SUMMER TOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 259, 1 November 1937, Page 5

SUMMER TOURS.

HOLIDAY MOTORING. SOUTHERN ATTRACTIONS. HEAVY BOOKINGS REPORTED. Large numliors of Auckland motorist* will he making the complete circuit of the South Island during the coming •ummer, according to officers of the Automobile Association, who estimate that probably a thousand motor touring parties from the North Island will cross Cook Strait, between December and April in quest of the scenic beauties of the (South. Each year the lure of the highway is attracting motorists further afield, and. for those who have a holiday of a month or more, a trip to the Southern lakes. Milford Sound, Mount Cook, the West Coast glaciers ami the Bullcr ("Jorge, offers greater variety than any other in the Dominion. Not only the wonderful range of scenery, but also the contrasts of climate, combining the bracing atmosphere of the Alps and the pleasant, shady freshness of mountain passes, make this a feast of sight-seeing which has few equals in the world. In the quietness of the lake region, where majestic, snow-capped mountains are mirrored in still waters, there is a peace which is found nowhere else on the thousands of miles of New Zealand s lighways. Survey of Southern Highways. Last summer the Automobile Association at Auckland issued in three months nearly twice as many itineraries for the Soutli Island tour as during the previous year, and n further expansion this season is assured. Already the indications are that new records will be created by Dominion motorists on all important' routes. One of the «<""*«- tion's staff said to-day that the 1!M» season should easily eclipse the last holiday season, when itineraries covering 5.000.000 miles of travelling in the Norm leland alone were issued to membcra.

| "Travelling is easier and more comfortable every year," lie .said, "and many people are now giviii'_r more time, to their holiday plan*.." j He mentioned that three A.A. officers iliad made a .">OOO-mile survey of South jlsUind roads in August and September, 'and had reported that (lie surfaces were l [well maintained, and although there was not as much tar-sealing as in the North, Island tile conditions for motoring were .pleasant. The traffic was lightei than jin the North, and the wear «nd tear i(in the roads was also lighter. I New Pass Over Alps. , For the complete South Island toiir.h he explained, from three to nix weeks were necessary, according to the route '[chosen, the time spent, at various places fand the speed of travel. The distancej i was from l."> 00 to 2.VM) miles, and for! I Auckland motorists a further 1000 miles in the North Island whs usually in- ! eluded. The majority of motorists were recommended to take a little over a i mouth, although it was possible to get' a very good impression of the scenery! in a shorter time. The association wasi suggesting to members that they should ■ take the new Lewis Pass crossing be--5 t ween Canterbury and West la nil. Officially opened to-day. the Lewis i r I'ass off* red e»isier grades than Arthur's -Pass, said the officer. It was situated, - in the vicinity of Hanmer, and an out- ( I standing attraction of the road was the • birch forest, extending for 40 miles •through rugged, mountainous country, i Wide and well surfaced, the highway!, 'jhad a maximum altitude of 2H4oft, nndl ? near it on the western side of the foot ! - hills of the .Spencer Range were the * Maruia Hot Springs. \ To make the South Island tour by the longest route and include the comforts and enjoyments of the leisurely traveller would, he stated, be expensive,! but it should be possible for a party of "Ifour to keep their expenses within £.">o| ''leach without much curtailment of their: " I pleasures. [ For South Island motorists, he re-l (marked, the North Island would be the] ipopular holiday ground, and it was ex-| Jpected that several hundred would be! . jvisiting this part of the Dominion. The' g bookings for the Cook Strait ferries| i were exceptionally heavy, and the available accommodation on most of the jjlships around Christmas was almost Ifull.