A WALKING HOLIDAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17348, 20 December 1919, Page 6 (Supplement)

A WALKING HOLIDAY.

The problem of a summer holiday is a very difficult one to solve. Rooms are difficult to obtain. Railway fares are high. Therefore let me advise the reader' to resort to "Shanks his mare" and spend a happy week walking. The following hints as to lu«"»age,-dress, and plans may be useful: First, as to luggage. The important thing is to have! as little as possible. Towards the end of a long tramp every ounce is a burden. You need a nightgown, a pair of house shoes (dancing suppers with no heels would be ideal). Washing materials tied up in-a square of thin oiled silk. A tooth brush in a celluloid case, soap in a celluloid soap box, a brush and comb, a change of linen, and a clean blouse, two pairs of stockings, either wool or cotton, not silk, ilb of chocolate and a few biscuits. All these should be packed in a ruck sac or bag of light waterproof canvas like a soldier's haversack, with a strap to go over each shoulder. The way to carry the luggage is on the shoulders, but a strap too loose or too tight, chafing the shoulder or arm, means misery. So see that your straps fit well. Secondly, as to dress. You must be prepared for fair or wet weather, so I advise a light tweed or serge skirt and a woollen sports coat or jumper and a light mackintosh. The Swiss or Austrian pedestrian carries her raincoat neatly folded over a strap waistbelt and hanging down behind, and this is a very practical and really not unsightly method, leaving both hands free. The blouse to go with the coat and skirt should be of silk or light flannel, not of cotton, as the latter creases and is chilly. On the hat much of the wearer's comfort depends. It should be the kind which will not blow off, yet which shades the eyes and will stand wet weather.

The footgear is of all the most important item, for a blistered heel or a sore too may end the tour* The boot or shoe must be easy fitting and comfortable, not new, yet capable of standing the continued walking, and the individual wearer must settle if the sole be tSick or thin, for ''what is one man's meat is another man's poison."- ' Now as to the walk itself. Each day's tramp must be settled on, with a view to a suitable sleeping place at the end.' The first walk should D« a very easy distance, as you have to become used to your accustomed luggage. ' As to food, begin the day with a good breakfast, and carry bread and cheese or sandwiches and' fruit for lunch and avoid drinking, especially, mineral waters, as much as possible while tramping. Choose a trusty friend, a trusty (and thm) book, a good road, and happiness is yours.