WITH TENT AND CAR

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 120, 16 November 1929, Page 28

WITH TENT AND CAR

LAKES AND MILFORD

'HOLIDAY OF MAGNITUDE

(By "Trip.") (All Eights Eeserved.)

For various j reasons, a holiday with tent and' Jar/cannot be carried-out as eheapf y^jh.e-Takes district as-in most other ,|>arts"-jsf= either island. One& at the lafos jbeniiielves the' ear is of limited usefulness, .as there are few good motor roatis round tho lakes, and most of th'ejjgauty spots can bo reached only .by launch- Comparatively speaking, therefore, tho Jakes holiday will be an expensive one, especially if a visit J>e paid to Milford Sound. By merely fringing the many lakes one can have a Cheap hflliday^and camp at various places, But this is at best but a poor substitute, for the real thing. Once up amid the beauties of mountain and Jake in' "Western Otago few would be content to rush straight through, touching only at points reached by road. It is inadvisable to holiday-make in the Queenstown district unless you iave-a few weeks to spare. The places to be visited are' innumerable, and frrace there you : will hate tearing youreelf away. Apasraltogether from the iMilford trackrjbiirriey there are dozens pf.walks tofte-made from each of the Jakes, ana J£ilfprd-is better than these jonly because It;is grander, vaster, and frnore awe-inspiring. It comes as a fitting consummation after a holiday spent sn the heart of-'a forest and lake wonderland. Three, weeks,will prove all tooshort in this {'region,; and a fortnight is an absolute .minimum, especially if $he track to Milford is included in the Itinerary. It is possible to camp at various •* bases" sueli,as Queentsown, Pembroke, and Manapouri, and from these points to make one-day tramps to points jbf Interest, but'if the overland trek S's made to Milford the ear must be ?eft behind at Te Anau, boat taken feeross to the head of the lake, and the gourney across to Milford made by easy stages _ between huts. Camping is allowed in this region, but as you have to pay _ the track charges of 18s a day .(which include accommodation in the tuts) there is no incentive to take your own tents. Glade House, burnt 'down last season, has not yet been rebuilt, but that^need worry no one, as Satisfactory arrangements are made. A NEW ALTERNATIVE. \ Many of the older generation of Sfew Zealanders years ago visited MilKord Sound in the Waikare or Eotojnah'ana, but these Christmas excursions .■were discontinued after, the Waikare yras wrecked. Now the opportunity of Visiting the Sounds by steamer is again "Offered, and those who have made the \valk across to Milford have as an alternative to coming back the opportunity of going by boat'to' Invercargill by the Hinemoa. This, of course, presents sather a problem, to;the mptor-camper jiyho has jouneyed to ■ Te, Anau' in his Swn car. One solution would ,be- for one or two of the. party ;to return oversand, otherwise a'special trip for the ear will be necessary. Only the fringe !»£ the Sounds is tojiched'by" the-over-Hand visitor; the sea .trip reveals the Jrhole of their beanty. " ' ' An, ideal way of 'doing the journey, felways provided that plenty of cash is available, would be " for two, of the party to go by boat from InvercaTgill to Milford, and thence.travel overland, the remainder of the party'jnaking' the trip the reverse way. '-< ' • PROM MT. COOK. The article last week dealt with Mt. jCook, a useful starting point for the gourney to Que^nstown and Milford. I [would like to discourage the motorist ■who intends spending a day or two at Mfaj.jCook, a day or two in Queenstown, aTidviusMng around the lakes in like fashion. It can bo done, of course, but there will be no satisfaction in it. jßetter-\far .to make Mt. Cook the holiiilay one-'^ar-and visit the lakes the aext. '-_,-j].-'v :■■'•'■ Anypne^Tvitfr a. good guide book can follow t'trie; road1 from Mt. Cook to jQueenstpwnj .so details hero are unnecessary. A choice of route is open; the journey to t^ucenstown can be made pither via Cromwell and the Kawarau Gorge, or through Pembroke. The latter will appdalfrnost to the tourist who Wants to; see something of Lake TVajiaka. ''" ■ ■ ■ , The run to''Pembroke over the Lindis Pass is . a' godd "day's * jcrarney • iiomMt. Cook, .for although it is only 140 jniles, it i^ ih'a'd'e'dve'r" Steep and-aiffi" cult roads,,with much heavy climbing. Besides tfiatj 'y*oii' will Va'nt to stop at .various stages along the road to admire the panoramas outspread before you. 3?here is a good camping ground at J?embr.oke ; j'and others at most of the fetall.tartvnshijis between Pembroke and

Queenstown," so camping will present no difficulties whatever. One or two motor trips. can be made at Wanaka, to Glenahu Bay- for instance, and a visit j should certainly be paia to Lake Hatvea. Various launch trips are made at regular intervals, and you can spend a glorious week here if you can spare the time. From Pembroke to Queenstown, over the Crown Range, is an easy day (50 miles), but the Toad is very steep in places, and careful driving is required. There is a splendidly equipped camping ground at Queenstown, only five minutes away from the Post Office in a delightful situation overlooking the lako. i It is impossible in an article such as this to give but a few brief details of the many things that can be done, with Queenstown-as headquarters. The "lake steamers make various trips to the head of the lake, to Elfin Bay, and other places, with all of which you will be brought into touch when actually on the spot. A number of very interesting excursions can be made, by car to Frankton Rapids, Lake Hayes, Arrowtown, etc., depending on the time available.. TE ANATJ AND MTLFOBD. For the journey on to Milford, it will be necessary to put the car on the boat at Queenstown and transport it to Kingstown. The cost is £1 Is. From Kingstown the road runs down to Lurasden and then up to Lake To Anau. Tho Milford Sound track starts from the far end of Lake. To' Anau, and the ear must be left at the near end of the lake, at which point there are no garages. It has, therefore, to be left in the open, so that some form of cover is; advisable. It may, of course, be left at Lumsden"and the'lake reached, by service car. To do this would cost about £2. 10s a head (return). The actual walk over the track and back usually occupies sis days, so that about eight days would have to be allowed, in order to see something of Milford Sound. From; the time of • leaving the car at Te: Anau until getting back again will (on an. eight day trip) cost in the vicinity of £12. It is possible Ito camp along the track, but Jhe

charge made for.use of the track (ISs a day) covers hut accommodation and there is no rebate It is outside the province of these articles to describe the manifold beauties of the Milford track, the "most beautiful walk in the world." I leave it to readers to experience its wonders for themselves. Queries relating to motor camping should be addressed to "Trip," P.O. Box 1178, Wellington, with a stamped addressed envelope enclosed- for reply-