MANY HOLIDAY-MAKERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22094, 27 April 1935, Page 13

MANY HOLIDAY-MAKERS

NATIONAL PARK VISITORS RECORD FOR EASTER SEASON CHATEAU FULLY TAXED [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] ♦ THE CHATEAU, Friday Holiday traffic through National Park in the past few days has created a record for Easter. Accommodation at the Chateau was fully booked a fortnight beforehand anil every day during tho Easter holiday numbers of motorists had to be turned away. "It was the busiest Easter we have ever experienced," said the manager, Mr. R. Cobbe. "The increase in the number of tourists travelling by car was particularly noticeable. Motorists arrived from all districts in the Nor!* Island and there was also quite a large percentage of visitors from the South Island. "An evidence of the increase in spending power this year has been tho great demand for the best accommodation," Mr. Cobbe said. "We could have 'sold our suites over and over again. With 250 guests in the Chateau we had to turn away every day parties of motorists who had failed to book." The weather at National Park over the whole week-end was fine and mild, and it was not until Tuesday that rain fell. The golf course, on which a fine growth of grass has established itself, was very popular with visitors. Many expressed the opinion that the playing conditions were among the most pleasant they had experienced in New Zealand.

CROWDS IN ROTORUA PERIOD MARRED BY RAIN [BY TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT] ROTORUA, Friday The train which left Rotorua for Auckland thi's evening had every seat occupied and represented the final exodus on a large scale of an abnormally large holiday crowd. The Easter holiday period this year will long be remembered, principally because of the unpleasant weather and the unprecedentedly large number of private motorcars that ploughed their way into the town through mud and rain without intermission.

The large number of private cars was not anticipated, and the wet camping grounds were not inviting. Hundreds of people were engaged in a hurried search for shelter. The type of accommodation did not matter, provided it offered a refuge from the rain. One well-known establishment had 236 guests, with a waiting list of 200, while an office staff of four was fully occupied hour after hour in turning away hundreds more anxiously seeking admission. Tho congestion was brought about by the emptying of every motor camp in the district. Numbers journeyed on to other towns, travelling through the darkness and driving rain, trusting to good fortune to reach accommodation sooner or later.

The season had its bright side, however, for it demonstrated that people had more money to spend than has been the case in the past few years.