WITH TENT AND MOTOR

Evening Star, Issue 21316, 21 January 1933, Page 19

WITH TENT AND MOTOR

A GOOD HOLIDAY IN OTAGO MOUNTAINS, LAKES, BEACHES IDEAL CLIMATE IN AUTUMN [By Trip.] [Ant, Rights Reserved.] As r service to readers, “ Trip ” will answer queries on any matters relating to motor camping ana will assist in the planning of itineraries by criticising any proposed routes. All queries slimed be addressed to “ Trip,” care of P.O. Box 1,178, Wellington, and a stamped addressed envelope enclosed for reply. February, March, and April are the ideal months for a holiday in Otago, as the weather then is generally move settled than during the early summer, and the popular North Island notion that the climate in the south is far colder will probably receive a rude shock. Easter falls later this year, but oven in mid-April the chances are that the weather will be good. Plenty of bedding would be needed though, particularly if you were going into the higher back country. Two of the features of motor camping this year have been, firstly, the number of motorists spending holidays close to their own home towns, and, secondly, the number who have used the car as a means of access to back country, and have then combined tramping with the motor camping holiday. This, of course, requires special preparation, for you cannot transport heavy motor tents on foot, but lor this type'of holiday Otago is ideal, particularly if yon use the lake district as a stepping-off place. AROUND DUNEDIN ITSELF. Before touching upon some of the more unusual holidays which can be had in the Otago district it will perhaps bo of interest to deal very briefly with places close handy to the city of Dunedin, which offer suitable motor camping facilities. The Peninsula offers a variety of beaches, either in the more settled areas like Portobello, or over at Wickcliffe Bay or Cape Saunders. Down near the Heads there are several very good beaches, and, although there are no camping grounds in the ordinary sense of the word, there are plenty of places suitable for camping. Of the beach resorts, Warrington and Waikouniti both offer wonderful beaches, hut suffer from lack of shelter, while further north, beyond Shag Point, there is an excellent beach, with shelter some little distance from it. Taieri Mouth, which is twenty-four miles from Dunedin to the south, is another fine beach resort, the road passing through Brighton, another excellent beach, but a little too popular. Camping at Taieri Mouth is particularly interesting, as the road beyond over the Akatore River towards Milton goes through beautiful bush, and itself offers many camping spots. The Glen, at Outram, some sixteen miles from Dunedin, is another favourite place for camping, while Evanadale, to. the north of Dunedin, also offers a hush and river holiday. TRAMPING FROM THE LAKES, Without a doubt, though, the holiday par excellence which Otago has to offer

the visitor is one at the lakes, and, while the attractions of Wakatipu, Wanaka, and Hawea are fairly well known, it is safe to say that the great majority of motorists who visit tht district see very little of the rugged mountain scenery, and do very little tramping. Once you are at the lakes the car is not a great deal of use to you, but the majority content themselves with making a few of the steamer trips. Actually a better way is to make tramps from various spot in the vicinity of the lake, and these can be made either in the form of one-day trips from the camping ground, or (when you have hardened up) two or three-day trips in the mountains round the lake. If you want to have a holiday somewhat out of the ordinary and do not wish to use the car other than to get to the lake, your best plan will be to make short walks from Queenstown for a start, and then go further afield day by day. For an expenditure on benzine and oil of little more than 30s the average car can be run from Dunedin to the lakes and back, and if you absolutely make up your mind not to use the car at the lakes you will have just as interesting a holiday as if you spent pounds on benzine and boat fares. SHOOTING AND FISHING. Within quite a short distance of Queenstown there are good fishing and shooting to be had, but it must be confessed that tramping by the side of the lake very soon becomes monotonous. For a start the motor camper should make walks to handy places such as Arthur’s Point, or the Frankton arm, and then go on to White’s Point, which is one of the prettiest walks by the lake. The Queenstown hill offers a walk a little more strenuous in preparation for some mountaineering, for which Ben Lomond is ideal. The panorama from the top of Ben Lomond is simply magnificent, and it is not really a very strenuous climb to get there, thanks to the good track. A popular way of doing the trip is to leave long before daylight, and so watch the sun rise over the top of the Remarkables, but personally I think the best way is to leave camp at daybreak, make the ascent in easy stages, and have the day in which to enjoy yourself. Some distance over the hills are smaller lakes such as the Moke Lake, Lake Kilpatrick, and Lake Dispute, all of which are excellent from the camper’s viewpoint, once you have reached them. AROUND WANAKA AND HAWEA. Pembroke, at the head of the lake, is always the most popular with motor campers, but Glendhu Bay, some ten miles further in, is a delightful spot for camping. Because of the many charming islands in the lake it is really essential to do some boat trips to obtain the fullest measure of enjoyment from a holiday at Wanaka, but good walks are to be had, one of the best of them being to Beacon Point, which is slightly above the lake, and from which a great view of Stevenson’s Arm and the outlet of the Clutha River is_ obtained. A climb to Roy’s Peak, which is not very ihuch more difficult than Ben Lomond, will give you the same type of panorama of the country in the vicinity of Wanaka as the former did with Wakatipu. It is from the track which runs alongside Wanaka that the track takes off which goes over the Haast Pass to the West Coast, The ideal way of making the motor journey to the lakes is to go up through Roxburgh and Clyde to Queenstown, then across the Cardrona to Wanaka, making back home either through Omarama and Oamaru, or else through Cromwell and Ranfurly, thus avoiding going over the same ground twice. One or two of the places passed en route are equipped with camping grounds, but there is not much need to worry about that, as there are plenty of suitable places on the roadside. In the moun-

tainous country around the lakes there is plenty of shooting to be had, while fishing enthusiasts will find plenty of fish in many of the lakes and streams. This holiday can be either expensive or cheap, according to your ideas; if you make a number of the launch trips on each lake, and if you use the car as much as possible, you will run away with a fair amount of cash. If, on the other hand, you do a fair bit of tramping, as suggested here, it will cost you very little more than would a holiday close handy to your own home town. The need of a great many people today is a cheap holiday. This satisfies that need, while making available to them one of the most delightful tourist resorts in the dominion^