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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 67

—Chapter VII.—

page 17

Chapter VII.—

The Taupo "Sanatorium," or "Lofley's [unclear: Glen]" as it was called till recently, lies [unclear: hear] "Big Ben," the Bully Boiler of the [unclear: Bad] Lands; but no sign of it can be seen from there, though the ground to and be-[unclear: rond] it is almost level. One has only to [unclear: go] on however, in the right direction, to [unclear: some] upon a narrow gully, cut deep into [unclear: the] pumice by a small rivulet. Whatever [unclear: his] gully may have looked like in its [unclear: natural] condition, it is now as pretty a little nook as one could imagine, the prettier for being set in such dismal surroundings, Mr Lofley, an old Taupo pioneer and guide, made himself a homo in it, and planting trees and shrubs and flowers with [unclear: beral] hand, and getting grass to grow green [unclear: a] the bottom, he made it a little [unclear: paradise,] small cool creek flows down the gully, [unclear: umerous] warm, hot, and mineral springs [unclear: urst] forth from under the steep banks, [unclear: nd] by picking and choosing among them, [unclear: ixing] hot and cold together, coaxing [unclear: em] into suitable pools, covering these [unclear: ver] and adding dressing-rooms, quite an gray of baths has been provided, equally [unclear: ood] for disease and sound health. [unclear: Cotges] were erected for the accommodation of [unclear: sitors], the visitors came, and come, [unclear: ofley's] baths have become famous for [unclear: heir] cures, and Lofley's Glen for its [unclear: osy] prettiness. The place has changed [unclear: ands] within the past year, and is now [unclear: wned] and managed by Mr J. Joshua, who as found it a necessity to largely increase [unclear: he] accommodation for visitors, and a [unclear: easure] to continue the work of beautifying [unclear: he] place. By-and-bye the trees that are [unclear: rowing] healthily will overtop the terraces, [unclear: d] show where the "Sanatorium" lies, [unclear: ut] at present it is only to be found by [unclear: llowing] a well laid out drive from the [unclear: ownship], or by barely escaping a fall over [unclear: he] terrace into the very midst of it. Walking across from Big Ben, I found it [unclear: y] the latter way, and descended by a [unclear: ack] "convenient" to the buildings. I [unclear: ked] for a hot bath, according to my [unclear: pro-ramme], and was conducted to one—with [unclear: oored] dressing room, walls and roof of [unclear: upu]—steps into pool of hot water, covered with thatched roof (then in need of repair) passage from hot pool into cold creek—[unclear: urious] flounder, float and short swim in [unclear: e] a turn in the other to cool and renew [unclear: he] luxury of the first—de capo—encore—come more—once again—and—I really [unclear: ust] get some breakfast. The dressing room is "ornamented" with [unclear: everal] crutches, and a wonderful combination of iron and leather by which an invalid Home contrived to make one side of him carry the other. These are offerings of grateful patients who have gone away rejoicing and kicking up their heels, cured by a course of bathing and drinking the waters. In one bath is a little pillow of twigs, on which for many weeks a sickly child lay awake by day and slept by night, immersed on the water all the time! He was taken there on the point of becoming a very poor angel, that is physically, now he is possibly not fit to be an angel at all. I had a couple of breakfasts in one, at Mr Joshua's table, meeting there an acquaintance whom a three weeks stay had restored from two sticks and a general breakdown, to sound health and a good customer to his shoemaker. For the sound in health this is a delightful place. One could stay there till he grew tired of it, unless he should die of old age before that happened.

After a chat and a look round I made my way across the dying solfatara again, by Big Ben, back to Gallagher's hotel. I had arranged with Mr Bodger that he should accompany me on horseback to Wairakei, and there he was with another coachdriver, doing a "trial-pair" out on the lake, about a mile a half out. Wairakei should wait till afternoon, I would have a pull on the lake too. They came in, but needed no persuasion to go out again, and give me a chance to catch a crab 1200 feet above the sea. One might have caught a monster of the species and not have hampered the boat at all, it was such a substantial affair. How wonderfully clear the water of the lake is,—at the north end, at all events. I never saw clearer water in a natural state anywhere. A filter would soil it. I should not wonder if, on a dead calm day, one could see the taniwha that raises the sudden storms on the lake, asleep on the bottom in the deepest part of it, though 534 feet is a long way to see through water, especially with spirits in it. The taniwha, the evil spirit of the lake, lives in a cave near the deepest part of the lake. When he is hungry he watches for a canoe going along over head (the clearness of the water being greatly in his favor), and when one comes within sight he swirls the water about with his tail, frightens the occupants of the canoe to death, capsizes and drowns them, and finishes them off by eating them alive. That is the gist of several Maori legends about him. The water is cold. The hot and warm waters that reach it have plenty of time to cool, and much of the water comes by the Waikato from the snows of Huapehu. The greatest depth, 534 feet, is very little for so large a sheet of water. The lake is 25 miles in greatest length, 16½ in greatest width page 18 covers 153,000 acres, average depth under 400 feet, so that it is a very shallow sheet of water, a mere wet sheet spread over a plain. Anyone could throw a stone to the bottom where it is deepest, and a good thrower cast a penny as far along the shore. This information should be given to all who venture upon it; it would encourage them in case of a capsize, to know that they are anywhere with 180 yards of terra firma. The lake has been deeper. At many points there can be seen an old lake shore 100 feet above the present one. Here and there caverns washed out of the pumice by the surf of the older lake still remain, high and dry to-day. Possibly the source of the Tapuaeharura—"thundering footsteps"—near the township, is one or a series of caverns so formed. The eastern shore now is bounded by cliffs of pumice drift for the most part, rising to 200 feet high in some places toward the south. At the southern extremity the river Waikato and others flowing from the volcanic peaks, have formed a considerable flat delta. The western side and the big north-west bay are the most picturesque, some grand cliffs towering high above the water. Near Karangahape, for instance, bluffs overhang the water 1000 feet. A trip right round the lake in a steamer ought to be enjoyable. In the river at the township there lies the wreck of a wooden steamer that some years ago was built to run on the lake, but it was too big and fuel was too costly, so it was laid by and has fallen to pieces. A small launch (like the Boojum, say) ought to be a good property on the lake now. There is considerable goods traffic from Taupo to Tokaano, and in the season tourists ought to keep her going. A smart launch ought to make the circuit of the lake in a long day, and in two days, with Tokaano as a resting place, quite easily. A grand excursion it would be!

We pulled a short way out into the lake, and the unwonted exercise, under a blazing sun, put us into a condition that suggested the appropriateness of a bath, so the boat was headed for a point on the beach a couple of miles or so south of the township, where there is a "hot bath." A family of natives were camped close to it in a tent, and the surrounding bushes bore evidence that they had come there for the purpose of the biennial family washing. We landed nevertheless, and examined the "bath" It was not enticing. A hole had been dug in the beach, about 6ft. by 8ft., and walled up, and hot water from a small spring turned into it. It had been neglected, (but may have been used frequently all the same)—and was full of foul looking greenish brown water, with a substantial scum covering half the surface. It was decidedly too hot also. A young woman came to us from the tent as we stood [unclear: looking] gustedly at this "bath," and [unclear: puddling] it affectionately with her [unclear: fingers,] "Fine!" "Kapai!" "Too hot?" "—[unclear: "y] no, not too hot!" "Nice." She [unclear: see] quite anxious to see us make [unclear: ourse] comfortable,—and sick—by having [unclear: a] there, and showed us how, by [unclear: remo] some stones, we could sweep in [unclear: wif] besom keep there for the purpose, [unclear: the] water of the lake to tone [unclear: down] temperature. But we could not tone [unclear: d] the color enough without [unclear: emptying] affair, and perhaps a remnant [unclear: of] modesty of civilisation had a little [unclear: to] with our decision not to strip close [unclear: u] the eyes of the nut-brown maid and [unclear: tw] three other women and girls at the [unclear: tent,] pulled away half a mile, and [unclear: beaching] boat had a good splash in the lake. But was cold J And yet the margin along the is usually steaming more or less.

After dinner, horses were saddled, and 2 o'clock under Mr Bodger's guidance [unclear: I] off for Wairakei, by way of the [unclear: river] see the Huka Falls en route. A good [unclear: t] is by this time possibly formed along [unclear: th] route; at that time it was only partly [unclear: d] There was a horse track, but we [unclear: soon] off that in an endeavor to economise [unclear: sp] and time, and lost heavily in both [unclear: by] venture. We struck the track again [unclear: by] river, just where it (the river) begins a [unclear: l] series of hops and steps, before taking; final jump at Te Huka. And very [unclear: pretti] makes them. The water is clear, perfect clear, and blue, perfectly blue, and the [unclear: c] trast between the dense water and the [unclear: mas] of white foam that mark where the [unclear: stre] has run foul of a rock, is in very [unclear: g], taste. A mile or two of this tripping [unclear: a] tumbling course prepares the water, so speak, for a bold acrobatic [unclear: performance,] leap over the Huka. The river all [unclear: al] flows in a gorge dug out of the [unclear: pus] drift. In many places can be seen [unclear: beds] the drift cemented into a hard rock [unclear: by] filtrations from hot springs of a bye-[unclear: g] age. The rocks which oppose and [unclear: confuse] river in its flow, including the rock [unclear: bar] at To Huka Falls, are possibly of this [unclear: ki] The Falls are not grand, magnificent, [unclear: s] lime, or anything of that sort, but they [unclear: h] a character of their own. In less [unclear: than] yards the river descends—I [unclear: forgot] note how far—somewhere about feet, but only about half of this scent, if so much, by a clear leap. Waikato makes a running leap of it; [unclear: ta] a run or seventy or eighty yards; [unclear: takes] downhill in a narrow trench less [unclear: than] feet wide, with a very steep [unclear: slope:] that run down is such a mad, [unclear: dashi] splashing, boiling, bubbling, [unclear: tumultu] head-over-heels, crescendo, [unclear: delirium] mendous rush, that no pen could [unclear: descri] page 19 no pencil pourtray it. It can only be well seen by peering over the edge of the narrow chasm, holding on to a bush the while, and one can neither write nor paint in that attitude. A bridge will be thrown over some day, and one will then be able to court dizziness and the intoxication of a turbulent excitement with more safety. The prevailing color is white (Te Huka leans "The Foam") yet the blueness of the deep river assorts itself, and tinges the mass of foam in flashing streaks and stars. One may see some pretty good mixtures of air and water and activity on a rocky sea-coast in storm time, but there the glories of the combination are intermittent. The run of the Waikato for its leap at Te Huka will remind one of rock-broken waves, but the highest effect is sustained all the time. The actual leap is tame in comparison with the run. The run is downhill. Such a tremendous spurt certainly ought to have been the preliminary to a leap up-hill—over some obstacle, at all events. If a hurdle, brush fence, post-and-rail, or stone-wall jump were put up, no matter how formidable it looked, the river would "clear" it. As it is, the Waikato ends its spurt by a bold "header" into a wide, deep pool. After a few seconds it comes up all over the basin, spluttering and shaking off masses of Sparkling bubbles that it took down with it. Then it seems to have a jolly game of leap-frog with itself, take a quiet turn round the pool, smiling to think what flue fun it was, that rush and plunge; then it pursues its way seaward, but with many a frisk while in sight of the Falls. It is written that the waters have more fun of a similar sort before they quit the high country—does actually try a leap up-hill at one place. A heavy shower of spray shoots up continually from beneath the fall, shot up by the explosive recoil of air compressed and carried down by the falling water. This shower supports a brilliant rainbow when the sun is shining upon it, and luxuriant vegetation on the steep walls of the pool all the time. There is a cave or caves under the fall, which one can enter, and from which one can see his way to eternity pretty clearly. Anyone who wanted to go there with the fullest measure of eclat and enjoyment should start from the head of the race, and by the time he got to the leap he would he wound up to a breathless pitch of excitement. It offers a very cleanly way of shuffling off a mortal coil; there is no bother with the coil afterwards. The river evidently leaped down the whole height of the platform at one time, but whether it was a more interesting sight then, than since it has scooped out that race for itself, may be doubted. The Huka Falls are part of Mrs Graham's Wairakei estate, and are a bit of property that anyone might be proud to possess.