Turangi Camp — a Week of Educational Holiday Enjoyment

Forest and Bird, Issue 156, 1 May 1965, Page 12

Turangi Camp — a Week of Educational Holiday Enjoyment

By

B. T.

Take 189 keen, nature-loving people of all ages from 5 to 75, place them in a lovely camp setting with a week of perfect weather and a wide district teeming with attractions, lovely lakes, mountains and alpine flowers, forest and tussock, thermal activity and hot baths and you have the requirements for the happy and pleasant stay that we all shared at the Tuiangi Forest and Bird camp at the southern end of Lake Taupo in January. Bring in local historians, a Department of Scientific and Industrial Research botanist, a dedicated archeologist, a National Park' ranger, a Ministry of Works engineer, and an entomologist to lecture in the evenings and conduct sight-seeing trips during the day and you have a week of educational holiday enjoyment that is hard to beat.

Personalities as well as colour cameras clicked as friendships were made, notebooks recorded facts, one veteran member, as usual, did about 12 lightning sketches everyday, and the only drawback was that the fishing was frustrating and disappointing. The Tongariro, perhaps the greatest fishing river in the world, did not hold a fish. However, 185 of us were far too busy to worry about that. The scenery was still there and there was plenty to sing about as we opened the evening meetings with

popular tunes sung to our own words. Twothirds of the 189 were first-timers at a Forest and Bird camp.

The Society expresses its gratitude to the Auckland Education Board, the local school committee, and Mr. G. W. Grave, headmaster, for the loan of the school ground and buildings and particularly Mr. Grave for his acceptance of the idea when it was first mentioned to him and for his quiet helpfulness throughout the camp.

The camp opened with welcome speeches by Mr. B. L. Nicholls, chairman of the Taupo Forest and Bird Section, Mr. Grave, and the chairman of the school committee. Mr. Hugh Ross, the well known Taupo historian and writer, then spoke on the history of the Taupo district from Maori settlement to early pakeha times. Speakers and Lectures On subsequent evenings the following speakers and lectures were heard: Mr. J. Gardeniere, Ministry of Works engineer, who outlined with charts the proposed wide-spread hydro-electric development scheme just beginning; Mr. B. J. Gosling, postmaster, who illustrated his talk with colour slides of headwater streams and gorges included in the new scheme Mr. lan Atkinson, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, who spoke on the botany of the Tongariro National Park

and showed colour slides; Dr. J. S. Armstrong, whose talk was entitled “Changes over the Years in the Taupo District”, with particular reference to insect life; Mr. Trevor Hosking, archeologist and Historic Places Trust member, who gave a fascinating lecture on his cave explorations of early Maori life round Lake Taupo, with time charts and colour slides ; Chief Ranger John Mazey, of Tongariro National Park, who gave a talk on this park. On the final evening a free-for-all discussion on Forest and Bird topics was held, after which about eight members each screened a selection of colour slides.

The day trips were arranged to give a coverage of the wide Taupo and National Park areas. We visited the Department of Lands and Survey native plant nursery, where Mr. Nicholls and staff are raising native plants in tens of thousands to plant in such places as Aratiatia and Huka Falls. Mr. Nicholls then accompanied us to these places and with the engineer, Mr. Gardeniere, outlined the planting schemes. We saw the huge karaka trees at Hallet’s Bay, which have such interesting historical connections, particularly with Bishop Selwyn.

A Forest and Bird member, the late Mr. John Cuming, of Taupo, had taken a leading part in having the Opepe Bush reserved as a scenic and historic area. We remembered his good work as we visited that lovely area. Mrs. Cuming, Mr. Trevor Hosking, and Mr. Hugh Ross were with us as guides and the historic sites hidden in the forest were explained to us and on-the-spot talks given, making a really fascinating day of tramping, hearing, and seeing. Trips to Tongariro National Park

Under botanists lan Atkinson and A. P. Druce we visited the Desert Road and made a long tramp into the Waihohonu Valley, picnicking in a lovely clump of bush. Two days later we made other excursions into the Tongariro National Park. Led by Mr. Jim Howard, a council member, a large party tramped along the Mangatepopo Valley to the hut and falls, where they were rewarded with a sight of the alpine plants and flowers for which the locality is famous. Others on this day made the strenuous climb to the Ketetahi hot springs, high under the summit of Tonga-

riro, and were also rewarded with an interesting day botanically as well as a sight of the thermal activity. On Sunday morning a service of worship was conducted by the Rev. R. Biddle, Maori minister at Tokaanu. At this service the offertory of £l3 was dedicated to the Christmas Bowl Appeal and has been passed to the National Council of Churches for this fund. Panorama of Three Mountains In the afternoon we went to the high lookout point on the forested Taumarunui highway, an excellent place to see the panorama of the three mountains and the back drop of the Kaimanawa Ranges. Here we found the leafless, parasitic orchid Gastrodia cunninghami in flower on the roadside, while in the bush were dozens of Cordiceps robertsi, vegetable caterpillars. On the final day we visited the falls on the Poutu River, a madcap torrent to be absorbed in the power scheme. Then on to Te Porere,

where we crossed a strangely tiny Wanganui River to climb the tussock slopes to the two earthwork redoubts where the last battle of the Maori wars was fought. Here Te Kooti escaped after his two trenched positions were stormed. He was afterwards continually on the run. The well constructed redoubts have recently been cleared by the Historic Places Trust and bridges made and tracks re-opened. On our return we visited Lake Roto Aira, which was on the opposite side of Mt. Pihanga from our camp. Everyone rose early on Wednesday, 13 January, to pack up and break camp. It had been a wonderful week and here we were all going our varying ways homeward. The knowledge of history, botany, places, and place names, the friendships we had made, and the greater-than-ever resolve to protect our birds, bush, and scenery would remain with us.

In a camp of this size it had been impossible to give any deep study to botany and ornithology. For bird and plant study that is intensive smaller camps are needed of, say, not more than 20 people, and our Society could well institute these with good results. However, the Turangi camp, an experiment with large numbers, proved that 200 people are not too many to handle in the type of summer camp we have so far been organising.