THE JOURNEY TO FRANZ JOSEF.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 16 (Supplement)

THE JOURNEY TO FRANZ JOSEF.

WENDY TELLS OF TIMBER MILLS AND BEE FARMS. Dear Boys and Curls, — Peter Pan is looking for a coal mine—l have it from the very best authority! He n>as, I understand, ever so put out last week when I asserted that at least one thing which he Would not be doing on his holidays Was exploring a coal mine. He sent me a cold little note: "Won't I just? Wait and see!" Of course there is no knowing what Peter Pan might not do. I should not be the slightest bit surprised if he came home with a gleaming nugget mined from the depths of a North Island gold mine. When we Wire slaying at Greymouth Aunt Hilda and I decided one day to go south to Franz Josef. To reach the glacier one travels by train to Ross, which is the southern terminus of the railway on the IVn't Coast, and thence by car to the end of the journey. * We jolted down merrily to Ross in the funniest, slowest train I have ever seen; Not that we minded it gave us a good opportunity to see more of the passing landscapes. And beautiful they Were, too vast areas of wooded hills where in the good old days of thz West Coast gold rush tons—literally tons of gold had been discovered. We stayed a couple of days at Ross—it is a tiny village surrounded by bush-covered hills and while we were there we had a very jolly children's party. How those Ross boys and girls cheered I told them I would tell my Auckland readers all about them. Before we left Ross we were shown over a big timber mill there. If / remember rightly I think I rvas told it was the biggest null on the coast. Whether or no it was a wonderful experience seeing the great giant tree trunks going through the mill and coming out smooth, shining planks of timber. Another time, Well protected with veils and gloves, we explored a bee farm. I must confess I fell very nervous walking past swarms of (1 hanging on trees and hearing the low hum of thousands of the tiny creatures. I had two little South Island c children as guides and we all sucked honey happily from pieces of broken comb and thought what a nice life the life of a bee farmer must be. s g Next day we left sleepy Ross and continued our journey south. I wonder if -1 Peter Pan will explore a bee farm on his travels, or be shown over a timber mill. Now i.\/t I wonder! Love from