying the predictions of our |riends at the hotel. Thus far the road, except for ohs or two soft places and b.id turns on Mount Messenger, has bern really admirable, A few chains from the river come to Mr McKoy's accommodation house and telephone bureau, where we 'spell' the team and enjoy a second breakfast prepared for us at short notice by Mrs McKoy, afterwards strolling over to the edge of the cliff overlooking the mouth of the river, whence a glorious view, altogether different from thosa we had already seen, greets the eye. Immediately beneath us is the river meeting the ocean in constant conflict; across on the other side a splendid rolling down, backed by steep hills, marks the probable site of a considerable native settlement at some, time in the past; further away the hills terminate in the famous White Cliffs overhanging the sea; beyond that again a few white specks mark the little settlement of Pukearuhe, at one time garrisoned'by a considerable force of the Armed Constabulary, but now a perfect haven of peace and quietnde. Still further may be traced the country between Waitara and New Plymouth, with Mount Egmont and the whole extent of the Patuaand Kaitak.e Ranges, terminating in the Sugar Loaves, setting a limit to the vision. To the right the borison is the Pacific Ocean, following which our eyes again rest on the land at Albatross j Point und the coast is traced down again j to our feet. Inland a considerable area of land has wisely been set aside as a j forest reserve, from which it is a punishable offence to remove fern or shrub of any kind. Here we leai n that the steamer Manukan, which was to leave Waitara early in the n?orning for Mokou, has not yet passed, so that we may catch her at the Mokau wharf and proceed in her up the rivar to tho mines. At 10.50 a.m. we make a fresh start, and pass through Mr RattenbuT's estate, which, though tho laud appears to be of only moderato quality, bears evidence of much oare aud hard work. A narrow ben of flattish