A TRIP TO ROTORUA.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 28, 3 December 1898, Page 1

A TRIP TO ROTORUA.

The Bey. Father Kegnault has just returned to Waimate from a trip to Ratorua, and knowing that an account of travel in the wonderland of New Zealand would prove acceptable to our readers, a representative of the Advertiser interviewed the reverend gentleman. He was courteously received and obtained the following interesting account of Father Begqault'a trip : — I left Waimate qn the 11th Oct., in search of a cure for rheumatism, and accompanied by Mr M'Culloch, of Quamby, We had a lovely trip from Lyttelton to Wellington, a splendid, boat and a sea as smooth as glass. There was universal enjoyment an board, and the young people were so little inclined to give up their music and singing that they had tq be forced to retire to their cabins. We reached Wellington at 8 a.m. on the J2th,, At 6 p.m. we w'ert again on the move, the sky still clear and bright, and the sea calm. We promised ourselves a perfect evening, but we^ were soon to find that' perfect peace cannot be depended upon in the Straits, and as we rounded Qape Pal User several ladies and gentlemen thought it the best part of valour to retire to their cabins, place themselves on their shelves, and be prepared for a«y emergency. Sleep made them forget tha danger to which they were lnomentarilv exposed, The following 'inorning when the bright sun rose above the waves, it found me enjoying the breeze on deck. W.hat $ JieJiciqus time 1 ' I was wishing it might last the whole of my holiday. <" About $ a.m., we carqe'to Cape Kidnappers ; wa Boon rounded this ,cape, and turned into say. Father (joutenoiro'a buggy b,ad been waiting all the forenoon to take me" to. Mfcanee. This is a place and her^ I ' met many old friends. ,Of these I nijght mentipp the'Eev. JPather GrauteqQU-p and Messrs, Patrick M'Grath and PeJ'er Walsh, who are now reading philosophy. Father John's old vfriendu wi|l l 'be : glad to learn tb,at 'his 'health, although not robust, is sufficiency good to enable him to fulfil the important and responsible duties of Superior' of §t,

Mary's Soholastioate, a thaqlogical seminary, which has already given a good many young priests to the Catholic Church of New Zealand. The steamer continued her journey without me and it only remained to take the coach to liotorua, a distance of about 156 miles. We ■tarted from Napier on Monday at 6.30, and followed a long hridga called the Ahuriri, crossing aa estuary which forms the inner harbour. We continued our journey through the fine pastoral country, and then entered the valleys of the Kawaka Creek and the Biver Jjjsk. It appears that formerly the road crossed the river Esk no less than 47 times. To-day a deviation has been made, and the coach follows the Mangakopikopiki Road, a word which means "very crooked" in the Maori language, and surely Maoris know how to oajl things hy thair proper names. I have never seen anything 1 so crooked as that road. The weather continued glorious, and the landscape charming, gq that time passed quickly and pleasantly. A little after imd-day we reached the Pohui Hotel, qr to ' apeak more corr«etly the Pohui Tent, the hotel having been burned down. Here we had , lunch, From this the country is less attractive and interesting. With the .exception of a piece of bush here and there the country is as barren as a desert, the rocks and, hills anq 1 valleys are black or gray, not a hlade of grass grows, not a refreshing colour can, be seen in the distance. We nqw b,egin tq ascend the Maungaharuru Range, until we reach the Tjtiokuru saddle, which is, , 22450 ft above ftp sea. ( As the day is fine •we obtain a grand View of papier, *the sea and the surrounding country, although we have already covered a, distance of over 80 mUe,a. Here the fug begins. We hay* to descend 1400 ft. ,jn' five miles, ao^n th,at terribly steep cliff and hill, with| precipices sq deep as to make anyone giddy, The drive through tt&Otira (Jorge, is but child's play compared , to this one. •it-- confess that for the first, tim,e" I felt somewhat nervous. Our genial drive? (O'Reilly) is.asked by a, timid lady if Occidents often happen at this place, and, ha solemnly, assures her that it is quite' ti^e

regular thing for the coach to be thrown over. But O'Reilly with all his jokes is a careful driver, and passengers need havo no fear. Another sensation awaited us at the foot of the hill. The bridge which used, to be over tho Mohaka, river has been washed awaj, and noW travellers have to tal^a their chance of being swdpt down by the torrent or of crossing in a Maori canoe, held by a ropo or strong wire which is fixed on both banks of the river. We selected the last alternative. It proves a nice change. Here we are on the outskirts qf the Taupo valcamq zone, and enter on the punnca country, Ascending another range, always on the steep side q£ the bill, we go Up towards the sun. or the moon for » distance of 9 miles, until we at last stand on the highest po^t, Tupurupuru, which is said to b,e 300 Q feat above 1 the sea. Then, tre descend through stunted hush, towards Stoney Creek stream, , ahout J4OQ feet lower than the saddle. Hera this barren country offers a glorious sjgh,t to the traveller. In the fqregrqimd are those ternhly deep valleys, and b,eyond, the mountain Ranges, wh,joh atretch away as far as the eye can see. Again we desoend b,y a z;ig-z;ag, nearly 5 m,iles long, what is called, the Turanza |£umu hill, and, we eqon find ourselves in the picturesque Waipunga Qorge. The change is oharrnrng, We pass through a pretty piece qf bush which leads us to Tarawera House, where we are tq spend, the night. It appears, th»t there is a small settlenient on the Waipunga riyejr, but how people, live is a mjstery to. me. The whole country is of pumice formation, and wquld scarcely grow a cabb.age. Then ifc looks' so wild. Yet, strange to say, the p.eople living in this -wild place are up &>' the .'latest fashiqns. On the following morning we «qntinue,d our road over the ranges. /Ihe first was the Pakara^ui" 1 , which reaches a height of IOQQ/feat, and then passing through a ievsr charging gorges v(e entered into a magnificent forest, the . |ike of .which I do not ren^exnher having seen anywhere. ' Nowth,e, saoms^o i^e lost between steep, bffi ooverea with •giant trees and thick, un^ersorub"; 1 ; riqW 1 you 'see the whole foreßij 1 'sVetcahig forth

rV , / like an amphftbeatre at your feet." Ifrwas like the glorious sunset before the darkness oj.tbi night, or as if God wanted to ---display nature before our eyes in all its beauty before we/venture into the Rumraga Plaine v wKere there reigns nothing but desolation and misery. Hence, after crossing the Waipuna stream, where w« -dimness a fine waterfall, we begin a drive of 16 miles through a plain wliich produces nothing but a few sickly, stunted manuka plants, not a blade of grass is to be seen anywhere. What & relief when we see before us the Rangitikei Btrearu, and the hotel of the same name, surrounded by a green paddock. Hera w« refresh the inner man, and prepare ourselves for another dreary drive of 20 milet>, across another barren tract of country' sparsely covered with manukaand tussock! which is called the Kaingaroa Plains! With the exceptions of wild horses, no living creature can find food in those, barren plains. These wild horses ar« to met with by the hundred, they belong to everybody in general and nobody in particular, and it appears that nobody is anxious to secure any of them, for living as they do on starvation wages, there is very little of any benefit in them except , the skin and the bones. At about 12' miles from Taupo we come to a place called Opepe, • where, according to our driver's historical knowledge or imagina-' tion — he possesses both — the Europeans under Colonel Sfc. John were surprised and defeated by the Maoris in 1869. Towards the evening a glorious light meets our eyes. It is nothing else than the noble Ruapehu, so well known t*» the IV Standard boys and girls, sending up its clouds of steam. I cannot help stopping the coach and having a good look through my glasses at th« famous mountain, which is still clad in snow. After satisfying this very legitimate curiosity, we continue our road, the outlines of the renowned Lake Taupo become more and more denned, and soon we find ourselves on its northern shore, at the door qf the Taupo Hotel. We haye travelled over 100 miles in two days, ank earned a deserved rest. Shall we take ifc or- go sight-seeing? The Taupo ooacK will not leave for Rotarua before Thursday morning. How shall we spend Wednesday? Whilst revolving these questions in our znind, I was looking at the Taupo village, which is composed' of half a dozen houses, at the two fine rows of trees growing on both sides of what does duty for a road, and also the eternal manuka invading every nook and corner. But there is something .better than that' ■ to b,e admired in the distance. As- you stand in front of the hotel, on that' nothern shore of the lake, with your eyes turned towards the south, you have before you us fine a pioture as any part of the World can supply. On your right the Waik,atq river leaves the- lake--' with a deafening roar-, on your left is Mount Tauhara, $000 feet, which is said to be on fire, and which is expected to burst up one of $hese fine d.ays, Before you is the lake, a beautiful lake, about- 25 miles long hj 15 mUes w-ide. At the southern end, stand in all their. ' majesty -ike snow^ clad Ruapehu, 9100, feet, the Tongariro, 64^8 feet, and, the oona-sb,aped I<fgauruhoe, - 7^ls, feeti which is. always" active, and constantly sends un, iuto. the sky its clouds Qf steam,. Who. would ever- get tired pf * admiring auob. a grand, beautiful picture*?, As, soon, as the 1 sun rose in tb^ morning and, cxst i,ts, first rays on, that r^agnificent landscape, J was up alsoi 'sWaing^spellhound before the grdat I ,«sjoene.,f|Jßv.en Mount Cook, se,<m.' from, 4h,e, extreme end of Lake Pukaki, a, distance) oMOt-£iiles\ did n,oj makft tb.e, Bain* impression >W: m?. >L- - „ r,x,. :Wt)tt.M%&.', ■ (To, bfrcontinuedin our..nert.)i % " -