RANGITOTO BLOCK.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 253, 23 April 1910, Page 5

RANGITOTO BLOCK.

To the Editor Sir, —One meets numbers of people in and around Te Kuiti who have no idea of the large extent of beautiful country that lies to the east of Te y Kuiti, and for the general interest of your readers I ill try and describe in my own humble way the impression t tepgot of the country on a recent trip through it. Leaving Te Kuiti you go through the river at the ford by Messrs Cotter Bros.,' and travel parallel with the railway, or almost so, for a mile or two, through some native country of excellent quality, limestone cropping up in all directions. The land is very easy and I noticed a ti-tree clearing on the left hand that showed how the land would take surface sown grass. After pro ceeding about three miles in the direc--1 tion of Puketutu one goes through about a mile of indifferent country, though it is mostly level and no doubt would grow ecod turnips and could be got in in that way being better in quality than lots of country I have seen in good pasture after being ploughed and sown down. I saw one thing in this part that I had never seen before and that was an old native block post about ten feet high and all the names of tho natives carved on it, at least, I presume, that is what it was. The post was a great age anyhow I saw another one about five miles further on. After leaving this level country we mounted a long fern spur. When one gets on top there lies before you some rolling country, at present in heavy fern " * everywhere. Where it has a chance the clover is coming in naturally, and in a few years this country should be in dairy farms if quality of land and easy country goes for anything. After going a mile or two through this good country you descend on to another flat of pure pumice, very poor stuff of perhaps 200 acres. As soon as you start to rise again the country gets good, and keeps on improving until one gets to the bush on. this side of the Wiapa, where there are some thousands of acres of nearly level land, well watered by nice little streams. One can now travel about six miles through level bush land of first-class quality, and in a short time it ought to be running thousands of stock. Looking ovpr across the Wiapa to the Raneitoto range one sees a lot of clearings in good grass where, despite no roads and all other hardships incidental to going into the . backblocks a number of settlers are carving good homes out of the bush and fern. On our travels we saw some "wild horses, and, strange to say, they were on the worst country. We got back to Te Kuiti at 6 p.m. well satisfied with our day's ride, as though a man may be hungry and wet through, if he is going through good country and has an eye for the beauties of nature, he is for a certain time, anyhow, quite happy. —I am, etc.. r. s. Mcdonald.