THE MANAIA MOUNTAIN HOUSE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXII, Issue XIV, 8 April 1899, Page 444

THE MANAIA MOUNTAIN HOUSE.

The photograph which we reproduce gives a very good idea of this, the latest and most accessible place of resort on the slopes of Mount Egmont. It is situated about halfway up Phantom Peak, the rocky summit of which towers above the house, to the left of the main peak. A good metalled road of from ten to sixteen miles leads from .Stratford. Elthain. or Hawera to the edge of the Forest Reserve. Thence a horse track of four miles leads through virgin bush to the house, a roomy caravanserai capable of ‘sleeping - forty people or so. The charge for accommodation is the nominal sum of one shilling a day." The ascent, though laborious, is safe and easy. Ladies have done it comfortably in four hours. At the house tinned food, etc., may be obtained at moderate prices, but visitors must provide their own bread, butter and blankets. There is good paddoeking for horses. The trip, including horse hire, can be done from Stratford, Elthain. or Hawera for a pound, and need not take more than 24 hours. Within five minutes’ walk of the house are the Dawson's Falls, so named after their discoverer. Here an icefed stream hurls itself seventy feet over a ledge of lava into a wooded amphitheatre of perfect natural beauty. The falls, as will be seen from the illustration, are divided into two branches. Below the falls are two swimming basins, one for ladies and the other for men. The water is cold, but as bracing as an electric shock. Above the falls are a succession of fine rapids. The house has not been long built. Lid is rapidly growing in popularity. \s many as eighty have been known to pass the night there; though where Mi Lloyd, the genial caretaker, managed to stow them all passes the present writer’s comprehension.