FACILITIES FOR TOURISTS

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21034, 9 December 1933, Page 11

FACILITIES FOR TOURISTS

j THE WEST COAST RESORTS I (HRISTCIIUIU 11 151 SIXES* j MAN'S VIEW I "If the road down the West Coast I was continued over to Otago and I Southland, avoiding the necessity for tourist traffic to return over its tracks, New Zealand would benefit by an enormous additional sum annually from overseas visitors," stated Mr A. C. Bretherton, to a representative of "The Press" yesterday, on his return from a visit to Coast scenic resorts. With Messrs H. H. Sterling (chairman of the New Zealand Railways Board;, A. O. Wilkinson (secretary of the West Coast Sawmillers' Association), and Charles Buchanan (engineer, of Christchurch), Mr Bretherton, who is Christchurch manager of the Perpetual Trustees Estate and Agency Company, Ltd., made a trip over many interesting areas of remarkable scenic beauty, and has returned convinced that there are vast possibilities for a very much wider development in the interests of tourists, and. of course, the district and i'.s residents. Describing the trip he said that, thanks to the Railway Department, it had been possible to make the journey from Christchurch to the Franz Josef Glacier in 11 hours, and a man coming from Wellington could do the distance in 24 hours. The party left Christchurch at 10 a.m. on Saturday last, and after sending a car by train through the Otira tunnel. reached their hotel at 9 p.m. Such a rapid journey opened up possibilities for a combined rail and motor service which would place the finest scenery in the world at the disposal of a Christchurch business man within at least 12 hours of leaving hi.s home. He was much surprised at the excellence of the loads aiid the remarkable glimpses of Mount Cook and Mount 'l'asman through gaps in the ferns. The beauty of the glacier itself, coming down alma-: to sea level was beyond description. Active Industry. The West Coast seemed to be fairly active in the gold mining claims, he said, and the few which the party visited were offering very fair prospects. Many of the sawmills were thriving and it was slated that they had just enjoyed the best three months of business experienced during the last four years. Detailing the pleasure side of the trip more full.v, Mr Bretherton said that, with Mr Peter Graham as guide, they made a long excursion over the ice. At the guide's call, keas volplaned down from the cliffs and settled alongside him. The glacier had come further down its bed than usual, pushing aside thousands of tons of rock and it threatened to overwhelm an island in the riverbed, 100 ft high. Never having been on ice. Mr Bretherton was amazed at the security offered by the ice boots. Nature Undisturbed. Rata trees bordered Lake Mapourika lor miles, and one of the party had remarked that obviously tourists did not interfere with the flora or native birds. Guide Graham was anxious to secure two swans for the lake, but the local acclimatisation society 'would not give them to him unless he provided two keas in exchange. Both parties seemed to be adamant. The whole of the trip, which was made under ideal weather conditions, demonstrated the tourist attractions possessed by the South Island, and, with first-class accommodation and, exceedingly reasonable rates; there was no reason why the district should not, in time, be a uiecca for tourists from all parts of the world.