ROTORUA ATTRACTIONS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 627, 4 September 1933, Page 8

ROTORUA ATTRACTIONS

WONDERFUL CHARM AND S INFINITE VARIETY I OF SCENES I " IDEAL HOLIDAY RESORT I

■j Rotorua and its environs have been w so generously endowed by prodigal | nature that the limitations of space | prove a definite handicap to a com- | plete deseription of its charms. Rotorua town is set on the shores of Lake Rotorua, famous in Maori | tradition, a lovely stretch of pure ■ water relieved by beautiful Mokoia Island, a background poem in green. The town is a prosperous borough | of 5150 inhabitants. It has all the amenities of a modern town, including many comfortable hotels and ac- ^ commodation houses run on sound { lines and catering for the visitor's y every comfort. It is served well by ^ luxurious express trains and service p cars. i Sporting Attractions. | Apart from the scenic and thermal | aspects of the area, Rotorua is a verm itable sportsmen's Mecca. The many j lakes and streams in the district are / teeming with the famcus fighting rain- | bowtrout. This, the gamestofall \ fresh-water fish, reaches great size in 1 Rotorua waters, 10-pounders being

t commonplace, and fish as heavy as i 261b have been taken. Angling for these fresh-water fighters in the sylvan setting of the Rotorua lakes and i streams with their backgrounds of I sun-kissed hills and almost tropical ; \ bush, is a sheer pleasure and a real 1 | mental tonic. | | The golfer who visits Rotorua in- ^ variably comes back again, and why I | should he not, for in Rotorua he has j j j a course unique in hazards and fasi | cinating in lay-out Where else in j the world can be found such undula- ■ j tions of velvet fairways, intercepted/' perhaps, by here a hot pool, and there i a smoking geyser or a muttering mud ! . pool ? This is Arikikapakapa the main course, but on the shores of the lake there is another fine nine-hole course named Motutara, which also has its j special featUres. The tennis player has the choice of i 18 grass courts. The bowler is well served with fine public greens; the ; croquet player likewise, and even the , horn of the hunter is now heard on • the slopes of the Rotorua hills as the 1 hunt follows the hounds pell mell af- i ter the elusive hare. Swimming has de luxe attractions beyond compare. Imagine a fulllength swimming bath, white-tiled, sp'arkling blue waters of a warmth ! that attracts but never chills or overheats, diving towers, sun balconies, i richly furnished and carpeted resting j rooms. Picture this and you have not , a Hollywoodian conception, hut a . mental image of the famous Blue Bath at Rotorua." There are other j - baths, too, that cater for the enjoy- 1 ment of young and old, rich and p-oor, ] alike. ! « For the sufferer there are the bene- 1 ficent waters of nature, brimming ' with minerals, which, with the aid of ] ■ medical science, smooth away pains j and restore health and vigour. ' Thermal Activity. ' Thermal activity begins on the ] shore of the lake and even in the , waters, which', cold and clear, mingle j t and pulse with countless small hot i i springs rising through the bed of the { lake. On the shore these springs be- j 1 come small geysers or pools as the 1 mood takes them. The old Maori j

viilage of Ohinemutu is established on the edge of the lake amidst a welter of thermal activity, but while this amazes the visitor, it is hut a commonplace to the Maori who utilises che visible manifestations of nature's power to the mundane purpose of steaming to a tempting tenderness his evening meal of fish, meat or vegetables. Two miles away, at Whakarewarewa is thermal activity in more turbulent mood and there a small valley contains an unparalleled amount of thermal activity. Geysers of great force and intensity vie with huge mud pools where the gurgitating hot mud forms and re-forms into fantastic and beautiful designs, hissing blow-holes and petrified terraces of great beauty of colouring. For a modest fee visitors are conducted through this area hy native women guides, or wahines, smartly > dressed in native costume. These charming mentors relate many interesting legends and anecdotes of the ■geysers and pools. By its association with' thermal ac tivity and curative waters, Rotorua is regarded by some misinformed persons as a place where life is precarious, earthquakes commonplace. Nothing could be further from the actud.1 truth, for in the whole history of the town not even a chimney has been thrown down. ■Rotorua is the radiating point for outbreaks of thermal activity in an area of many square miles. Most of these interesting sights are taken ' in arranged scenic trips, of which the following brief descriptions will give some idea of the fascinating nature of the country. Round Lake Rotorua. This fine car trip of 35 miles skirts (

the shores of Lake Rotorua for the | greater part and takes in the famous • Hamurana Spring, Okere Falls and \ Caves and a portion of Lake Rotoiti. A stop is made at Hamurana and here the visitor sees a wonderful spring of crystal clear water welling up from the earth at the rate of millions of « gallons per day. The spring is th'e • home of thousands of rainbow trout, which can be clearly seen idling in the glorious waters. So great is the y pressure of water from the spring that a penny dropped in it will not ^ sink. Okere Falls are also very beautiful and the secret Maori Caves form k a valuable historical link with the | early Maori wars. The scenery from | the road, as it winds round the lake | on the northern shore, is magnificent, ; the road being quite 200 feet above j the lake level. In the immediate foreground is Mokoia Island, with Ro- j torua showing'in the distance. Owing ? to the height of the viewpoint, when jj the water is clear, the bottom of the \ lake is clearly visible for half a mile round.