DANNEVIRKE BOYS' 1500 MILES HITCH HIKE

Taupo Times, Volume V, Issue 208, 27 January 1956, Page 1

DANNEVIRKE BOYS' 1500 MILES HITCH HIKE

"Huka Falls Finest Sigkt" Two Dannevirke High School boys who arrived in Taupo on Friday inorning last had then covered 1311 miles on a hitch-hike tour that had taken them from their Dannevirke homes to Kaitaia, Northland, and back as far as Taupo. They were Michael Earle, aged 16 and a bit, son of Mr and Mrs R. S. Earle, and Carl Kelly, not quite 16, son of Mr and Mrs R. E. Kelly. • In conversation with the Taupo Times, Carl Kelly said that the thing that had impressed them most on the whole trip was the beauty and setting of the Huka Falls at Taupo. They were also interested in seeing the Wairakei geothermal bores. Starting on their travels on January 6, the boys went north to Hamilton and Auckland by way of Feilding, Wanganui, Stratford, Mount Messenger and Te Kuiti. They took the east coast route to Whangarei and Kaeo, and on to Kaitaia. They had hoped to reach North Cape but wet weather led to I their returning from Kaitaia, via the Mangamuka Gorge to Whangarei, thence to Dargaville and back through Helensville, visiting Trounson Kauri Park en route. Their biggest day's "lift" had been 100 miles from Dargaville to Helensville. They had been given 49 "lifts" by motorists, and were grateful for the kindness of those who helped them along, many of whom went out of their way to khow them places of scenic interest.

The boys left Taupo on Saturday morning, to take the Turangi-Desert Road highway, and expected to add another 200 miles to their 1311 miles tally by the time they reached Dannevirke. They carried forty-odd pound packs, had a "pup" tent to sleep in, though they stayed with friends in a number of places, including Taupo, and expected to finish the fifteen hundred miles trip at a cost not exceeding £10 each. A fact that added to the enjoyment of their trip was that just before arriving in Taupo they learned that they had both passed their School Certificate examinations. They visited the Taupo Public Library to ascertain from the newspaper flies there the names of their friends who had similarly passed. Both lads plan to take University degree courses later, Michael Earle intending to take up secondary school teaching and Carl Kelly accountancy. Arriving in Taupo on one of the hotter mornings of the summer, they were so taken with the swimming attractions of the Lake that they had four swims during the day, the last at nine thirty p.m.