HOLIDAYS UNDER CANVAS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21977, 29 December 1936, Page 7

HOLIDAYS UNDER CANVAS

Many Motor Campers This Year TRAFFIC SETTING OUT FOR THE NORTH It is too early yet to say whether motor camping will retain during the present holidays the widespread popularity apparent in the Christmas and New Year season a year ago. So far the weather has not been kind, and no other form of hoJiday is so dependent on sunny days and warm winds; but in spite of the absence of a spell of settled weather many parties have established themselves in the camping spots with which the South Island is well provided. There are many who prefer to stay at home until after Christmas Day before setting out with camping gear, and usually the main roads to the north of Christchurch carry a heavier volume of motor traffic bound for holiday places on Boxing Day and the next few days. Boxing Day this year saw many campers setting out in promising weather from the city, and even yesterday, when the conditions could scarcely have been more unfriendly, there was a surprisingly large number of motor-cars on the Main North road packed with tents and provisions or drawing caravans. Wide Use of Facilities Much of the popularity of this form of holiday has been aroused and stimulated by the work of the automobile associations throughout the Dominion, and the facilities they have made available are widely used. A report obtained yesterday from the secretary of the Canterbury Association (Mr J. S. Hawkes) indicated that much the same use is being made at this period of the year of its camps at Addington and Hanmer Springs as was made last year. The patronage from year to year of the camp at the Addington Show Grounds can usually be taken as a fair indication cf the use that will be made of other camping sites, and Mr Hawkes remarked that the number of campers at Addington at present has been about the same as that of last year, which was most successful. A spot that has grown in favour as rapidly as any other in the South Island is Goose Bay, but unfortunately there is not the same accommodation available there this year for campers, because most of the Hundalee scenic reserve, of which Goose Bay is a part, has been transferred temporarily to the Public Works Department to allow preparations to be made for the construction of the South Island main trunk railway. However, travellers to Christchurch from Kaikoura yesterday reported that there were many camps along the seashore m this locality. There have also been many visitors staying in the motor camp at Kaikoura, and the beauties of the Marlborough Sounds and the West Coast have attracted a consistent flow of traffic from the cities. Effect of Epidemic A big decrease has been noticed in traffic travelling south from Christchurch, and most of the motorists on the Main South road have been heading away from Otago—this is a result of the fear of spending a holiday in that province with the infantile paralysis epidemic still in existence. Places as far from Dunedin as Geraldine, for example, have lost much of the usual holiday traffic, and few parties have used the camping ground in that town. A marked and immediate improvement in the weather is the earnest hope of all those who spend their holidays under canvas. Such an improvement should augment very considerably the number of campers, for there are yet many who are waiting for good weather before setting out, and their departure will mean that camping places from Waikuku beach up to Kaikoura and along the Ashley and Selwyn rivers will again be changed into veritable canvas towns.