Wairakei-Napier

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 316, 1 September 1932, Page 8

Wairakei--Napier

The W airak ei-N apier Road is an important link in the main highway between Rotorua, Palmerston, and Wellington. It can be safely negotiated in all weathers, and is now the favourite route for motorists journeying north or south. Leaving Wairakei the road passes through Taupo and along the shores of the lake until it begins the climb toward Opipi, 2,000 feet above sea level. By degrees the car passes out of the region of thermal activity, though as a reminder an occasional hot spring is to be seen, Immense boulders and pumice rocks lie strewn about the country, bearing eloquent testimony to the mighty volcanic upheavals of past ages. The journey is enlivened by two great ascents — to the top of Taurangakuma, then down into the valley of the Mohaka River, and up again to the Titiokura Saddle, 1,200 feet above the Mohaka. From these high altitudes uninterrupted views of rugged and magnificent country are to be had, the perspective on all sides fading into the far distance. The final deseent brings the traveller into the rich sheep country of Hawke s Bay. Handsome and spacious homesteads, embodying modern ideas of comfort and luxury, furnish evidence of the great wealth of the district. A run of several miles along the sea coast leads into the progressive and picturesque town of Napier.

Round Trip The famous Round Trip can be described as a summary of sigHs ranging from the most exquisite natural | scenery to grim volcanic desolation, j and inc'luding the most historic area of thermal activity in New Zealand. Cars, in charge of thoroughly : experienced drivers, le'ave Rotorua ! daily, the first object of inj terest en route to Wairoa being 1 the Government plantation, part of i a vast and successful afforestation ' 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 source of potential wealth to New Zealand. The great earthquake fissure formed after the eruption of 1886, 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 baclc into life and to its primeval | magnificence. The car then reaches , the far-famed Blue (Tikitapu) Lake, I and immediately afterwards the Green (Rotokakahi) Lake. Unique in colourings^ especially when seen in the morning sun, the lakes present a scene of enchantment enhanced by their beautiful and picturesque setting. Wairoa Valley, containing the ruins of the villago destroyed in 1886, next comes into view, and well repays close inspection. The locality is of thrilling interest and of great educational value, and it was from this spot the terrors of the eruption were most vividly seen and experienced. Tarawera Mountain, across the waters of Tarawera Lake, presents a forbidding and threatening appearance; its desolate and gaunt oiitline recalling the tragic events of the fateful morning of June 10, 1886, when scientists contend a cubic mile of heated rock, lava, scoria, with flame and Incandescent gases was ejected, spreading desolation over thousands of square miles. The eruption is graphicalhy 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 forees that keep the lake in a state of uncanny suspense. From the cliffs to the right large volumes of steam escape from innumerable vents and fissures. The 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 experienced pilot, keeps to a safe course and passes high above the site whcre the two masterpieces of Nature, the Pink and White Terraces, foi-merly 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 the Waimangu Basin, and nearby, the formidable Waimangu Geyser, which when active, dwarfs every other geyser of which history has any record, in any part of the world. This perilous geyser, when active, throws a column of steam, mud, and rock to an unprecedented height of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The eruptions and tragedies associated with this historic geyser are explained 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; while to the left is the country over which the early rival tribes fought pitched battles, and where the remains of primitive defences and Maori pahs are still in existence.