Round Trip

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 354, 15 October 1932, Page 8

Round Trip

The famous Round Trip can be described as a summary of sights 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 experienced drivers, leave Rotorua ' daiJy. the first object of interesf en route to Wairoa being the Government, plantation, part of a vast and successful afforestation scherne by which the Government and private enterprise are redeeming arid 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 comese j the Tikitapu bush, almost instantly ! destroyed by the intense heat of the I eruption, but now rapidly springing . back into life and to its primeval i magnificence. The car then reaches the fa-r-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, j across the waters of Tarawera Lake, J presents a forbidding and threaten- | ing appearance; its desolate and I gaunt outline 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 a^d incandescent gases was ejectea, spreading ' desolation over thousands of square I miles. The eruption is graphically described by the guide who escorts the tourist by launch across the seven miles of lake. Superb views ar« 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 boil- ! ing water are titanic forces 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 where the two masterpieces of Nature, the Pink and White Terraces, j formerly descended down the hillside. The launch lands its pas- ! sengers at the foot of the wonderj ful Waimangu Valley. A walk of ' two miles through heat and thermal 1 displays brings the traveller to the j Waimangu Basin, and nearby, the j formidable Waimangu Geyser, which I when active, dwarfs every other geyI scr 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 heiglit of from • i 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.