Round Trip

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 314, 30 August 1932, Page 8

Round Trip

The famous Round Trip can be described as a summary of sigbts ranging from the most exquisite natural | scenery to grim volcanic desolation, | and including the most historic area of thermal activity in New Zealand. Cars, in charge of thoroughly experiencod drivers, leave Rotorua daily, the first objcct of interest en route to Wairoa being the Government plantation, part of a vast and successful afforestatiow scheme by which the Government and private enterprise are redeeming and putting to profitable use many thousands of acres of pumice land, which, until comparatively recent times, was believed to be sterile. The car, both on the outward and homeward journey passes the boundaries of 10,000 acres of rugged country covered with a variety of useful trees thriving in volcanic soil, and a sourcc of potential wealth to New Zealand. The great earthquake fissure formed aftcr the eruption of 1880, follows the road for a distance of two miles; then comes the Tikitapu bush, almost instantly destroyed by the intense heat of the eruption, but now rapidly springing back into life and to its primeval magnificence. The car then reaches the far-famed Bluo (Tikitapu) Lake, and immediately afterwards the Green (Rotokakahi) Lake. Unique m colouringfx especially wlien seen in the morning sun, the lakes present a scene of encliantment enhanced by their beautiful and picturesque setting. Wairoa Valley, containing tho ruins of the villago destroyed in 1880, next comes into view, and well repays close inspoction. The locality is of thrilling interest and of great cducational value, and it was from this spot the terrors of the eruption were most vividly seen and expericnccd. Tarawera Mountain, across the waters of Tarawera Lake, presents a forbidding and threatening appearance; its desolate and gaunt outline recalling the tragic events of the fateful morning of June 10, 1880, wlien scientists contend a cubic mile of heated rock, lava, scoria, with flame and incandeseent gases was ejected, spreading desolation over thousands o£ square miles. The eruption is graphically described by the guide who escorts the tourist by launch across the seven miles of lake. Superb views are obtained from the launch and many objects of interest pointed out. Disembarking beneath the shadow of Tarawera Mountain, a short journey on foot over bleak volcanic country littered with debris cast out by the eruption, brings the traveller to Lake Rotomahana. Slumbering beneath this immense sheet of hot and boiling water are titanic forces that lceep the lake in a state of uncanny suspense. From the cliffs to the right large volumes of steam escape from innumerable vents and fissures. Tho rocks are frequently shaken, and throughout the neighbourhood the thudding and oscillation caused by steam and water pressure in the depths beneath are plainly heard and felt. The launch, in charge of an experiencod pilot, keeps to a safo course and passes high above the site where the two masterpieces of Nature, the Pinlc and White Terraces, formerly descended down the hillside. The launch lands its passengers at the foot of the wonderful Waimangu Valley. A walk of two miles through heat and thermal displays brings the traveller to tho Waimangu Basin, and nearby, the formidable Waimangu Geyser, which when active, dwarfs every other geyser of which history has any rccord, in any part of the world. This perilous geyser, when active, thr'ows a column of steam, mud, and rock to an unprecedented height of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The eruptions and tragcdies associated with this historic geyser are cxplained by the guide. At the Accommodation House, cars are in readiness for the return journey, the route traversing Earthquake Flat, and the western boundary of the Government plantation; whilo to the left is tho country over which the early rival tribes fought pitchod battles, and where the remains of primitive defences and Maori pahs are still in existence.