Friendly Atmosphere Impresses Tourists

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28179, 18 January 1957, Page 2

Friendly Atmosphere Impresses Tourists

The friendly country atmos- i phere throughout . New Zealand ( and even in the cities had greatly j impressed her. said Mrs Lyrlan | Stewart, of Sydney, who is at i present on a extensive tour with ' her husband and school-age daughter. Her view was confirmed 1 by two Australian girls, Misses ■ Pat Simons and Gladys Lloyd Jones, also of Sydney, who are on ■ a hitch-hiking trip. , Persons in places such as bydney, where the population was equal to that of the whole of New Zealand, just did not have time to be friendly, said Mrs Stewart. ; Women in Sydney and Melbourne ■ dressed very formally and to go to town in a sun frock was unheard of. Yet she had wandered . around Christchurch in one and had not felt out of place. New Zealand children were beautifully dressed and looked well cared for, < she said. Mr and Mrs Stewart brought their own motor-car to Auckland and toured all the main scenic spots in the North Island. It was then flown from Paraparaumu to Blenheim. Roads Praised Mrs Stewart praised New Zealand roads and said that although the main highways in Australia were maintained in a reasonably good condition some of the secondary roads were in a shocking state.

She said she was most impressed with the road courtesy in this country—something which was lacking in Australia. Frequently in New Zealand a motorist travelling ahead of them would pull over to the side of the road and would wave them on with a cheery smile. On week-ends on all the main roads within 50 miles of Sydney the traffic would crawl along bumper to bumper and in those conditions it was every motorist for himself. Mrs Stewart and Misses Simons and Jones all agreed that the week-ends in New Zealand were dead. They missed Saturday morning shop opening and Sunday newspapers.

Even though Mrs Stewart likes New Zealand very much she would still prefer to keep house in Australia. She had been told that prices, generally, were cheaper in New Zealand, but she had found that foodstuffs were about on a par, clothing was a fraction dearer, but dairy produce was cheaper. Mrs Stewart, who has travelled extensively in the United States an'd Britain, said she was not impressed with television and she had made up her mind not to have a television set in her home at Darling Point while she had a daughter going to school. “Don't ever let me hear of any New Zealanders complaining about snakes or sharks in Australia because they are nothing compared to the sandflies here—-

particularly the giant variety you breed in the Te Anau and Milford areas,” Mrs Stewart said. Agreeing, her husband said that he had attempted to clean the car in a creek while clad in a pair of shorts after he had been assured by a friend that he would not be troubled by sandflies. At first there were only two or three around, but as soon as they drew blood sandflies came from miles around and attacked him and he was forced to jump into the car, wind up all the windows and drive away as fast as possible. Misses Simons and Jones, who first met Mrs Stewart in the Te Anau district, have been in New Zealand for about four weeks .and have travelled many hundreds of miles. During that time they have had only three bus trips. “New Zealanders have been very hospitable and have gone out of their way to help us with transport and accommodation whenever possible,” said Miss Simons.