ROTORUA NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2190, 22 July 1886, Page 2

ROTORUA NOTES.

o [ffeOM OUR^OWNCORRKSPONDKNT.] F i> H \ '»%";-> Rotouua, July 38. The indomitable Captain Way organised a party to circle Rotomahana if possible. Brides the gallant JJM>ta|n the party ,xoasiited (V Mr J. H»lirM^tthew/Mcßne \nd a pativfe boy,* They; left^otofua last nijjht atfout 12 o'clock, no a* to reach Rotomahana at daybreak, and have the whole day for exploring, but sad to relate, owing to the volcanoes being unusually active and emitting dense volumes of steam, it was impossible for them to, proceed far. « ,They re* turned this evening much discouraged at' their want of success. They were pro- , vided with plenty of rope, and asa substitute for the Union Jack, they procured a piece of green cloth, which- they hoped tolled waving in the air on some high point proclaiming the success of " Home Rule,", butthey, like the "Grand Old Man," have been defeated. Captain Way equipped: ttie^ex-v peditton at his own expense, and is v therefore deserving of the thanks of the' inhabitants, as he now proves that it is impossible at present to reach Rotomahana, and, .preUQUrt to; Captain. Way. -ttyiii^ it wasfrif debatable question. ** * " J Parties have been to view the rift in the Te Wairoa road, which is about one mile on the Rotorua side of the Tikjtapu bash. Where it has occurred was a small ilake,for sometime after the heavy rain. Theeartn ir of » light sandy quality, artd wh,er« the chasm is the sou sank bodily down, being about 60 feet in diameter. The depth was tried to-day and found to be 95 feet. There is & solid portion of the earth adjoin* j ing the chasm which has sunk" about! a foyt below the surface. : *> The hills now present the ap^Baraifos/a^ if 'they had been, ploughed,, owing to the rain having wished furrow^ in the niud. Earthquakes Hive been numerous and severe during the past . 48 , hours. During the first 24 hours twenty orte w"ere counted, some of them being very sharp;! From inquiries made of some bushmen, the ea^thv qUake shocks appear of greater violence ai ' Ngongotahu mountain. The earth waves seem to run along the flat without any resistance, and at Ngongotahu, it would appear, they collide against it with consider* able force. The frequent shocks have been causinc* a slight' feeling of 'alarm among some of the inhabitants. Tourists are for the present absent from this land of shocks. T,he coaches from jbo r jTauranga &rrived to-day without Cringing any tourists, and the present time of the year is the dullest in business experienced here by the hotelkeepers and others for many years. Bright hopes are indulged in the anticipation of a good' summer, if we are not blown; away or swallowed up before then. • ' '