UNKNOWN

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 421, 12 May 1904, Page 5

UNKNOWN

(By"B«M».") (OeaMnaei). We leave this island, and ia a short Hsa« ere leaded on the he»«b, and m« then eesiveyed by has to the far femed Tikitiri. The gaide, an Irishman by the came ef Patrick Crsaghe, »he has been here ft number ef years, wadset* us over the Sell, aad the sights sao mm hero, will long remain » meater?, leautaerable mud bathe, ©tf the sen* sisteaev of porridge, bailing and tf luttaringlike that article if diet ia a pot, meet you en aft aidaa. large peele of beSKag, Mask water, with a stably I iaakiag ail aa thair aurfaae ara sesa. One jeel of huga dimensiee ia sailed , the "la!erae,'Uai judgiag by its tern* pcracure (991 degrees), and Ha aril foal smell, I thiak it is aptly aemed, Aa wa proceed ©award, we tea a white sebafaeaseea the ground whish the' guiile informs ua ia alum. A member of the. party tastes this, aad proves the guide's words to be true. There were many things that were told us by the goads, which had to be taken earn fwcea satis* Fallowing our guide, aa its ia aot safe to travel without oae, we eame to a large waterfall, aad here one could obtain a warm shower bath, but, the eelor ef the water, dirty yellow, dtd sot aaem to appeal vary atrougly te any oae of our party. Above the fall, ia a large barren piece of ground called the Sulphur field, locally it ia kaown as Modem aad Gommorah. The reek selphur » mined, or collected in heaps and tent to Aaskland for treatment.

Wo seme tack a different direction and sea the Heavenly Gates, a dark looking hole going dowa into the bowels of the earth, the Heavenly Twins, two mud baths or pools side by side, the Devil's Faneh Bowl, Hell's Glory, and other aptly named sights. If ever Hell was on earth, thea I reckon it it ■;■ at Tikitiri, as it bears out all my eon.caption of what Hades is. IV All this field belongs to the few natives in the vicinity, and the charge for viewing this is two shillings per head. As the coach was not ready for its return trip, we were advised te see what is sailed Rotokawari, or the Blue Lake. Tbie is about 1 mile from Tikitiri, aad to reach it, you have to travel through scrub. and bush, but even though,there are inconveniences attanned to this part, you forget them all, and-whsn looking down from the edge ef the sp«*«|gbu see below yeu oae of the levU@st-eaeeta ef water that eaa be imagiaeaV Timber grows to the edge, and although the WAtsje is so «le»r when standing ftt its edge, viewed from abets it hie the appearance of the heavens above ea a eieudlsai day. Oar return fosraef If eoaeh was aot too good, as : tfee dus*;isad was vsry much ia evidsaea One of ear party was asked if he had seta the fairy Sitings (a cold .water eight), aad he replied that " be

did not come to Rotoraa to sec such, m It* wanted to mm m much of • Hril ' as he could, as ho would not bavo an opportunity in the baraaitor of seeing i*. a As old Scotch Sady jo tha ao««S a* onoc observed "I he* my deeto, youoj? man." Tbia reply caused tatseh inerriment, and the young man to* nmincd silent for tho remainder of the journey. -■>.•■..' were on the earl for the next day, and of course wo wont, not for tnoMkoofapng lac noma ran, bat to witnoaa tho large crowd of natives that worn proetot, end who appeared to think that this da/ was' tho oao day of tho yaar for thm.mr.hm and fa? fftttdy oelenro .*«* predominant an both aoaes, young and old, rich and poor. Such a Babe!, sush a din, aa tho Maoris, in their onjoyment.ereeted! But tho climax wao reached Whan a Maori-owned bona won tha hurdlo face. Yon talk of tho deafening noise that greets your ear when a favorite gets home, say on the Melbourne Onp; why, that wosid only bo a small noise indeed compared to what wo heard on tha course thai day. Ssdtod, joyous, mad for tho time being, clutching each other, going through various antiot, the little ones following tho eldest actions, and the eight is equal to the district—unique. Garni**! week, is noar ending, and tho sommittee, to cater to too public, Mda to soap one of the geysers at Whe&wrewerewa, or as it is tormed locally,, Whofe. There "• geytors and other on this feldft and visitors should not into thisipot on any account. Weiroe was tho name of the goyser that waa to be operated on, and More the time mentioned that this wao to take place, folly im people were present, (to. to osnMaaad