EASTER TOURING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 75, 30 March 1939, Page 12

EASTER TOURING.

MOTORISTS' PLANS. AUCKLAND SCENIC ROUTES. IMPROVEMENTS ON HIGHWAYS Lure of the forest, river, lake and seaside will again attract many Auckland motorists during the coming Easter holiday season, and the routes to the north and south will be almost equally popular. Although the majority of motorists will show a preference for short trips of up to 150 miles, there will be a good sprinkling of visitors to more remote places like the Urewera Forest, the Waipoua Forest, the Bay of Islands and the Ninety-Mile Beach. "Lake Waikaremoana will be the goal of numerous Auckland motorists during Easter," said an officer of the Automobile Association to-day, "and the route followed will be through Rotorua, with a choice of several alternative roads for the return journey. Some tourists w;ill make a circuit of the East Coast and the Bay of Plenty and others will journey inland to Taupo." Unbridged streams were unlikely to cause any trouble, he added, unless heuvy rain was experienced. Under normal conditions they could be forded easily, and the road generally was in as good order at the present time as it had ever been. One of the favourite round trips, stated the officer, would be a four-day tour of North Auckland, including \\ hangarci, the cradle of New Zealand history around Russell, Opononi and the kauri forests. Only the most northerly parts of the peninsula were outside the range of this tour, and those parts had little attraction for the ordinary motorist, owing to the primitive roading conditions. Dustless Road to Rotorua. The outstanding highway construction work in the Auckland Province carried out since last Easter is that on the road to Rotorua, where the dust nuisance and pot holes between Cambridge and Tirau have been eliminated by regrading and sealing the surface. Generally speaking, the roads in South Auckland have been raised to such a standard that they should give little trouble to holiday tourists, but in places where the works in hand are not yet completed a heavy volume of traffic may affect the surfaces in wet weather. Extensive reconstruction is in progress on the Kaijnai Hills, between the Waikato and Tauranga, with a view to reducing the journey for motorists who at present travel through Paeroa arid Waihi, but this scheme, which is being carried out by the Main Highways Board, is unlikely to be finished for at least another year. On the' completed section the former narrow winding road, with a rough surface, has been converted into a modern, easy-grade highway, a portion of which is now sealed. Where extensive earth work is being carried out on other sections travel may be difficult if rain is experienced.

New Deviation in North. In North Auckland the most important recent improvement is the opening of the Brynderwyn deviation, beyond Kaiwaka, which shortens the distance from Auckland to Whangarei by seven miles and supersedes a narrow winding road between Kaiwaka and Maungaturoto. Instead of going through the Waipu Gorge motorists now have a smooth road which allows for fast travel. Beyond Wliangarei the conditions have been made safer as a result of the construction of overhead bridges and the easing of corners by the Main Highways Board. Those who have not visited the northern part of the province for several years will be impressed by the transformation in touring conditions. During the holidays the Automobile Association's patrols will be posted in various parts of the province and their activities will be co-ordinated through the association's office in Auckland, which will be open daily, except on Good Friday, throughout Easter.