SOUTH ISLAND SCENERY

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27339, 3 May 1954, Page 8

SOUTH ISLAND SCENERY

Praise By Australian Party 1 POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF 1 TOURIST TRADE With its fiords, glaciers, lakes, and ' hot springs, the South Island had "all * the highlights of the world’s scenery i tucked into one island," said Mr R. B. Odgers, managing editor of the Australian United Press, in Christchurch last evening. , With Mr J. W. Ryan, agricultural editor of the Adelaide “Advertiser,” ! and Mr Peter Daventry, a talks officer : of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Mr Odgers has made a 14day tour of the southern part of the ; South Island. The visit was arranged ' by the Tourist and Publicity Depart- . ment, with the assistance of a number of New Zealand travel interests, to assist in tourist publicity in Australia. The party has visited Dimedin, Inver- ' cargill, Te Anau, Milford Sound. Queenstown, Lake Ohau, and Christchurch. • i “There is no reasoh why, with proper publicity, more and more Austra- : lians should uot be attracted to New • Zealand," said Mr Odgers. “That will ; no doubt be helped by tourist-class air iares, which cut travelling expenses by something like 25 per cent." Mr Odgers, who was in New Zea: i land on a similar tour almost a year ago, said the highlight of the trip had been a flight from Queenstown over < the Southern Alps and Milford Sound, i Tt was really unforgettable—the finest flight I have ever had—and I have some qualifications to speak, as I have flown more than 40,000 miles in the 1 last two years.” he said. Hetei Aeeommodktion “1 think the general standard of accommodation in your hotels is good,” said Mr Ryan. “The food is good, and there is plenty of it, but I don’t think : you get the variety of foods we have in Australia. I fully realise the difficulties there are with price and tariff controls, but in many places you don't get the little services you can have in Australia at any tjme. Some hotelkeepers seem to say, ‘We know what is best,’ and this is possibly not what people want. Generally speaking, however, we all put on weight and greatly enjoyed the experience. “Both agriculturally and scenically, the South Island has unlimited opportunities for attracting more Australian people—particularly farmers who can usually best afford to come,” said Mr Ryan. “I think there wlil be more coming, as the Government and everybody here seem to be making brave efforts to open up the south." Asked about New Zealand publicity in Australia, Mr Ryan said he believed Australians knew more about New Zealand scenic attractions than New Zealanders did about Australia. That was probably the result of publicity. “Wealth of Interests” “In the 1250 miles we have covered > on this tour, I have seen such a wealth of scenic and other Interests that my difficulty in preparing programmes for broadcasting will be to 1 select from the material I have recorded as much as can be fitted in in . the restricted time of a brief series.” 1 Mr Daventry said. Mr Daventry expects to make three ; programmes, and he hopes that they will each be of 30 minutes’ duration. 1 One of his tape recordings, a descrlp- : tion of the plains near Invercargill, , was made during a flight in an amphibian aircraft. Another recording ’ was made at the Te Anau glowworm ■ caves. The licensing trust system in Inver- ' cargill was the subject of a further . recording made by Mr Daventry. . The Australians will leave today for Wellington. They will return to ’ Australia later in the week.