A HOLIDAY IN WESTLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20229, 13 April 1929, Page 4 (Supplement)

A HOLIDAY IN WESTLAND.

|'|i Dear Boys and Girls: jjj Sii lam going to tell you to day about a 1 splendid holiday from which | : § I I have just returned, a trip to South Westland. Look at your map of jjj jj j tho South Island, and on the westward side of the Southern Alps, nearly jj ■ I 100 miles below Ilokitika, you will seo (if your map is a good one!) s i Wailio and the Franz Josef Glacier. It is a long journey from Auckland jj gi:l to Waiho, nearly 700 miles, but tho trip through the South Island is j;: si so interesting, and the scenery so beautiful, that ono never becomes jj si; tired. The most beautiful portion of tho journey is the ninety-mile i s sij motor run from Ilokitika to Waiho, in which the road runs through jjjjj Sjj some of tho finest bush country in all New Zealand. Threo beautiful j;: sii lakes aro passed, and we cross many rivers, shallow and innocent-looking iiS Sij as any North Island creek until the floods come, when they turn swiftly ;;s Sij to raging torrents into which none may dare venture save at peril of jjj I sjj their life. ii; I i As wo near Waiho, rugged, snow-clad peaks rise above the rim of jjj sji (ho forest, and presently we get our first glimpse, of the wonderful jjj 5;! Franz Josef Glacier, whose beauty brings to Westland visitors from all jjjj jj ! j parts of tho world. Like a shining white stairway it, descends from jjj jj distant snowfields of tho Alps, to within half-a-mile of the forest. ; : | i Of the wonders of Franz Josef and tho beauty of the bush, I cannot jjj : i begin to writo in this letter, but every day was filled with joy, with tho ij s ■ i song of bellbirds and tuis in tho forest that lies within a stone's throw jj; sjj of Glacier Hotel, with happy outings to the Franz Josef and Fox sij Glaciers and other beauty spots that have made South Westland famous. jjH s i Vou will load of these pleasures in other articles, but before I close I i;s 5 j want to toll you something of tho friends I made at Waiho, of my jjj : j meeting with an unknown but enthusiastic member of our Herat.l) j;s f j Brigade, a lady who each year has forwarded generous parcels for our jjj s ; i Comfort S'llip and Santa Clans Sleigh. jj.s s ; Sho lives all alone in a little eottago beneath the mountains, and jjj sii hearing I was at Waiho, she sent a message asking if 1 would go and jjj si; see her. So one afternoon I borrowed a) horse and went riding across j;J •j! tho creeks and through tho forest, and soon I was telling my new friend jjj |:j all about our boys and girls, our Ship and Sleigh, and how every j;; S;i year I had opened those parcels from " A friend at Waiho," and thought jjj Si! how kind a heart must havo prompted that generous giving. ' jjiS : i When winter comes, and tho long evenings bring respite from the jj2 sij duties of tho day, this good friend lights her lamp, sits alone in her jjj S:jj little cottage beneath tho snow-clad mountains, and stitches diligently jjj |ij at the garments that are going to bring comfort and warmth to poor jj sjj littlo children in cold and cheerless homes in far-off Auckland. jjS : j Then I want to tell you about the littlo new friends I made at jjj S'j Waiho—such a jolly, happy band of boys and girls who attend a tiny jjj 5:1 school on the edge of the forest. These small folk, who live nearly iis :l: 100 miles from tho nearest town, know nothing of things that arc part j J S'ij of our everyday life. Think of it—some of them, boys and girls seven ji = { jj or eight years of age, have never seen a train nor any boat bigger than j s sji a launch"! They havo never been to a picturo show nor ridden in a jjj Sij train, and " eskimo pies" are unknown to them. But they can swim jj si; and ride, and they aro learning to know and to lovo all tho beautiful j j Ml birds and flowers and plants of the forest world in which they live. jjj Sjj and if they aro denied for a littlo longer than most children some of ji; Sij tho. pleasures of modern childhood, they aro living a life more healthy jj jj j and free, more full of real joy than that of many a child of the town. jj : j I told tho boys and girls of Waiho of our page, showed them onr jiS Sij Holiday and Bird Pages, and some of them havo decided that they will jj Sjj become members of "Boys and Girls," so that if you watch " Letterbox jj Sii Corner " you may see somo interesting letters from far-off Waiho before i s sjj long, and lam sure you will all join with mo in extending a hearty jj Sii wclcomo to our littlo new friends from tho Land of the Glaciers. j : ij Now my Westlapd holiday is a thing of tho past, but as with jjj fjjj every worth-while holiday, it will bring memories of happy days and jj Sjj good friends that will shed fresh sunshine upon tho path of life for jjj Sij long years to come. _ j: s S.ij Your friend jj ! j