DOING THE EXHIBITION.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 16, 20 January 1926, Page 10

DOING THE EXHIBITION.

MOTOR TRIP FROM AUCKLAND. <■ GOOD ROADS," SAYS MOTORIST. EXPENSES ANALYSED. Back from an eighteen-day motor trip to the Dunedin Exhibition. Mr. A. Fairburn, well known in Auckland musical circles, this morning told a '•Star" representative a few of his experiences on the road. The? party of three motored to Wellington in New Plymouth. From Auckland to the Awakino Valley the roads were in a fairly rough condition, but once through the valley they travelled over good roads right to "Wellington. By a daylight trip on the ferry they went to Lyttelton. Loose shingly roads were travelled over between Christchurch and Asbburton. and between the mid-Can-terbury capital and Oamaru the surface was very good. At Timaru the party camped on the A. and P. showgrounds. A bur. was provided. in which were bunks, and plenty of hot and cold water was obtainable. In North Otago the roads were full of potholes, but when nearing Dunedin they improved, and when Mr. Cargill was reached the party motored over good surfaces. "The Dunedin roads were only fair."' said Mr. Fairburn. At the Exhibition. "Camping at Tab una Park (the A. and P. Show Grounds), we spent only four days in Dunedin, and. of course, all our time was taken up in doing the Exhibition. While we were there it rained like Auckland and blew like Wellington, bur. in spite of this we had quite a, good time," said the tourist. "The Exhibition is an extremely creditable show fur the size of the country, and particularly for the size of Dunedin," he continued. It was hard for the party to rind their way round for a time, and even after four days they had not seen the whole of the big show. It did not take them long. however, to find the best courts, and the British court, the tourist averred, was an easy first. Then came the New Zealand Industries court and the Canadian, court. Of the provincial courts Mr. Fail-burn placed Auckland a bad last. "It is almost, a pity to exhibit the Auckland court. by comparison with the oilier,-." said Mr. Fairburn regretfully. When asked what he thought of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders' Band, all Mr. Fairburn could say was "too much pipes." "The six pipers started the programme with a Scottish selection." he added, "then the band won play a selection from one of the wellknown operas or oratorios, then the pipes would [day again and they would be frantically encored. And so the programme wouid continue. To my mind this band is not a patch on the Royal Artillery Band that came out here for the Auckland Inhibition in 1014. That band played far better stuff, and bad a far better balance." was the opinion expressed by Mr. Fair-burn. Coming Home. Coming home, the party travelled up through North Canterbury to Picton. and over this area all the roads were first class. Round Kaikoura the-£ouri.-ts saw the most beautiful "scenery of the whole trip. They motored between high cliffs on one side and bush-clad slopes on the other for miles, and it was only when they neared Blenheim that they left behind this wonderful scenery. They went across on tiie ferry to Wellington, and then up through Upper Him and over the Rimutakas. Right from the capital city to Hastings the roads were good, and round Waipawa they were in line order. (July fair conditions prevailed between Napier and Taupo. and from Taupo to Koroma the motorist described the roads as "criminal." They were glad to get away from that district, for when they neared Auckland the roada improved considerably. "The sign posts on the roads in the South Island are not as good as those in the North. Island/ declared Mr. Fairburn. "They are small and the indicating arrow- cannot be seen till you are close up. In the Waimate district we got miles off the route through these silly sign posts. After tiiat we had to pull up at a sign post to make sure that we were on the right track. Expenses Analysed. Once home. -Mr. Fairburn calculated ihe cost of the trip and estimated the actual transport charges at about' £1". Of this £6 5/ was spent in freights and some £I)> in benzine. A clear idea, of the transport anil freight expenses can be obtained from the following table: — Mokau Ferry 3 0 Outward Wharfage 1 Wellington 1 ."? v Inwnrrl Wharfage fr.yttelton) .. 4 o firton Wharfage Fees 0 a Inward Wharfage (.Wellington) .. 4 1) Si 3 11 Freight (Wellington to r-yrtelroni 3 10 0 Frei;'ut i Picton to Wellington) .. 1 13 0 £« 5 0 At Timaru it cost the party 3/ for the night at the A. and P. grounds, and at Tahuna. Park iDunedini the expenditure was .1/ parking fee for the car and •V per head per week for camping fees. Of course, what is -p'lit at the Exhibition depends on the ■ or himself, but for the most part tiiat is not an outing that entails any great expenditure. "'Altogether it was a great trip and we had a wonderful time," said Mr. Fairburn.