SOUTH ISLAND SCENERY PRAISED

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

SOUTH ISLAND SCENERY PRAISED

Miss May Spinks, an English visitor who arrived in Dunedin on Wednesday hy aeroplane and left again on Thursday on her journey northwards, was loud in her praises of the scenery of the South_ Island. . . Miss Spinks is one whose opinion is well worth while, this being her third tour round the world, although the first in which she has visited New Zealand. On her present tour she left England in February, 1931, and after spending a year in- Africa, in which she flew extensively over the central portions and spent some time big-game hunting in Kenya, she arrived in Australia, firmly convinced that flying w r as the ideal mode of travel for one whoso interest lay in the less frequented parts of the globe. Phe flew extensively over the wilds of the great Southern Continent, piloted by a young Australian, who is also to be her escort on her return journey through the East. _ Miss Spinks crossed to New Zealand in November last, and with two Australian women tourists made a leisurely motor camping trip through the North Island, and, crossing to the_ South, arrived at the Franz Josef Glacier some little time ago. Hero she was fortunate' in meeting Captain Mercer, of Christchurch, who has piloted her on a very interesting trip, flying over the Southern Lakes and West Coast Sounds. In addition to the fact that she was able to cover so much territory in so short a time, she stated that aerial travel made the journey much more interesting by reason of the fact that the passenger was able to command a_ view of a great stretch of country, with the result that the landscape beneath never became monotonous. Once the Lake and Sounds districts were reached _ the flight became one of sheer delight. From a height of several thousand feet the visitor was able to look out over range after range of mountains and mile upon mile of forest, broken by lakes and streams. As the machine glided overhead she was able to pick out the course of mountain torrents, see them foaming over lofty falls, and explore with her eyes lonely valleys ■which had scarcely seen the foot of man. Away below a steamer could be seen making its way up Lake Manapouri; a little later the machine was above the wooded shores of Milford Sound. Where the prospect pleased there the pilot and his passenger loitered ; at other times mile after mile flew beneath them as they headed for the distant horizon. The trip provided a typical example of Miss Spinks's method of, in her own words, “ making the world her playground.” The views obtained on a memorable flight over the snow-clad summit of Mount Cook will always bo one of her most impressive memories of New Zealand. The frozen mountain ]mak appeared in the sunlight, rising from a bank of snow-white clouds as the plane slowly circled over the great Southern Alps. Miss Spinks expects to reach England in July, and will later publish a book dealing with her travels, her impressions, and experiences in many lands.