GOLF AMONG GEYSERS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 526, 9 May 1933, Page 7

GOLF AMONG GEYSERS

ROTORUA COURSE SYDNEY PAPER FEATURES ARIKIKAPAKAPALINES. AS OTHEiRS SEE IT. } 1 To watch th'e flight of one's bal following a perfect tee shot, again: a background of geysers and stea: clouds; to follow it, after a less su c.essful effort, to the bottom of cha.sm torn in the land by some ai cient thermal cataclysm, and there t search of it with one eye warily ope for evidences, unexpected but not ur common, that the forces which onc tore th'e earth asunder still livi though they r now sleep somewhg restlessly; finally to lose it in a po( of boiling water, black and oih whose heavings and gurglings gN graphic warni'ng of the gruesome pos sibilities of a careless step beyond th horders *of the fairway. These ar thrills and hazards not usually as sociated with' the Royal and Ancien game, (writes "Te Taipo". in the Syci nev Sun.) They are, however, the coirmon ex periences of a morning's round 0: the beautiful 18-hole course of th Rotorua Golf Club in New Zealand. Uniaue Among Courses. Sydney is more richly endowe. than any other city in the v/orl with picturesquely situated links, hu th'e course at Rotorua is unique. Th beauty of its setting is notable. Vista of lake and mountain, farmland ani forest, surround it, and the famou Whakarewarewa thermal reserve i separated from it only by a roac And the course itself is dotted in thi most unexpected way with evidenci of the past and present activity 0: the awful forees which lie more o: less dormant beneath the gclfer'i feet. From the first tee none of this ii visible, though southward some of th never-ceasing activity at Whakare warewa can he seen beyond the club house, snarkling jets of hoiling wate] rising at intervals into the sunny sky while steam billows upward in grea" white clouds against a sombre background of hills, unon whose sides i scantv vegetation hut serves to em-

ph'asise the scars torn by ancient explosions of far greater magnituds than any recorded in Maori legend. To the north are the- gldtterine waters of Lake Rotorua, with thc town clustering ahout the nearei shore, while to the east .are the aerodrome and the fringes of the greai Government afforestation area, wh'erf one mav motor for 60 miles over hill and plain throueh aisles of exotic trees of many kinds. Westward runs the course, occur.ving, to all appearances, a downlanc of gently rolling ridges and easy hollows, grass-covered and dotted witk nohle trees. Farmlands, green and fertile, make a pleasant background. rising slowly to a range of hush-clad hills which culminate in Mt. Ngongotaha, a famous look-out, giving panoramic views over lake and mountain range to the blue waters of the Bay of Plenty and steam-capped White Island. There is nothing to give warning of the surprises to eome as one follows one's drive from No. 1 tee. The first of these is "The Chasm," a wide and deep rift, with steep, scarred sides negotiated by narrow, winding patlis. The floor of the chasm is rough and tumbled, and evidences of its origin are everywh'ere apparent; here a- pool of mud or muddy water which gently gurgles with a truly horrid sound; there a narrow crack or tiny hole, its lips fringed with crystals of pure sulphur which, on being tcuched, is likely to burn th'e fingers, so hot it is. From the bottom the green and pleasant surroundings are not visible, and the scene is one of such uncanny grimness that even familiarity cannot whooly conquer its effect upon the nerves. The Chasm passed, one proceeds through perhaps half a mile of charming meadow land, regaining on the way that tranquillity which is so great a part of the attraction of a friendly round. At the fart]ier end haps a sheep or two are grazing, of this a grassy rise, on which pershuts in the view ahead, and here a tee is so sighted that one must, perforce, drive "into the blue." Boiling Mud Lakes. Following a clean shot over the crest, a belt of low ti-tree scrub is diseovered a little down the farther slope, hedging the fairway, which here turns sharp'ly. Closer approach reveals a sudden and rapid descent to a little valley, in which lie many boiling pools and small lakes. Some of these contain water and others mud of a porridge-like consistency, and all are'a pale grey in colour. From them rise wisps and denser plumes of steam, and an unhurrying, but unresisting, sound as of porridge boiling in a pot — plop, plop, while tiny craters scar the gently h'eaving surfaces of the mud and bursting •bubbles agitate the water. The course now leads away from this weird region across a little valley and another ridge, hut at the foot of this a long arm, another hot lake, ends at the fairway in a deep and black pool of slowly boiling water, into which countless balls have 'disappeared. On the surface of this pool there is a thick film of oil, black and greasy-looking, which makes it one of the nastiest of all the strange thermal phenomena of Rotorua, and a fitting final effort of the spirit of the place to put the nervous player off his game. From here to the 18th the course follows one of the most beautjiful stretches of its whole length of over three miles, to the vicinity of th'e club-house.