MOTORING

Evening Star, Issue 17034, 3 May 1919, Page 10

MOTORING

[By Cakbubxtxcb.l Brief accounts of holiday trips, T f a< j 3 ’ and -places of interest are invited for this cohtidn. TO A CORRESPONDENT. " Rover.”—Thanks for report of trip. Yon are evidently seeing your fair share of New Zealand with tho aid ot your motor. A MOTOR-CYCLE TRIP- ” Rover ’ ’has forwarded the following account of a fine run ho had at Easter. He writes: —*“ On Good Friday i mado tnv first trip across the Canterbury Flams, and now briefly relate my experiences, left somewhat* early, intending to reach Oamarti at dawn, and have all the daylight hours possible on roads unknown to me. But I was not allowing for possible accidents, which did happen, a -nd> ox comae, put my. time oat a little. A baitbour after midnight on Thursday i was beside my turnout, with no passenger m the side car, but with luggage, spare vyres, tubes, belt, etc., and extra petrol, oil, ana carbide. A quarter of an hour later and 1 had left tho railway station behind me well on my way north- It was a c.oudy tat blight night, on account of the moan, and » warm west,wind blow off the aaowciad hills inland. The road on the top of Mount Cargill was as usual—tuff of potholes. Whenever is this road going to bo attended to so that it will stay good? A good run down into Waitati, and up the Kiliuog in ‘ e middle all _ the way, brought me to the Merton dairy by 2.00. Bat here my luck was ‘oat,’ the iztadfcino toolc a 3udUi@n list to port and, the aide-car frame struck every boulder, for such is the road composed of here. Under the light of my torch 1 discovered that the side-car frame had snapped, but some light rope remedied that. At o a.m. I was off again, and was glad when 1 passed IVsikouaiti at 3.20, for here the road begins to improve. When making up for lost tune on tho \\ airunga Flat I ■ was asking myself ‘ would the rope bold J out til 1 reached my destination!’ when ‘i the machine bethought itself to take another and more serious lean inwards. I felt down and noticed that the rope had not broken, so just made up my mind to struggle to Palmerston and leave the side rar. I managed it alter levelling-out further a few patches of newly-laid shingle, jto at 4 a.m. I set to to prepare for a solo trip. At 5.30 I was sitting resting and feeding the inner self beside a machine prepared- for action, and waiting for _ the roosters to cease crowing and the daylight to come. In disconnecting a four-point side-car chassis I had only three points to take off : the fourth had broken ; thus ray reason for leaving the side car. I loft it inside the gate of a friend’s property, with a note-attached, and at 6 a.m., justdaylight. I was away again, with spare tyre.Tube. etc., and belt on behind, and what luggage was necessary strapped between tie lamp and generator. ‘ s The road from Palmerston is perfect ns compared with our closer-at-hand North road. The road at Waianakarua is not right yet. tat will be. I hope, for next season. It did not bother me much, and I flew down Severn street into Oamarn, passing the clock at 7.40. Not stopping, T continued on till the closed gate on the Waitaki told me to stop. Between Pukeuri and the bridge the road is inclined to be rough and loose, but presents no difficulties to a sok) rider. There are three unhridged and one bridged water races in this short run, which made me realise that I was in the land of artificial irrigation.

“ I referred to my guide at Glenavv, but need nob have, for the road is easily followed. The road now and on is perfect, . especially as one approaches Timam. I had only two stops between here and Timam. I Th© first to chat to a motor-car owner, with wife and children, at Morven, where hia engine had given out. Ho was contemplating a walk to the Morven station and a train ride back to Timam, from which place ha had left for Dunedin. The second stop was to help a James 4 h.p. rider to adjust his carburettor float tin to enable him to continue his journey to Waikouaiti without further waste of petrol. “Close on 10 a.m. I drew in at Timaru after a glorious and smart run. I was pleased to note the numerous danger and guiding sign posts right throughout the journey; also the mile posts approaching Timaru giving the distance from Christchurch and Dunedin. Oh, the joys of motoring on a holiday and running short of petrel I The first garage out of stock: the next two closed; but at the fourth I was successful, and by 10.50 had passed the Hydro Grand, in front of which place a good view is got of Caroline Bay and near-by surroundings. “Passing through Temuka, Winchester, and Geraldine, I flew on to the Rangitata, bridge and up the incline in good style. On the majority of the bridges in Canterbury one is tempted to scorch, for the bridges are top-dressed with tar or some such composition that has a good smooth surface. Between the bridge and Hinds there is a mile or two of had road to negotiate: otherwise the surface is good and tempting but for the numerous creeks with side bridges. Hinds to Ashburton is the same, with its water races, ail sidebridged. I arrived in Ashburton exactly 12 horn's after leaving Dunedin, and was thankful lo have a good hot meal. After a long hunt for petrol which I eventually procured from a taxi-owner, I left at 2.15 amidst plenty of dust, for the wind was still strong from the west and the sun very hot. I entered the Eakaia bridge thoughtlessly on my wrong side and had not proceeded far when I had to stop and lift the machine over the rails to allow a crossing car to pass. Experience teaches—for this was my first trip where combined rail and road bridges are still in vogue. I will not say much of the last 50 miles to Christchurch, except that the roads with their water-races on every comer were not mads for belt-driven motors. I followed, on good advice, the railway hero all the way. At Rolleston Junction I was told to continue on the other side of the railway—the left—and I found the surface much better. Christchurch: arrive 4.30, depart 5.15, after replenishing my tanks. After nearly losing my way many times. I drew up beside the Kaiapoi Mills at 6.50 p.jin. just dusk, bat continued on good roads to Rangiora, where, after inquiring the wav, I recharged the generator for another right Journey. I travelled the remaining 20 miles in good time to Oxford, my destination, on excellent road surface most of the way. At two concrete bridges I vary nearly came to grief In tho moont light on account of freshly-laid deep river- ' bed metal. Most of the distance in this last Btretch the road and rail are within the same pair of fences, and if one veers over too much to one side one finds oneself running on tho rail sleepers. Shortly after 8 o’clock I was sitting down to supper feeling none the worse for my long trip, except for some cuts and bruises received at Ashburton, caused through a alight miscalculation and the. motor pinning me to the ground when attempting to start off. Tho total mileage, according to speedometer, was 315. i and tho actual travelling time worked ’ out roughly at 13 hours—averaging 26 nj.pJi. My top speed—and quite fast enough too’ it was—was 45 m.p.h., just beyond Timaru, when I was determined to catch up on and pass a big Dunedin car I had noted when seeking for petrol. When nearing Chertsey I had the misfortune to have one of my carrier straps snap and, though not losing my tyre or belt, I left a new tube, ‘"boot,” rope, etc. for somebody to pick up. Otherwise, no troubles other than the sidecar._ The weather was splendid during _my three days there, but on tho last night (Monday) it came down some, and I, not trusting the weather farther south, returned by train on Tuesday, leaving the motor till my nest visit.

Bristol Channel on one occasion, those on board discovered the presence of a Han U boat that was apparently bent upon getting . right up _ the channel, doubtless aiming at something big. The Maheno’s captain grasping the situation, wirelessed the information ashore.* Almost immediately a dirigible appeared and came right over the Maheno','flying so low that those on board could hear the airmen speaking. In a short time the dirigible returned to the shore and reported. Then out came an aeroplane, ■which flew a short distance ahead of the old U.S.S. liner and soon dropped a bomb. The next act in the drama was the appearance of a trawler, which was not slow in getting to work : in fact, only a few minutes had elapsed from the first appearance of the dirigible until the departure of the trawler with, its haul—a German submarine and company. Deeds like this serve to impress those of na who are at home the wonders of the British Navy and its auxiliaries—the Mercantile Marine and the Royal Air Force. Dazzling as are the feats of our armies from ali parts of the greatest empire the world has ever known, the watchfulness, resourcefulness, efficiency, and intrepidity of.the navy leave us spell-bound. Chieflv on these grounds, and in part because I am the son of an old man-o’-warsman, I can rarely refain from asking the boys who return, “ What do you think of the Navy?’’ And without exception their reply is one of remarkable enthusiasm and admiration. In addition to the above account of his motoring experiences (the third, to appear in this column by the same motorist! “ Rover ”, writesl am pleased to note in vour last notes that Southland i» at last about to have a club. My word! that North road, and the East road too, at Invercargill are real terrors to tyres, springs, and the motor generality. As von write, too. there is still room for Improvement on the Waipahi stretch, though when I came up from Invercargill in February, riding solo, I came from Ashburton to Waipahi in top—the first time.