Health and Pleasure Resorts of NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XI, Issue 50, 16 December 1893, Page 508

Health and Pleasure Resorts of NEW ZEALAND.

ROTORUA SANATORIUM.

ISTO. 2IN our last article we had left the train at Ngatira and were admiring the picturesque view of Lake Rotorua. The coach, however, waits not for any man, and the cry is • All aboard Seated in the ponderous vehicle, with its leather-bound springs, we are soon speeding towards Ohinemutu. The drive occupies about an hour and a half. Arrived there, we have a good choice of accomodation. We may either patronize the Hot Lakes or the Palace Hotels, or if our tastes are economical, one of the many boarding houses, where the charges are very moderate. Many will prefer driving on to Wakarewarewa, the very centre of the wonderland, and putting up at the Geyser Hotel, of which, however, more anon when we come to speak of Wakarewarewa. Those who stop at Ohinemutu will be well cared for at either of the hotels we have mentioned. Both are under the same efficient manage ment. Host Mcßae is well-known in the North Island. Both hotels have baths of their own, the use of which is free to visitors stopping in the house. Since we do not arrive in Ohinemutu till 8.30 or 9 o’clock, and have had a tiring day, most visitors will doubtless take a bath, have a comfortable supper, and retire. If the visitor should not recollect where he is at the first moment of waking next morning, it is more than likely his nose will speedily inform him. There hangs over the township and eternal, if occasionally almost imperceptible, CHEMICAL ODOUR. Sulphur is one prevailing scent, but it is seldom strong enough to be offensive, while as to its healthfulness there is no doubt. It is more than probable that from the hotel window or from one of the balconies—whichever house is patronised—a lovely view of Rotorua Lake will be displayed, while the clouds of steam in every direction give a queer eiiie feeling to this extraordinary country into which we have penetrated. The lake is a nearly circular depression with a mean diameter of about six miles, at an elevation of nearly one thousand feet above sea level. It is difficult to realise that the now peaceful lake has been THE SCENE OF SOME OF THE MOST TERRIBLE ENCOUNTERS IN CANNIBAL WARFARE, and that its shores have been frequently dyed with the blood of its heroic defenders, in the sanguinary struggles for the possession of its fertile lands and frowning strongholds, and that the few harmless natives now living on its banks are the descendants of the once famous warriors, of the ferocious arawas. Ohinemutu, the tourists’ centre for the district, is situated on the eastern shore of R >torua. It is celebrated for its steaming streams, lakelets and springs ; its bubbling and boiling holes ; ITS THOUSAND HISSING, SPITTING, AND SPUTTERING JETS ; its simmering and stewing mud pits ; its dangerous and treacherous pitfalls ; and for the many curious sights, uncanny noises, and evil odours arising therefrom. The

wonderful natural baths in and around Rotorua are now renowned for their famous curative properties. The shallow

pools, framed in by slabs and stones, and heated by the overflow of some contiguous springs, are open to the public, and are publicly used at all times, particularly in the early morning and at evening. By the edge of the lake the natives disport themselves, and the children swim and dive, finding any desired temperature within rather narrow limits. Swimming and private baths for visitors are under the care of each hotel, which are comfortably sheltered and are supplied by natural streams or springs. The Kuirau, AN EXTENSIVE BOILING LAKE usually canopied by a dense cloud of steam, occupies an elevated and central position, opposite the Palace Hotel,

and supplies the hot streams which flow by the roadside. Some of the hot springs serve as washing pools for laundry purposes ; others, used as boilers for the commune, are of various capacities, from VAST CALDRONS CAPABLE OF BOILING A BULLOCK, to tiny pools just large enough to cook an egg. The steam issuing from numerous fissures is utilised for domestic purposes, and an empty packing case or cover of sacks placed over the jet, converts it immediately into an excellent steam oven or digester ; and slabs of stone are placed here and there over the warmer spots, where the more lazy natives recline to sleep or smoke, rolled in their blankets, snug and warm. The most remarkable boiling springs are on a fissure known as Waikite, which extends from the depression behind the stables of the Rotorua Hotel north, wards into the warm bay used for the Maori swimming bath They are the very deep repulsive pits overhung with a rich growth of ferns where more than on e

victim has met with a terrible death ; THE FURIOUSLY BOILING CALDRON, partially fenced in, which used to supply the open Maori bath (here the great chief Ngahuruhuru accidentally slipped in and thus lost his life a short time ago) ; and several smaller energetic springs of varying intensity. Under the water near the east bank, and about a hundred feet from the Maori bath, is a boiling spring which about twenty years ago was the source of the great Obinemutu geyser, which at certain seasons of the year, generally in February,

made a very grand eruptive display at frequent intervals. This geyser may again break into activity at any time should the lake level be much lowered. Among the novelties of scene which attract the attention of the visitor will be THE CURIOUS CULINARY OPERATIONS AND OPEN AIR LIFE OF THE MAORIS, the sports of the children diving for coppers in the lake—the carved house, Tama-te-kapua, with its grotesque distortions of the human form—the newer English church—the long peninsula full of hot holes, the burying ground of the tribe — the carved posts, remnants of the sunken pa—the refuse pits where lobster tins, fruit cans, old boots and bottles, rags and rubbish, are boiling together in a hideous stew —the hotbeds for forcing vegetables and fruit—the geysers, big and little, playing now and then with delightful uncertainty—and the rude wbares or huts of the natives where visitors are made welcome and gratuities thankfully received. Of course, the main thing about Rotorua is the bathing. THE SANATORIUM is within a very moments’ walk of the native village of Obinemutu, and is as easily reached from Wakarewarewa, ’ouses running every few minutes gratis to visitors at the Geyser Hotel. Great credit is due to the Government for theexcellent manner in which the Sanatorium has been arranged and is conducted. The facili-

ties for acquiring needful information are excellent, and if anyone suffers through taking a bath that doesn’t suit his or her constitution there is nobody but themselves to blame. A properly qualified medical man is in attendance, and should certainly be consulted by any persons of a delicate constitution before taking the baths.

A brief description of the various bathsand their properties will not be out of place. We extract the same from Dr. Lewis’ • Medical Guide ' : — ■ The water of THE PRIEST’S BATH issues in large volumes from the pumice beach, only a few feet from the Lake’s edge, and it is in the actual source of the spring that bathing takes place. * The temperature of the water is all that can be desired for a tonic and alterative bath to possess, averaging about

99’ F. There is one large public bath 17ft. by 14ft. with dressing rooms attached, and two private baths for special cases. • The water is strongly acidic and aluminous, depositing flocculent sulphur on the bed and sides of the bath and in the overflow drain. Both the water and the fumes given

off have the power of blackening silver. * There is a shower attached to the public bath. * The cases in which this bath has been found to be most efficacious are gout, dyspepsia, scistica, as a change from other biths in chronic rheumatism and chronic eczema, parasitic diseases of the skin, obesity, sluggish liver, abdominal congestion, and convalescence from almost any acute disease. * The influence of this bath on the skin and secretions is very marked. The whole skin is reddened after a very

short period of immersion, and in a few cases itching is produced ; so much so that the batb in some cases has to be alternated with Madame Rachel, which latter spring has the power of almost immediately allaying any undue irritation. * The Priest’s Bath acts as a stimulant to the liver and in

most cases the flow of bile into the intestines is increased. This is quickly shown in the change of colour in the fiecea after a few days’ bathing. * It is necessary in some cases to anoint with olive oil or

vaseline any part of the skin that may be found very irritable while bathing. This should be done just before going into the bath. ‘ A patient s appetite is stimulated almost invariably by a course of this bath. The ordinary course is three weeks, taking in that time thirty-six baths, i.e., two daily, omitting Sunday. • This water is not suited for taking internally except when specially advised by a medical man ; it forms, however, a capital gargle in relaxed throat, and an equally good injection in certain forms of leucorrhrea. It has also been used beneficially as a mouth wash. * The treatment by this bath of what is commonly known as “ cold feet ” has met with much success, and I should advise those who suffer from this troublesome affection (if

their means will allow) to give the Priest’s Bath a fair trial. This b ith has also a peculiar tendency to produce congestion of the uterus and consequently to re establish menstrua tion Clorotic girls commonly find the catamenia appear after a fortnight’s use of the water. (Resembles the springs of Eaux Chaudes, Bisses Pyrene-s.) * The most visible and probably the most important physiological action of this water is on the skit’, the capillaries of which are stimulated to action in a marked degree. Thia stimulation is secondarily established in the

internal capillaiies of the body thronghout the whole system. • Dr. Manson, of Strathpeffer Spa, speaks in his excellent work of the Wild Baler of Baden-Baden, where ** marble

basins are filled with mineral water containing a quantity of sand and finely powdered granite with which the bather rubs the sutface of the body, so increasing the amount of skin stimulation, which is one of the main objects of baths of all kinds.” ‘ This quotation from such an high authority as Dr. Manson speaks volumes for the Priest’s Bath, for there is no bath that has a more uniform and potent skin stimulating action than this spring. • No. 2. Wbangapipiro, or “ Madame Rachel.” Temperature of the spring, 174 deg. F. The water is brought down (some 200 yards) from this spring in a tile and concrete main, and distributed by galvanized pipes to the male and female sides of the bath pavilion. There are two baths (17ft by 14ft.), one for each sex, and also single baths inside the house for those who prefer the seclusion of a bath-room. • The largest baths of the Priest’s and Madame Rachel are far preferable, both for comfort and medical treatment, when they can be borne, as the respiratory function is performed with increased vigour always during a hot bath ; and however well a small room may be ventilated, the amount of aqueous vapour given off by the water of the bath interferes with the performance of free and pleasant breathing. • The exquisite softness of this water led to its fanciful name. It has the power of applying a gloss to the skin that is quite characteristic of the alkaline silicious wateis of Rotorua, which is due to their alkalinity and the large quantity of silica and silicates that they contain. I believe that there are yet to be found out therapeutic qualities of silica and its combinations that will have a material influence over the future of Rotorua. • I am inclined to think that its action, as found in these waters, is very similar to that of lithia, which is so largely extolled in the treatment of gout and the uratic diathesis, and which has given Royat in Auvergne the name it possesses. Of the value of silica as a local remedy I have had ample demonstration. It acts wonderfully well as an application to granulation tissue, psoriasis, and ecthymatous patches, soothing them and coating them over with a tine film. • This fact was first brought under my notice by the Maori method of dressing wounds on the backs of their horses with the silicious deposit which lines some of the mud springs. This mud has a quantity of alum in its composition, and acts well as a dressing in chronic and indolent ulcers. The class of waters of which this is a type have proved to possess over psoriasis a power which alone bids fair to make Rotorua some day famous. (This fact is discussed fully under Diseases of the Skin, later on.) • This water is suited for internal administration, and has been employed in the treatment of rheumatism, gout, and certain forms of dyspepsia, helping to ronse the gastric functions, aided materially by the bracing atmosphere and by regular exercise, which in these cases is so essential to a satisfactory result.

Apart from its medicinal qualities, the luxury of bathing in this water is unequalled by any in the district; and I hope the Government will soon be able to construct two large swimming baths, one for ladies and one for gentlemen so as to still more fully utilise that which nature has given withsuch a lavish hand. ‘By the internal administration of this water there is undoubtedly an increase in the elimination of urea and uric acid. This is almost invariably produced, and is a most important factor in the treatment of rheumatism and gout. ‘ No. 3 Oruawhata, or “THE BLUE BATH.” Temperature of the spring, 140' F. This spring and the bath which is formed by its overflow into the basin of an old thermal source are situated within the hospital grounds, and the latter affords a good swimming batb, with dressing-rooms attached. * The composition of this water is almost identical with the foregoing one (Madame Rachel), and its action is similar. Bothsprings have the property of encrusting with silica articles immersed tor a long time, the silica being deposited as the water cools. Some very beautiful specimens of incrustation are often to be obtained, such as birds’ nests, branches of native trees, fern fronds, etc. ‘This bath is employed medicinally as a change from others in the treatment of rheumatism and kindred affections, where

thorough exercise of the limbs in a warm medium is advisable, and also as an ordinary warm swimming bath for the pleasure seeker.’ AFTER THE BATH the visitor may read the daily or weekly papers in one of the comfortably furnished cooling room’, or if the weather be warm and genial there will be little danger in resting in one of the pleasant summer-houses erected in various parts of the grounds. From more than one of these shady retreats he may watch the action of the geysers manufactured by Mr Malfroy, the expert in charge. If an introduction is gained to this courteous, kindly gentleman the intelligent visitor will never be dull. Mr Malfroy is not only a charm-

ingman, but a perfect mine of interesting scientific information, which he willingly imparts with such admirable directness of language that the most unscientific person can interestedly follow bis explanations.