FAIR VALLEYS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 20 (Supplement)

FAIR VALLEYS

SCENERY IN THE HILLS EXPLORING BY MOTOR-CAR PARAPARA AND GENTLE ANNIE The visit to Wanganui and its backblocks territory of the Minister of Public Works (Hon. K. S. Williams) focusses interest on several important roads which he inspected, and by the attention he bea owed on them more light is shed on prospective development.

Of the roads he examined, the most important, according to all local assumptions, was the Parapara, up which he journeyed as far as Glenn’s Junction, a few miles above Kakatahi. It had originally been proposed that the Minister should drive up the Wangaehu Valley road, ride over the unformed portion as far as Pungntaua, and then trek across country, still on horseback, in order to reach the Parapara by Field’s track. An interesting round trip could thus have been accomplished, but the arduous nature of the undertaking contemplated finally determined its cancellation, and the separate towns were undertaken, as far as possbile, by car up the Wangaehu. Twisted like a. corkscrew between high, white banks of papa, pelting over rapids and miniature cataracts, and occasionally running flat and placid in shndv reaches under the straight cliffs —that is the Wangaehu. as seen in its upper reaches last Saturday. Motorists in Wanganui occasionally complain that their sphere of operation is restricted, but to realise the full pleasure their cars may bring they should study such out. of the way roads as the upper Wangaehu. Following the accurate milestones which •measure off the distance, the car penetrates remote fastnesses girdled by hills of lofty grandeur. Tracts of forest occasionally convey a superb suggestion of pristine splendour to the tilted landscape, and in the river valley, where sheer buttresses of white rock gleam between the dark shades of tree-clad ravines, while lights change and glimmer on the water below', vistas that grip the fancy are repeatedly encountered. The Top Country The motorist possessing the primitive sense which lures mankind to new country can discover fascinating places hidden in these hills. On the way up the valley he passes from the genial flats of Kauangaroa, -where the Wangaehu, in flood, cuts across from its sharply formed flanks, to the more aggressive country round Mangamahu, where the valley appreciably narrows, until on towards Mount View it is in places little more than a celt. Gruesome interest can be conceded to wayside shacks—one at Ngaturi and one above Mangamahu—where outrageous murders occurred within recent memory. All zones of remote settlement have their tragedies, and in this peaceful valley two, at least, where appalling in their stark brutality. ; Mount View station, a pleasant place where the hospitality of Mr and Mrs 1). T. B. White is a by-word, is exactly at the head of the formed road, 46 miles, to a yard, from the city. Up the Ridge Road Mount View homestead was formerly on high country along Hales’ track, more commonly known as the Ridge road, which also gave access to Siberia station. Later the Valley road was opened up, and Mount View, part owner of which is Sir Andrew Russell, was transferred to a more convenient site down below. On the high levels it comamnded a magnificent view, but was in a very exposed situation. Beyond Mount View is Pungataua, with Kennedy’s further over. In between lies the unformed portion of the road, four miles of track confronted by towering bulffs. tho brawling Koukopu stream, and such pleasant places as “Purgatory Point,’’ before it can realise full status as a road. But when that status is ultimately reached, a great through trip to Karioi should bo possible. The Wangaehu, smoky on account of tho volcanic minerals in solution, may not be a good bathing or fishing river, but the scenery along its banks almost defies comparison. Down the Mangawhero Over the hills, and not so far away, is another chattering river, the Mangawhero; but different in colour and character from the smoky Wangaehu. For to bathe in the mellow, amber waters o fthc Mangawhero, where it reposes in iho reaches linking rapid to rapid, is a sheer and lasting delight. Pursuing tho contorted course of the Mangawhero, which dives over rock ledges in two splendid falls above Kakatahi, is the controversial Paranara road, another path to the glory of arresting scenery. The three lakes at the Lakes Hill, and the beautiful valley at Aberfeldy—these delight the

eve; and when the road forsakes the river, to scale the backbone of the Aberfeldy hill, Wanganui is visible as a chalky smudgo on the seaward horizo.n. Off the Beaten Track Diving into tho maw of the tumbled country go the roads to Parihauhau, Te Komai, and the Wanganui River country. Inland from tho Parapara is lofty hill country, dominated by the forested peak of Tau-a-kira, which rises above A tone, on tho Wanganui river. Across the rives is the rugged Ahu Ahu block, traversed by the Kaurapaoa and Ahu Ahu roads, and groat motoring country, if the weather is dry. But it is heartbreaking country for the settler, and not a few have loft their farms. Much of it can be seen from Gentle Annie, the crest where the. River road, pushing through a sixty-foot cutting, passes from shadow to sunlight hundreds of feet above the river. Upstream are Pari kino and Pungarchu, upland pastures, and violet hillslopes slashed by dark ribs where tho valleys sink into the shadows. An atmosphere of peace and contentment settles on the hilltop. And then a car is seen, grinding up from Pugarehu. “Quick, wo must pull aside,’’ says the motorist, and peace and contentment arc forgotten.