TE AROHA OLD ROAD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5079, 24 January 1927, Page 4

TE AROHA OLD ROAD.

USE IN FLOOD TIME. QUESTIONABLE ALTERNATIVE. (By “Motus” in the Aioha News). A Hamilton motorist, Mr J. A. Baird, states that he discovered, the alternative route to the Old Te Arolia Road by accident. Its existence is worthy of note by any motorist coming from Te Aroha when there is water on the Paeroa road. Perhaps it is too to expect those who can tdwing facilities to kill the ; gCqte>vhic.h lays the golden egg by ’.disclosing that there is an alternative route to this low-lying section o'f road. The deviation is token by continuing straight on at a corner before reaching the flooded road. It then turns to the left and joins the main road again at the railway crossing past the flooded portion. This alternative is metalled, and the detour of about half a mile is preferable to the trouble and- expense of a tow.

The road Mr Baird refers to is the old coaching road round the foot of the hills. “Motus” happened round that way during the flood ; but, was much wiser a'fter the event than before. Had it not been that there were the passengers of three cars available for a push none would have got, through that nightmare of an old coaching .track. We all exhausted oui ■several vocabularies a’, yve. painfully progressed along that rock road to Paeroa, but one mild-spoken man- was the only one whose description was adequate. Surveying his much-be-spattered garments a'fter pushing a car out o<f a watercourse, he fervently proclaimed : “Dear God ; it’s awful! Although the scenery is beautiful in places, my party had had quite enough scenes, and we decided to come back by the main road, and even pay up our 5s to be towed through if the flood had not subsided. No more o'f Mr Baird’s newly discovered deviations for us ; we will stick to the straight and narrow way and leave the devious paths for those who have no nerves and no sympathy for the vitals of a motor-car.