TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 12

TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK

A-FJNE RESERVE

Suggestions tor. its : ?S£

..rJlr;,H.'}V yon-Haast, of Wellington, wjio:. spent■,a;_Christmas holiday at tho , iTonganrov-Parlj-, ■ speaks interestingly of ;tjio;big.nntioiiftl''reserve. Mr. von HaasT understand^--that the Tourist De'|«rtment'"aiK.its manager .are anxious"- ".'■ to-'.''-''develop... tho park aiTd" opeii ~'up '-this. . lung for all , the town;.'dwclleYs;i:roiind about . it, "but," ]ie;sa,ys';",'. l tlie'y;'ca]inct make hricks without'.: build accom•nibdation JioUses without funds, and the money.-is not forthcoming. -When tho of Wellington wake up to this splendid health resort u eo close at hand, and 'the glorious holiday they can sp'eiid there at small expense compared with tho cost of a trip to the South Island resorts, they will clamour, as the Aucklandejs are doing,. for its speedy development, arid the Government will realise that the movement means votes arid give effect to the popular demand. .-..■' "Hitherto practically the only lint available , , foi:, a' mixed party has been She Waihohome, 'on. the east side of the. mountains, 23 miles from Waipuru. ilt , has two rooms, ii. big room with five •available burik'e, a sixth being piled 'up.with boxes and used for the stores, and a women's compartment with six bunks. Up to the end of last year communication with Tokaaim from the Main Trunk lino .was by. coach', from ;Waiouru, which took the mails on. the eastern side of 'the plateau. Sincethe New Year the mail and coach service- has been discontinued, and one from Wamiarino on the western side of the plateau substituted. It is evident, therefore, tSmt.Waimarino will in future be_the jumping-off point for the pai-k, and that accommodation ■ should be provided on the Waimarino eide, tho Waihohome hut being main- • tained as a convenient shelter for those ■■who '.irish' to' explore the eastern side' ' of the park. Look at the map of the ■ Isorth Island,, and.;.study, the. railway .time-table,- arid you will, see how cenirally situated the, national park is. iYob can reach Waimariuo in less than nine.--hours from Auckland, and. in less than ten from Wellington, and : when two expresses are running again -you'-will bo able ..tor leave . at night, sleep on the train, and arrive at tho park-in timo for breakfast. From WaJiganui, I believe, it either is or will "shortly be possible to. motor to Waimarino, while, Hawke's Bay people will approach it from/a Taupo trip. New . 'Plymouth-folks will take it in on their ■ Rotorua round, and the ordinary tourist comifig from Auckland will naturally mako liis route Kotonia, Wairakei, "Taupo, Tokaanu, national park, Taumaruriui, down, the Wanganui ■River. It hae therefore the advantages of-central position, proximity to tho '.'Main.Trunk line, and being on the tourist : rdut©:from.';ndrth".'to south. ■■ "■

-.-'The plateau which runs up to a saddle between ■ Ruapelnr'and Ngauruhoe varies.from.3noo to 4000 feet above Sea , level, about four times as high as the'wireless, or only 1000 feet below , 'the., summit of: Mount Hector. therefore inland, mountain air, exhilarating and champagne in quality, that,you breathe there, and that niakos the park particularly desirable as a holiday resort for 'the dwellers by the £ea. •• . .-■:..■'

■ -""'What are the attractions of the park? The obvious ones are, of course, Ruapehu. with its.coronet of snowclad peaks,- stretclting mighty flanks .to'-the plains 0n..,, all sides, always ■ majestic iindinspiring,. with its gorges, it?;glaciers'; and its hot lake surroundedl by unsullied snow .in its crown:. ■JSgatlruho.e, with .its perfect cone, its clgep and weird crater, and its variation iij; moods from , a serene calm to a furious outburst of paSsion; Tongariro, with its' multiplicity of craters, like EoJmany arenas or amphitheatres, and their connecting ridges,'' high "cliffs of .columnar , ' rocks,-'" great - castle-like masses, buttresses, and pillars, like some -unfinished statue from the hand of Rodin; the .Oturere.- crater, with lofty, walls!; Jierci'like organ pipes, ■fjiere., .-.like •'% cjags,:;-; filled ' with Teefs i; -;of,.._slag-; 0f;:...a.jl colours,. :as if iii .various stages of cooling, red, zeise, terracotta, asheiii-.'hlaclv, tumbled •and piled about, like the slag-heaps of ■a gigantic Lens: -.The red crater,'exiemally a complete scoria pumice cone, internally,a deep circle with lofty walls, on onetsido deep: : black and rich crimson asli. 'Where they adjoin the white .vent of the crater like the hull of some ship with the how blown out; on tlie other,,^columns-of •subdued hues, grey, cream, white, fawn,. lavender, pale green, indefinable almost so gradually do the shades blend,'the floor strewn with rocks of all sizes and colours, varying: .from scarlet to palost pink,- black, whjtej'. la'mber,' and ; ' on the edge'of the wall x a- blowhole puffing steam furiously, and at a distance Koundrng" r jike;'a'rwateffalt; lower down «i,graen,.,yellow,,.and,.phik sulphurous slope, at the foot' of which ;are..three pools of blue water, Craters"fuirof'rocks;"ja crater with a l)lue lake in it, another" still steaming— all picturesque to the' man in the •street,_ and liiglily interesting to the feologist. On the northern slopes, the ot springs, and blow-holes of Ketetahi, trich in medicinal qualities, ready to be Itamed to , make the-park a resort for She rheumatic as welt as for the rushnbout. And from these slopes and "the craters above a noble view of the liiuo expanse of Lake Taupo, its volcanoes, its white cliffs, islands, and indentations.- .Between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro a. soda stream issues to the plain; bring your own whisky up to next April! "But besides these weird and mountainous regions there are many attractions. There are the spacious .sunlit plains, from a tawny flecked with purple and lilac, upon which you: can wander far or near according to your faiipy.'.and your strength, and on which you enjoy a great sense of freedom and elbow-room, and light and air, after tlie office desk and the drab-coloured buildings that shut in our streets. There are the blue, bush-clad KaimiiuDias not so verv far away, in which the adventurer will find—l am told—wild rattle apd deer. There, are dongas or miliars running for miles with rooks clad in mulberry or blnckberrv shades of lichen, like rich.plush. There are on steppe and desert the rock gardens of scrub and shrub —in orange, .gold, russet; and , nIL. lines of brown and green. There are on the saddle the twin lakes of Tama, the lower one a perfect turquoise, set in a ring nf orange and gold. There are crystalclear streams that gusli from the ilni'ks of the mountains and rush along between great grey boulders, with the any rock gardens on cither side, and that after a lively passage through steppe and the desert glide away out , on to the plains between rounded . liills.. riishioned with woods, remind iix; one of: Wales or nf tllP lo" - lnmlp of SV«t.. land There is round Ruapehu a fine forest, and- even the mountain"'birch bush, with its dappled white and grey stems, its grey, lichen tresses, its emerald-green carpet, and tlie shafts of light that pass through and chequer it, is full of beauty. In winter, when the branches are laden with snow, the bush has a charm all its own —like a scene from a pantomime to those who livo in the warmer regions of Auckland.,' •

■'•[AJuLin.w'.intcr in the amphitheatres of. Tongariro, on tbo slopes of the mountains and oh the liiglilamls of the plateau, what - a. sports ground oil which to enjoy "exhil.iratiiigand novel s noiv nastinies." in the "rejuvenating

atmosphere, , to quote the Kosciusko eulogist. What our younger folks are missing in these winters for want of a little enterprise! "Once get our winter sports going, and the New Zealandeiya natural athlete, will be crazy about them. ■■"In enumerating the beauties of the park I have'left to the last the Whakapapa Stream, which I visited with an •Aucklander on the last day of my holiday'. It is in this neighbourhood that, it is proposed that a hermitage or accommodation house should bo erected as the first step to.tho 'luxurious hotel life' that is sure to be demanded later. In view of the transfer to the Waimarino side, somo accommodation is required hero at' once. Visitors to Dawsou's Falls are delighted with thorn, and the ripples and 'runnels of the streams that lend thither. They would go into ecstasies over the Whakapapa. Owing to the thick mist, we? followed a leading spur that led us : high up the slopes of Ruapehu, and hi consequence we struck the Whakapape nt an early stage of. its existonce. The .more we followed it down the more we were fascinated by its beahty the volume of its gushing, roaring, foaming waters, the size of its boulders, the rich colouring on its banks. Lower down it cleaves its way through high purple rocks and j gorges, now racing in swirling rapids, I then'leaping in small cascades to pools I below, until at last reaching a long I line of beetling black cliffs it hurls itI self • down some sixty or seventy feet, into a deej> bine basin, ringed with emerald moss. Under the cliffs there grows on one side a stunted, sub-alpine Inish, while on tile other begins a thick, birch forest, into which the stream eventually rushes through walls iof rock. It is on this beautiful spot that the first accommodation house in the national park should be erected. ' There is. abundance of level country and water; Ruapehu towers just above and Ngatiruhoc is seen across the plateau. For 'no , great expenditure a motor track could lie made from Wailnnrino., For the climber an easy leading ridge leads up to the summit. But here you arc not tied to the mountain side, as you «are at Kgmont. Those who desiro merely to 'loaf and enjoy fresh air and beautiful scenery ' can stroll up the stream, through the bush, along ithe. slopes. Good walkers can explore .the country and visit the craters of' Tongariro, while, climbers can tackle the mountains. ■

"Tlie'advantage of the Whakapana site is that it is as nearly' as possible in the centre of the park, and gives access to both mountains and to the whole of the intervening plateau. A hermitage with accommodation for fifty would be filled all the sunimiv, aud I believe would, attract a largo number of visitors in winter also. Hut; in developing the park we must cater not ; so much for the wealthy tourist as for the JVew.Zcaianders, old and young, who desire an.economical holiday. Any hermitage, therefore, should be run on the simplest lines without luxuries that put lip the price. The Egmont system should be adopted, viz., . the hotel for those who desire ' comfort, surrounded by a group of ; liuts and cottages,.'under the : control of the manager of the hotel, at which i those who are- willing to bring their own food and blankets and cater for themselves can live, paying a .small sum a day for the This S} T stem works excellently at Ecmont. and the yoinig people of Taranaki and families take full advantage of these cottages. • •

"But,if Egmont, a single, mountain, can stand two hotels close together, the national park with its area, mid its double system of mountains also demands two' hermitaues. one on the Whakapapa site, at Ruapehu, the other close to the Ketotahi springs on the slopes of Tongariro, commanding n, magnificent view over Taupo, and well placed for invalids to take advantage of the springs, and within easy reach of : all the craters of Tongariro and of a<wonderful winter sports ground. It should not be difficult to make the well-graded track up to the saddle on the centr.il crater available for motor traffic. These hermitages would not compete with any others. There is plenty of room for them already, seeing how crowded are the Egmont houses, tlie only other mountain resorts. Those who had been to Egmont would go to the national park • and compare its rival.. charms,,, and ; vice versa, and visitors would spend some time at Whakapapa to see and 'do , Ruapehu and its surroundings, and. go on to Ketetahi to enjoy the sights and springs of Toncariro. Tracks can be made without difficulty on the plateau, and those who ' did not wish to walk far could take horses for the longer excursions.. ' ,

''Here is a,public work that will be of. benefit to the country, that is required, and that can help to give, employment at once to our population returning from the fields of France and to those immigrants who are sure to seek our shores. If the Government does not wish to move, let it give private enterprise a chance to provido an accommodation house and enable the people ta_enioy their own park. I trust that in response to the demand from Auckland the Mayor will soon call a public meeting for the purpose of urging upon the Government the prompt development of the park."