RAMBLES THROUGH THE LAKE COUNTRY ON HORSEBACK. No. VI.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2167, 29 May 1886, Page 6 (Supplement)

RAMBLES THROUGH THE LAKE COUNTRY ON HORSEBACK. No. VI.

Aktkr an early breakfast ou the following (Tuesday) morning, the two parties of tourists proceeded, at about half-past ' 'seven, to the boats, which were reached after walking down a very steep path to an inlet of Taiaweia Lake where they are kept moored or housed. Our party "consisted of six, including a stout old lady, with Capt. Way as guide. The other party, under Sophia, nmnbciud eight, of whom threo wcic lad us, a mother nml her two daughter. Oiif of the young ladies was a cripple and afflicted with a most heart leudcung asthmatic cough. She was carried to the boat in a chair between two sturdy Maoris, and all through the day di->- ' played wonderful pluck and perseverance in getting over the ten aces and amongst the intricacies of the springs and gcyssr-,. ' We soon took our seats in a splendid launch with a crew of tive lusty youn? natives. There was some delay m starting owing to a difficulty the other party had about the use of their boat, which was very annoying. The scenery was very grand and, with the fresh clear atmosphere, was highly enjoyable. The coast line for some distance was high and covered with vegetation to the water's edge, the variegated colouring of the foliage adding immensely to the charm of the scene before us. Then the Lake widened out into a very broid expanse of clear water across which the boats were steered in the direction of Mt. Tarawera, which rose ahead of us in massive grandeur. Hidden in the bush on tho left bank of the inlet we started from, are six waterfalls flowing into the lake, which are supposed by the Rev. Mr Spencer to be the overflow from Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), after a subterraneous course through the dividing range. I should have mentioned that the Mina Falls were in the stream that issued from Lake Rotokakahi into Taraweia. To the left, facing the broad expanse of the lake, ii a point of laud called Gallilee, with a high range sloping behind it, *where the mission station formerly stood, J>nd where at one time the natives all dwelt. About a mile beyond this is Lake Okataiana, then over a ridge and through an intervening bush is Lake Rotoiti. Through a far receding depression of the mountain ranges at the extreme southeast angle of the Lake, Mount Edgecumbe was distinctly visible in its solitude, near the East Coast. The right hand coast line was formed of bare, low hills, which continued to Moura, at which point the Lake narrows to a lenghty estuary, reaching as far as Te Ariki, where we landed. The passage across was delightful. The water was calm, and the crew very animated, occasionally spurting into a competition with the other boat- In the brawny-armed stroke, I recognised the •• boss" of the ball of thepreviousevening, and itwascheering to hear him spurring on the others with a " Now then, all tegetter" or the incomprehensible exhortations sounding like "Givit mit a half." The view of Mt Tarawera, as we pasard beneath it, was Bublime. It is a stupendous triple-headed Tolcanic mountain, about 4000 ft in height, ' crowned with precipitous sides, seared and scarped, and uwfal looking 1 . Its appearance was majestic; as it loomed upwards against the clear sky. We met a native in a canoe just off the Moura settlement from whom we took in a supply of Kouras (crayfish) of which tho crew eat some alive, bat we afterwards cooked the rest over a hot spring and found thsm delicious eating. Tho boats mado a long stay at Moura, causing further delay in order to deliver a letter from the Govern1 ment agent, Mr Johnson to the chief of the Rotomahana hupu. It appears there was a difference between these natives and those ut Wairoa about the division of the rrvenuo derived from the tourists, and it had gone so far that on his previous trip Captain W.iy was refused the use of tho cieelc canoes unless tho charges for their u«o were paid on the spot, mid not wihhintf to jjivo wtiy to the Maoris, the guide led this party back to Wairo'i overland, a considerable distance. Tho existing arran<rumcnr is that tho nativo committee Ksups tickets for tho terraces from its office at Wai> oi, and receive all tho charges, including 1 boat and crow, across the lake, and canoe and paddler up tho cieek to Rotomahana, whioh is provided by tho natives at Te Ariki. The complaint, however, was that the Litter could not obtain their &h<ire of the money, hence they tried to act with a high hand and enforce payment from the visitors before they would be allowed to proceed after landing 1 at Te Ariki. As this was a dispute purely amongst themselves Mr .Tohnhon had written to warn them that the Europeans must not be inconvenienced or interfered with, and that if they caused any disturbance they would be dealt with according- to law. However, on our arrival at Te Ariki the demand for payment was made and the use of the canoes refused. There was a considerable amount of wrangling between the guides and natives, until we became angry at the delay and loss of time. Eventually, I expressed my determination to see the terraces, guide or no guide, so, starting off by a path that lead to Rotomahaua, 1 was at once followed by three other fellow-tourists, and we reached the white terraces and went all over them by ourselves. About an hour later, the rest of the parties with the guides made their appearance in canoes, having got over the obstruction, an.l we werq all able then to complete the whole of the wonders together. A long narrow creek runs from Lake Rotomahana to Tarawera, and it is nece^ary to have canoes to cross the former in order to see the Pink Terraces. These can only be obtained at Te Ariki. Formerly the natives would not allow access by the creek except on payment of five pounds as they valued it as a preserve and breeding place for wild ducks. Subsequently, when native committees Were appointed, it was agreed that by charging ten shillings for the canoe and half-a-crown for. ioh paddler on all occasions, they wouK I 'i'more than compensated for the losi of their ducks. The disagreement wu» one of account between the two hapus, but was very annoying to the tourists. I called on Mr Johnston when I got back to Rntorua, and acquainted him with the occurrence, and he gave me a history of the whole ca«se. It seems to me that the Government are the proper pai tics to undertake the service for the conveyance and guidance of tourists, who would then be rid of annoyances and delays. If they allowed the natives an annual subsidy, equivalent to the average annual income the latter derive from the Terraces, were to place steam launches oil the Lake under a properly organised staff, the whole matter would be much simplified, and the trip made far more enjoyable and popular. It is not necessary for me to deseiibe the wonders of Rotonnhaua. They have been made familiar to everyone by published details of them and by numerous photographic views. It is sufficient for me to say that, with the rest of our compauy, I visited them all and man cllt d at each of thnn seriatim. The Whitn Terraces, Te Tarata ; the three boiling springs, Nga hapu (tales) ; the flat stoucs at tlic cooking place, To Takapou : the mud terrace and the porridge pot, Te Iluka ; the burning mountain, in itself woith the visit ; the curious cavity ou the hill &ide, Ngawhanga, where eight generations aie supposed to have been born ; the DevilV steam-pipe, a huge exhaust pipe, emitting volumes of steam; Te Kiwi, boiling springs on the beach, where two native children fell in and perished, and finally the Pink Terraces, Te Whakatura, on the summit of which is a steaming lake of the most lovely blue colour, surrounded by a beautifully white aandy beach, which is called Otukupuarangi. Three of us went into the baths on the Terraces, and the delights of them were simply

<h v ino We were loth to come out of the wa:ci agun ; indcL-rl. so long did we stay spotting and splashing that the rest of tin* party became' violently impatient, and fchouted to us repeatedly from below to oine on. Mr Macrae had filled hamper* v* ith a very substantial and choice lunch for our refreshment, with which vi .ilwidy regaled ourselves under the cool shades of .1 clump of tall ti-tree befon* we cio-^cd the Lake. We now reen U i i'd the canoes and returned to Te AnW't hv the creek, which is called Kaiw.iK.i (destroyer of canoes ) On the right ha, ill bide of the cicek, going down, is a little boiling pot, supposed in Maori su.ici vtitiuu to be the al)odc of Maoho, an evil .spirit, whoso anger haa to he .ippewl by throwing food to him. ]t tins (ifTi'iing is neglected, ho would set/c the canoe, with its occupwits, and boil them all in his pot. Further down is ;i creek of icy cold water, whidi fl-iwi from Rotomukariri (cold like.) When we reached the boats* we lost no ti:uo in getting under way, as tho evcnuisr was cjming on, and we had a pull of nearly two hour* before vi. Not vpiv far from Te Ariki there is a rock je'tin; f>\i% from the hijrh bank, and close to which tho boat passed, ascribed in Maori legendary lore- as tho abode of Opiuar.i,°the god of Lake Tarawera, a tir-iwh'i, or monster. In the old canoe days, when the doni/ens of these regions we re in primitive and more superstitious arc, and before tho frequent intercourse wi*h the white intruders imported more enlightened ideas into their unsophisticated minds it was always customary to cast upon tho rock some trifle, such as a potato, kuinira, or ether offering, to gain the good will of the evil genius. In this fn-t'ince, again, failure to observe this entailed disastrous results or perils to the voyagers. The anger of the god would become aroused for their presumption in crossing over his domain, and he would rai.se the wind and create a storm to meet them on their return passage in order to make shipwreck of them. We did not throw anything to appease the monger on our smooth voyage up in the imrmny, but sure enouirh demon or no demon our boats had to pull back in the teeth of a stiff bree/e and rough water. Between Moura and Ariki the lake takes a sweep inland, at the extremity, of which is an isolated rock, j supposed to possess a subterranean passasre, and with which another curious legend is connected. Very far back in point of time »i youth landed on this rock and disappeared. No one could tell what had become of him, or whither he had gone, and ho was given up for dead. Several years afterwards he re-appeared one one of the islands in Lake Taupo, but completely altered in his aspect. His hair had became perfectly white, like a grey- headed old man, and was twisted entirely round his shoulders, through contact with the rocks in the dark passage, and by the force of the water which had borne him along. He then returned to the people, but no one recognised him, and he was only received when a god appeared and informed his relatives that he was their long lost brother. Lake Tarawera finds an outlet in the Rangitaiki River, which passes in its course Fort Galatea and empties itself into " ' the sea near Matata, on the East Coast, Few people are aware of the extent and beauty of the lake country. There are eleven chains of lakes, of surpassing grandeur and Joveliness, all within the compass of this one district. If good roads were formed connecting each, one with the other, they would immensely enhance the attractiveness of the inexhaustible charms Of the whole place. It was night when we reached Macraes Hotel, where the coaches were waiting to convey the several members of our parties back to Olunenintu. They got through the hurry and bustle of settling their scores, and were oil" without waiting for dinner. I was urging my horse round one of the obscured bends of the road at Lake Tikitapu, when I had a very narrow escape of a serious collision witli a buggy fioin the opposite direction, which I just avoided by turning sharply to the right between the vehicle and the high bank. As it cauied no lights, I neither saw nor heaid it, until it suddenly loomed up before me out of the dark shadow of the embankment. After calling at the cottage of Mr Lakiu, the ferniolgist, for a few minutes and looking at some of his cuiiosities, I took my way through the beautiful bush, which was now shrouded in deep gloom. The faint light of a young moon stole through the overhauging foliage, here and there, giviug a fairy - like charm to surrounding dark shades of the night, whilst the bright glitter of innumerable tiny lights from clusters of glow worms in the vegetation on both sides of the road afforded pleasurable exercise for the imagination. Lovely, as I had found it by daylight, equally so, to my mind, was this romantic little bush road by night. Without .further adventures, Mrs Morrisons comfortable hostelry was soon reached, and we sat down to a good repast, indisputably well pleased and edified with exceedingly interesting excursions. The next morning (Wednesday), having taken a farewell dip in one of the never-to-be-forgotten baths of Rotorua, I started for Taupo, first calling to see the Resident Government Agent, Mr Johnstone, to whom I again make my excuses for lousing him out of his warm bed at that early hour to discuss a " native difficulty " My road now led me to the light of Whakarewarewa, and through a goige, into a long stretch of broken country, covered with short wiwi grass and fein, interspersed with low-lying swamps, until the native settlement of Pai ikaiangi was passed, nestling at the ba&e of a small bush-clad range. Further on I encountered the road surfaceman at work, an Irishman, and an old soldier of the sSth Regiment. - His was a very lonely billet now. The country showed signs of volcanic origin ; a solitary conioal hill lose to the left, and several ancient looking mud holes or geysers were seen, now inactive and moss-coated. The land is tussocky and not very good, but is fit for depasturing purposes. Paeora and Whakatane, where the land improves into level plains, lay far away in the distance. But in front of me. to the right, rose Horohoro, a grand looking mountain, shaped like a parallelogram about ft mile lone, and terminating abruptly down into a plain. It is clothed with bush from its square summit half-way down to its base, where native settlements are situated on feitilc soil. But, through the bush, fiom end to end, its massive formation of basaltic rock is scene, steep and bold. Horohoro is a very striking feature in tho landscape for mile 3, and the eye is constantly drawn towards its majestic bearing. It forms tho termination of the great Patetere range, and I was told that excellent gold-bearing .jnai tz has been found on it. There is a wide loop in the range above Horohoro, filled with a confused heap of curiously shaped hills, some of which are as symmetrical as the pyramids, and which were, donbtlcss, formed, in the period of great inundations, by a huge whirlpool making a sweep of the mountain side and there depositing the immense, quantities of alluvium brought down by its action. A few miles beyond Horohoro, the road pistes through terribly rough country, j ver\ barren, of a diniry yellowish colour, n nd broken by deep dismal r.ivines iv all dhectious. Strange looking, truncated conical lulls, and .slupondous inassos of volcanic locks of cnmrloinor.ite and siliuious limestone lose al <>\o U>«> 1 md>»cape all aioun-1 in" for mill s, N.iiiow defiles were ti averted ; then the land opened out sridually into a luoad plain railed . Mania a-Hinam mi I irr.i-t not omit to mention thafcbefor 1 reaching the plain, I noticed an irre^ulii- im k, a little way oft tho road, which tontiinoda strange resemblance to a bearded piant face, the eyes of which seemed to follow me until I passed over a ndgo and lost sight of it. Thrro was also, on tho sido of the same rock, an arched opening liko a Gothic window in the ruins of somo old minster. S-veral Maoris wero met on their way from Taupo. At the end of tho plain, which waa about two miles across, was

Mt. Ngatuku, a bulky mountain, with frowning rocky battlements nverHhadowing the rood. The telegraph line and Waotu road met here, and took me along the bane of Ngatuku, with a deep ravine and then more mountains to my right, until it strikes the Waikato River by a uteep grade Then crossing over by » sii«pon»ion bridge, I pulled up before Brady's Accommodation House at Atiftmuri. [To br emit i nurd.)