TOURISTS' COMPLAINTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1142, 1 June 1911, Page 6

TOURISTS' COMPLAINTS.

Sir,—l noticed in your issue of to-day some timely remarks of Mr. Ncsbet with reference to the practice of tourist agents in recommending certain trips at this time of the year—particularly tho Wanganui Diver trip—and having personally suffered, the great inconvenience and discomfort ot that trip I desire to emphasise Mr. Nesbet's remarks. In the course of a trip from England I, with my son and daughter, came from Sydney to Auckland in order to see tho K'otorua district. We had railway tickets from Ilotorua to Wellington, and learning that this journey involved leaving Taumarunui at 4.33 in the morning I inquired if this inconvenience could bo obviated, and was recommended to take the river trip. Had I been told what this change involved I should never have agreed to make it. Wo had to leave, Taumarunui at 6.45 a.m. on a bitterly cold morning, and travel lo Pipiriki—a journey of .12 hours—in a small 'open launch; the last hour and a half being in the dark. which made the navigation obviously dangerous. Then we had to resume the journey at the early hour of 5.30 the next morning, which meant that we had (o be called at 4.30. Sir, I shall never forget the misery of the first day's journey. It was positive torture, and of the II passengers who made the trip I gathered from what they said that not one of them would have made it if they had had any idea of the miserable conditions which it involved. Nov.-, sir, tourists travel for pleasure, and tourist agencies, .knowing this, and knowing also tho inconveniences and discomforts under which the trip must bo undertaken, it is, I consider, an obligation on their part to pointy these out to the tourist and almost criminal to conceal them. I may add that in my case the change from making the entire journey by rail to making it partly by rail and partly by river involved an extra payment of nearlv 4$ for the three of us, and this I was led lo pay in order to eujoy tho "pleasure" of a trip down (he river. If the matter-was not so serious it would really amount to a good joke. You have a great number of prohibitory laws in New Zealand, some of which I venture to think arc of questionable utility, hut Ido " lillk .™» require one more," viz., a law which should make it a penal olTence to induce tourists to lake the W.inganni liivrr trip at this season of the year.—l am, etc., E. LAVERACK. May 25, 1911-