“LOST HORIZON”

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 May 1942, Page 6

“LOST HORIZON”

SHANGRI-LA AT LAST Shangri-la—the legendary idyllic place which formed the background of James Hilton’s novel, “Lest Horizon”—has been found. It is in the Libyan Desert, far from the caravan routes which link up the main oases, and until recently its 200 native inhabitants did not know that war had been raging for two years a comparatively few miles away. The oasis is not shown on any. map, because it is in an unsurveyed part of the desert. Its existence was unknown, even to the native dwellers in other oases, writes “Melbourne Herald” war correspondent John Hetherington. It was discovered by a party belonging to a long-range desert group, while they were exploring The country round their desert headquarters.

One told me: “We had been Travelling across sand dunes for two days when we saw a gigantic conical black rock rising sheer from the sands ahead. It was like a great broad pillar against the blue sky.” The party drove nearer and found the rock split from top to bottom by a cleft, into which their trucks were just able to drive in single file.

The sheer rock walls rose 300 ft. on each side, blotting out the sunlight. The trucks went on and suddenly came on what one man described as “the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.”

It was a small crescent-shaped oasis, rising on the shores of a purple lake. The trucks drove out into The oasis and natives came running out of the huts. They took one glance at the

itrange visitors and immediately rushed back into the huts, chattering in alarm.

It was some time, before the party could induce the natives to come out, but they finally succeeded with the aid of one member of the strange community who had seen white men when he made an excursion from the oasis years ago. They soon grew friendly, and even climbed on the trucks, and allowed themselves to be driven to the lake for a bathe. '

The lake was extremely salty, and swimming was impossible. The men just floated on the surface without effort. The oasis dwellers were most hospitable, and gave the visitors dates, eggs, and chicken, and made them sit down to a dinner consisting cf young lamb, roasted whole. The party named the oasis Shangrila, because "a man who had left it and returned told them that he was far happier in the oasis than in the outside world.