COUNTRY TO CITY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 39, 15 February 1930, Page 26

COUNTRY TO CITY

THE HOLIDAY IN TOWN

AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON

By "Trip." (All Hights Reserved.) So many of those who journey afield with tent and car come from the cities that one forgets the large number of country people who now enjoy this form of holday. I .was reminded of these one day recently by a letter from a country reader asking for some information about cities, the places that had good motor camps, and those that had specially interesting places to see. This article is the result; later I will deal with South Island cities and towns.

Auckland and Wellington, being the two big cities of the North Island, it will bo appropriate to deal with them first. From its situation and sunny cli-

mate, Auckland is probably the great- 4 est outdoors city in New Zealand, and therefore ideal for a summer holiday. Many and varied are the excursions ■which can be had both on its roads and on the harbour, of which Aucklanders are so proud. It has the best Zoo in New Zealand and no one should visit Auckland without seeing this. It.is also particularly fortunate in its parks, of which there are quite a number throughout the city and its environs, many of them the gifts of private citizens. The museum and art gallery, too, aTe both very fine; the museum has a splendid collection of Maori curios. There are several motor camps. One is at Henderson, a few miles out of the city. Full information can be obtained from the Auckland Automobile Association. Here, and in a number of other towns, a preferential rate is given motor campers who belong to an automobile association, the reason being that in many instances it is the associations which have been responsible for motor camping provision. The Auckland Association is a particularly "live" one, and motorists are given ©very help in seeing all the town and district has to show. North, east, and west, beaches stretch" out invitingly, and in the hot summer months are crowded. The Takapuna and Milfbrd beaches are particularly good, these being reached through Devonport, after taking a ear across the harbour by ferry. The drive to Titirangi and another out through a kauri forest are two things no visitor should fail to do. • WELLINGTON. Wellington usually appears to the visitor the busiest of the principal cities. The centre of the Government, with many fine ' building's, it is unique in having a fifty-mile marine motor drive —nearly all of which is bituminised. Prom the motor camper's viewpoint, it is not well equipped, but by staying some distance out of town, in the Upper Hutt district, the motorist can make use of private camping grounds, served by streams. The eityy camping ground is at Karori, six miles from the'centre of the town. Wellington land is valuable ,and Wellington's hills are steep, and country people never tire of seeing the ingeniuos ways in which building difficulties are overcome. The grading of roads and the manner in which access has been engineered to all parts, is very striking and a tribute to Wellington's civic management; many of these' roads have, of necessity, been somewhat costly. There are a number of very finebays and beaches, all;within easy striking distance of the town, and the drive from Day's Bay, through Petone, and round through Oriental Bay, and thence round tho harbour mouth to Lyall Bay and Island Bay, is one that should be taken by every visitor. Beside giving a very good idea of the outer suburban areas- it provides delightful coast sconeTy, Bkirting as it does both the harbour and open sea, with the South.lsland Btanding boldly up whenever the atmosphere in clear. This run of an evening is often a revelation of beauty and grandeur. The finest trip in tho district is probably that between Akatarawa and Waikanae beach, through delightful bush-clad gorges. It is a round trip of just under ninety miles. The road is subject to slips, and' a notice board at each end indicates whether it is closed to traffic or not. Two other roads run westwards in a similar way, to Pahautanui, one from Haywards and the other from Wallaceville. The latter (Moonshine road) is the better from a scenic viewpoint. By going up to Normandale, a blind road in tho Western Hutt hills, a very fine view of the city and its outskirts is obtained, while an even better one is got from Brandon's Peak, above Ngahauranga. The car can be driven to within a few feet of tho summit. For fishing enthusiasts the Mungaroa and Wainui-o-mata Valleys reached by different roads, offer most. There are wellstocked streams in both places, none of them so heavily fished as the Hutt Eivor. Plenty of good camping sites abound in those two valleys, but as most of them are on private property the permission of owners is necessary. Of special interest to booklovers is tho Turnbull Library, which houses some of the rarest books in tho Dominion. The Parliamentary Buildings are always of interest to country people.

and when the House is in session a visit there is usually included in tho list of "sights" to be seen. Motorists who desire further information about roads or motor camping, should write to "Trip," P.O. Box 1178, Wellington, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope for reply.