"Raetihi.

"We were now in the midst of a splendid forest of mixed bush, about the best of the kind, we are told, that one can find in the North Island. Three miles further on, or fifteen miles from Karioi, we reach the site of the township of Raetihi, of which a good deal is likely to be heard in the future. It lies in the heart of the bush, in the centre of a fine level block of Crown land, 100,000 acres in area, and at the proposed junction of the Wanganui Road with the road to Auckland via Okura. Of the 100,000 acres, 70,000 have already been taken up in small-farm sections.

"Four miles beyond Raetihi we arrive at Mangaetoroa, a Government school reserve, and notable for being the first clearing made in this part of the country. The land which has been cleared is down in grass, and men are at work constructing a tunnel to carry off the waters of the Mangaetoroa. For loveliness of forest scenery and varied and picturesque beauty it would be difficult to match the last fourteen miles of the road towards Pipiriki. At no distant date this is bound to be a favourite route of travel for tourists; the wonder is more has not been heard of it before this. At the summit of the Waipuna Hill one instinctively reins in his steed to feast the eyes upon the charming panorama that here unfolds itself, one of its leading features being the distinct though distant outlines of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro, which close in the southeastern side of the horizon.

"Nine miles from Pipiriki we pass over the newly-completed Mangoihe Bridge, which has a span of 80ft. over a deep gorge. Late in the afternoon from the crest of a hill we come in sight of the Wanganui River, and down the pretty rapid descent of road we canter into Pipiriki amidst the welcomes of the Natives.