ACROSS COUNTRY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 359, 21 October 1932, Page 4

ACROSS COUNTRY

KAIMAI TO GISBORNE NEW ZEALANDER TRAMPS THROUGH TRACKLESS " BUSH S SPIRIT OF AD VENTURE Commissioned by the National Geographical . Society to do . three _ trijis through littie-khowif parts of New Zealand on foot; an intef esting visitor is in Rotorua at present. . _ This is Mr. H. S. R. Cameroii, a young New Zealahder, who is on his way fypm the Kaimai Road to Gisr boime taking a direct compass route across country. That the trip is by'no means without its adventures may he realised wheii it is known that he was picked up with a strained knoa on the side of the main road some three miles the other side of Mamaku by Mr. Williamson, of "The Denbies" after having struggled out of a deep gully into which he h'ad fallen. Mr, Williamson took him home and had his injuries attended to. Following Te Kooti's Track Mr. Cameron's work is to write a description of the trip and to take photographs for the Society's records and on his way _«back;_*- . . he expects the" trip to take at ieast two months . . . he intends to follow Te Kooti's track to Tauranga^ which has gone down in Maori annals as one of the hardest trails followed hy a|

laua. . 8 Travelling Light | Lean; hrowned and fit, Mr. Cam-| eron gives the impredsion of one toi whom hariiships would be as salt and | he evidently enjoys every minute of l his battle with Natdre. For provis- 1 ions he lives upon the game he canl kill and carries the hate niinimum ofl supplies. His larder consists of 15lb. I of prunes, 41b. of dates, 21b. of hrew-| ers' malt, Ub. of cocoa, 11b. of coffeej two tins of milk (for extra special | celehrations, as he whimsically termsl it). He also carries a Browning .35 1 automatic rifle and 120 feet of ropeJ It was when the rope slipped in thel leafy mold of the gully side that he J hurt his knee. | A Tramper's Cocktail | "I'll tell you one of the most sus-| taining things I know," said Mr.l Cameron to a "Morning Post" repre-i sentative as he lit his pipe ("Oh yes,| I wouldn't go without my tobacco/jl he replied in answer to a query) andl that is a couple of teaspooiffuls ofl malt and a spoonful of cocoa withl boiling water poured over it. Thafl will stick to you better than solidj stuff." (This may he a hint for the Rotorua Hiking Club on its next excursion) . ' Hard, Heavy Going Speaking of the eonntry traversed, Mr. Cameron stated that he had some idea of the terrain for he held hisl flying certificates and had several tim-| es flown over the route which he in- J tended to take and had a rough ideal of the general lay of th'e grounL| From the Kaimai Road he had start- 1 ed on Saturday morning and the first I day had made a march which in ai straight flat line, meagured 4 miles; 1 hy the route he had to take it was 1 much further. He had got to the : ' Rapa Rapa Stream and there campel ■ for the night. Sitting by his fire te.J saw a pig silhouetted against the sky J| line and the Browning did the l'estfi A New Trout Stream £ "I might mention for the benew| of anglers," said Mr. Cameron, "thL j the Rapa Rapa is an ideal stream foiya trout. I caught a beauty there laSS season. He went just under tes^i pounds. On Saturday night I sa*j§ in one of the hig hlack pools three fistg rising and not one of them could hawj| been under seven pounds in weight, 1 The Prettiest Spot in N.Z. 1 "Where the Rapa Rapa joins ^1 Waiomo Stream is, I think the pret-1 ti'Sst spot I have ev'er seen in Neffi j Zealand," said Mr. Cameron. "Thi Rapa Rapa comes out through a caa-i yon of about half a-mile long betweejr rock Walls 70 to 80 feet high. It'® a beautiful place." i Two More Trips | Mr. Cameron, when he has coitSj pleted this trip has two others to for the society. One is to trace tlj| j Wanganui River from its sourde ® its mouth on foot and the other m

even more ambitious. He is to traM down one side of the whole leng® of the Southern Alps and to rct'J® along the other, surely a trip of soe|| magnitude. One thing Mr. Cainerig feels the lack of on his tramps, aig that is a good pig dog and he is hoia ing to pack one up whilst he is ^ Rotorua. • I Link With Famous Explorer One paft of Mr. Cameron's eq™ ment is particularly interesting afl that is his . cartridge helt. Holdi® sixty rounds, it is made from V green-tanned skin of the Marco Poffi sheep (Ovis Marco Polo), which discovered by that intrepid expl°iw| of old time in Mongolia. A man had also tramped through unknCfij parts, Ossendowski, author of Beasts and Gods," gave it to Mr. Ca* eron and he treasures it highly. SH ■pack weights about 701b. and he ea* ries no fiy or tent, but sleeps calico hammock with a waterpWffl sheet over him. & Where Few Have Trod ■ His is an adventurous life, fuNl incident and before him is ever lure of the unknown. Ever new, changing are the s'cenes before ha and few since the days of the Ma* war parties save, perhaps an V timher cruiser or .so, has trodden j trails he is hlazing ariew. n