Misguiding the visitor

Press, 13 June 1978, Page 21

Misguiding the visitor

Reviewed by LES BLOXHAM, travel editor of “The Press”

I Guide, Lines |

Nicole Roucheux’s “Practical Guide to the South Pacific” is not a practical guide to New Zealand. She has sought interesting and useful information for tourists: much of what she reports is wrong. At least 200 mistakes in 85 pages are no recommendation for a guide book at any price. This one is $9.95 and should be avoided: better still, it should be withdrawn from sale.

There are scores of factual errors, and place names have been mis-spelt and mangled to such a degree that they are, in many cases, quite unrecognisable. For instance, she recommends a visit to the “Waima” and “Kuriri” gorges; the journey over “Levin’s” Pass between Reefton and Christchurch; a trip from “Lyttleton” across the harbour to “Diamond Stains,” and a stop at the Takahe “Tavern.”

She must also upset Mr Rowling by claiming his party “led a social politic based on overseas loans,” and embarrass Mr Muldoon by claiming “he tackled a realistic politic against inflation (15 p.c. in 1976, 15 p.c. in 1977) and removed subsidies that make some products increase. Of course no-one is very popular who makes the belt tight,

but unperturbed Mr Muldoon keeps on his views.”

She twisted the black and white stripes of every Old Collegian. Fancy describing “Christ” College as the Normal School.

We are still trying to locate “Castell” Street, The River Avon on every corner, three churches of different “dominations” in “Lyttleton.” dredge tailings in “Kumere,” and a passenger train that runs from “Lyttleton” to Christchurch. We would also like to know why she has described Colombo Street as the “wildest” in New Zealand.

The map of the inner city incorrectly places “N.A.C.” (which she pertinently notes is now “Air New Zealand Internal Airlines”) at the corner of Tuam and Durham Streets and pinpoints only one restaurant — Fails Cafe. Nicole Roucheux wrote earlier in the book that “belonging, myself, to the mother country of cuisine” the restaurants she named were the ones she personally recommended. Is the omission of many fine restaurants in Christchurch a justifiable reason for the suggestion that visitors should “catch their own oysters”? In one small respect the book is really ahead of its time—she quotes the Christchurch-Auckland air fare at $65. It could well be so soon, but yesterday it was still selling at $5B.