WINTER PLAYGROUND.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 19, 23 January 1929, Page 10

WINTER PLAYGROUND.

NATIONAL PARK ATTRACTIONS

PROGRESS OF THE CHATEAU.

CHEAP RATES FOR TRAMPERS.

Work on the construction of the chateau at Tongariro National Park is proceeding apace, and since the New Year excellent progress has been made. The excavation work has been completed, and foundations are now in place for the erection of a cafeteria, cinema, i garage and children's playground, all of ! which will be on the ground floor.

The work has advanced so rapidly that arrangements are being made for the laying of the foundation stone by the Prime Minister and Minister of Tourist and Health Resorts Department (Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward). It is expected that the ceremony will take place on February 16.

Every effort is being made to have l the chateau ready for occupation by, November. It is to be run on the most modern lines, similar to those which havp made the Hermitage at Mount Cook so popular. Accommodation of various grades, to suit all classes of tourists, will be provided.

Three weeks before Christmas a start was made on the construction of lodges, on a site near the chateau foundations. In these lodges accommodation will be available for trampers at most moderate terms, and, contrary to general belief, they will not be closed when the superior accommodation of the chateau becomes available. It is the object of the Tongariro Park Tourist Company, Ltd., to make the National Park a favourite resort for people of every class. Only forty trampers can be accommodated at the lodge under present conditions, but building operations have been pushed ahead a o rapidly that there will be ample room for seventy when the annual rush for the winter sports commences in a fortnight's time. "The attractions of National Park are becoming so widely known, and make such a general appeal, that this extra lodge accommodation is essential," said Mr. H. Coxhead, secretary to the Tongariro Park Tourist Company, Ltd., in an interview to-day. "In the new buildings there will be a social room, and bath-room. Formerly there were only shower-baths. The improvements should be much appreciated. The idea that the company will not consider the comfort and convenience of trampers is erroneous. It should b§ clearly understood that

every effort will be made to encourage their visits and the fact that the chateau is being built will improve conditions, rather than make them less congenial."

Mr. Coxhead instanced the case of the Grammar School boys, who returned yesterday from National Park. The lads spent their holiday in tents, and had their meals at the hostel. This proved very economical, and suited the requirements of the lads most admirably. The boys made use of the car service from National Park railway station to Whakapapa, a distance of ten miles. Prior to the inauguration of the service trampers had to walk.

Cheap accommodation will always he available in the lodges, and there will be inexpensive cottages which families may rent. "It is believed," said Mr. Coxhead, "that this policy of catering for all pockets will do much to increase the popularity of National Park. Money is not being spared in publicity, especially in Australia, and it is hoped that tourists will come from the Commonwealth, next year in even larger numbers than in 1928. Last year a record number of Australian visitors was accommodated at the Mount Cook Hermitage, and with the co-operation of Sir Joseph Ward, always a keen supporter of tourist traffic development, it is hoped to make National Park equally popular."