TOURIST RESORTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14439, 4 February 1909, Page 6

TOURIST RESORTS.

'J'he activity which >Ir Thomas Mackenzie bus, since his appointment as -Minister i" charge of the Tourist Department, displayed in renewing his acquaintance with tJio chief scenic resorts of Western Otago in order to satisfy himself with regard to the steps that should be taken with a view to Urn developme"' of the tourist traffic, confirms the i.f.pe that a systematic effort will b© made, under his direction, to improve the means whereby the great natural attractions of tlie .Southern lako and mountain districts and the fiords may be rendered accessible to pleasureseokers. Mr Mackenzie has just completed a flying visit to most of the sounds and lakes in Otago and to the best. knowJl tourist tracks, with nia.ny of which he wa,s already more familiar tluui ail but a very few of tlio residents of New Zealand, and the experience will bo of distinct value to him as a, guide to tfio direction in which he should recommend the Government to devote its energies and expend such of the public funds as may bo available for tiho purpose of opening up and developing scenic areas in the country. There are numerous respects in which as even the occasional visitor to the tourist resorts of Qtsgo is to dis- J

eel'", Uio exercise of a, little enterprise on tho part, of tiie Department may reasonably bo looked for. On Wakatipn itself, (lie most, popular' of the lakes and that which is most abundantly supplied with agencies that minister to the comfort and convenience of the travelling public, a glariug defect presents itself in 'the character of the steamer service. The service was, doubtless, capable of meetinsr the requirements of the traffic a dozen years ago or so, but it. is wholly inadequate now, and each succeed ill" yeai of its maintenance only serves to intensify its unsatisfactory character. The Government has promisedmore than once that a powerful steamer with accommodation for a large number of passengers will bo provided for the regular traffic from Kingston to Queenstmvn. Tlie delay that has occurred over (lie fulfilment of this nndcrtnkin? has toon longer, perhaps, than that, which commonly attends tlie performance by the Government, of ils promises. It. is to bo hoped, however, that the fortunate accident, by which nearly every Minister who has lately visited Wakatipu lias been condemned to make the flip from .Kingston in a small and over-crowded steamer, under conditions that, were fatal to the enjoyment- of the voyage, may have the effort of securing that t-ho Cabinet, as a whole shall 1," impressed with the reality of (he llm i lor mi. improvement in the service. That .Mr Mackenzie will strongly advocate (lie speedy purchase or construction of a steamer of a size and power adequate to the requirements of the case wo confidently anticipate. The desirability of rescuing Lake Wanalia Irom the position of comparative isolation which, in consequence of the fact that it lies two complete days' journey away from Dunedin, it at'present occupies, and of improving the steamer service (here, is also, we have no doubt,' fully recognised by t.ho Minister. The opportunities that aie afforded in tlm Wanaka district for sport with rod and gun aro neb rivalled anywhere in (]) G Dominion, and the Makarera Valley and (ho mountains at its head offer veiy considerable attractions, which, however, must remain almost miexploited until such time as, in the first place, Pembroke is made more readily accessible and, in the second place, a rel-i----"Mo service is provided on the lake, -he Minister apparently found, by persona] inspection, tliat the complaints which emanated from visitors in (,| lO early part of the season respecting the condition of the (rack between le Anau and Miiford Sound ww amply justified. The excuses he offered for 'he existence of the causes of compliant arc of tlie stereotyped official kind and would not have been regard | ' - r Thomas Mackenzie, the private member of Parliament, as at all .satisfactory. -Ur Mackenzie, however, took Prompt measures to repair the errors of omission on the part of the department under its former control, and it !' S improbable that, while he remains m office as Minister in charge of Tourist Jicsorts, any j lß t cause will be .n W1 for further complaints of the kind which the first party of traveller* over the track this season felt tliem&elves compiled It will have been observed (bat Mr Mackenzie's personal squall,(alio? with the little-explered tract of country which lies between the -soiuks and the lakes is leading him to recommend deviations in some places from tho tourist tracks that have been adopted in the past. It is, indeed, a most- hopeful circumstance that a Minister who possesses the enthusiastic faith which Mi- Mackeuwe has in tlie value of the scenic resorts of the lake and mountain regions a? a colonial a>--.set anil who, inspired by his intense love ■for Nature in her grandest moods, lias himself traversed so nnich of tlie country with his swag on his back, should have been entrusted with the control of the Tourist Department. It. augurs tliat the development of the tourist, tracks of the Dominion will be piomuted on sympathetic and judicious lines.