MOTOR NOTES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16838, 29 December 1928, Page 9

MOTOR NOTES

c WTH. text and motor. FitOM OaMAUIT TO DtjNEDIX A GALAXY OP BEACHES. V./ &y *<Trip." (All Bights Kcsorved.) ■ iiast week wo dealt with the ran tjttrAugh from Ohristehureh to Oamaru, wtech, so far as the maiu road is cone(*Bei!, is one of the less interesting of. feur principal motor routes. This cfitoot b 3 said of the journey from Ottiaru to Dunedin, especially if the c«*stal route bo followed, for the road foJr a considerable distance runs round bf .te-autiful Caches, and the keen sit&ffitor wM ind colstant variety. The motor camping ground in Oamaru is Within a few minutes of the centre of the town, in a corner of the public gifltfaete, and in addition to being very ciiArenifetiil;, as Most attracttvely fcita-j at*3. Water and gas are laid on, atwd tho caretaker lives within a hundrM yards of the camping site, and cifltects the small charge which is mtfle for the use of the camp. por Jts size, Oamaru is one of the ra*Bt solidly built towns in New ZealaTaji, attd. the use made of the white Oamaru stott) Brakes its buildings ve*y boatftiful. Its wide, well planned ■ streets, its beautiful gardens, and its A sOkmy outlook, make it an ideal place *• in which to spend a few days. Oamaru, liSs long been an educational centre,; atod one of the biggest boarding : schools in' New_ Zealand—Waitnki —is sJttiated oily a*eoupl6 of miles out of tab town. ' Those Who are interested in (educational matters will find a , viilfc to this school of more than ordinarjp Interest, because of its • special appointment, such as open air sleeping shelters, while the school buildings, - in the handsome Oamaru stone, are • very imposing in their garden setting. THE WAfiKOTTAITI BEACH. Nfe of any size are passed oh thfeway to Dunedin, frotn Oamaru, the, road goitog only through small villages, none of which have anything of interest to Offer the casual .visitor. Soon af Ur passing through Hampden the road ifttas. on to tbe IKartigi beach, at { one or two pSrnts along which water is available. This is "a most delightful J ; spot, and the Khotorist-camper who decides to stay hero will not be hampered by dense crowds, for as often as not he wiU have the many miles of sparkling white saJnd to himself. Not; •fa? frJOto this beach there is a coalmine, and doubtless permission could. be seohred to. see this, and even pcr-j hass to have the thrill of going under-. groijpid. From Kfcrtigi, the road strikes inland for soine distAnce, passing through Palmerston South, and reaching* the coast again near WaikOuaiti. Here, too, there is a mbst attractive beach, but this is very largely used by week.enders from Dun Odin, and is not nearly so secluded as Kartigi. Boating, swimming and flsblag are all obtainable in yfche Viein%: of "WakOuaiti, and some fine tramps can be made round -the '* surrounding couttfesyside, The main road frOm Waikouaiti southwards goes over A© telmog hill,, : a fairly steep ascent, going inland ■until close to, Evansdale, some ]5 miles : front Dunedin," but a much more eating Joiaiitoey can be; made round the coast, through Seacliffe, Omimi and iWarrington, although the road here is not quite so good. SEA VISTAS. If the coastal route be chosen, some delightful glimpses of coast-lino will be ■ afforded the motorist, one of the best being seen soon after ieaving Waikouaitij At Seacliffe, there is a very large mental hospital, set in very beautiful grounds, and a few miles beyond the motorist comes to Warrington, a favorite seaside resort of Ihinedin people, a little spoilt of "recent years ' by its too great popularity. A beach stretches for miles towards Wai-; : tati, and excellent catoping spots can] bo found in glens some little distance \ from the beach .itself. At Evansdale,! a few miles beyond Warrington, thereis a very delightful stream and plenty of good fishing arid shooting, and a few enjoyable, days could be speMj '• here. ' 1 ■ The road from Svansdale onwards: passes": through Waitati, and then winds-over the hills fo Dunedin. From WaitatMo Dnriedift it has been bitumiriised, and this stretch is about the; bcst-pieee of Toadm the whole of the South Island. Some excellent glimpses: of Port Chalmers and Otago harbor, are secured from the hilltop, and be-' | fore reaching Mount CargiH the motorist should pull up and enjoy the very fine outlook across the harbor tbj the picturesque peninsula, dotted here and there with its seaside resorts. Onco Mount Cargill is reached, a panorama of Duncdin itself spreads out before the traveller, and once the dos- : cent is completed tho motorist is in Normanby, the northernmost suburb. A motor camping ground is located at Tahuna Park, in South Dunedin, and numerous other camping places are . iivailable within a few miles of the city itself. A SOLID CITY. Although the smallest of the' four' main centres, Dunedin is an exceptionally solid town, and suffered less during the post-war slump years than any other centre, mainly because there had never been tho tremendous land boom that occurred in the north. The j whole place has an air of dignified solidity, and its fine public biddings and its many parks alike indicate the ■prosperity of the city. It has always •ibeon tho leading educational centre of ■the Dominion, and the Otago University has turned out men who have made their mark in 'every country in "the world. The university, the medical school, the dental school, technical college, Knox College and Otago Boys' High School are buildings of frhien any. city would bo proud, and no Visitor should leave Dunedin without seeing all of them. <- Dunedin is a very much maligned town in the matter of climate. The view of the average North islander is that Dunedin has a dour Scottish *« climate, and is a city of mist and rain : ; ' The truth of the matter is ■ that, it seldom has the extremely hot wenther . 0 f the North Island, but in summer has a sWrtry, mild'climate which comes, as-a welcome relief from tho north?™

heat. It has infinitely loss rain than innwy of the Xorth Island centres, and the motorist-camper who arrives there timing the late summer will he very unlucky if lie docs not have a spell of very fine weather. MUCH BKAtJTIFUL SCENERY

Around Dunedin there arc literally hundreds of trips which can be made where delightful scenery will be met with, and whether the taste, runs to beaches, bush scenery or panoramas of the countryside, it can he satisfied in the motor journeys around Dunoditi. A drive should certainly be made down the peninsula, and from the top road a. splendid view of Duncdin, Port Chalmers and the whole of the harbor will be seen. The reservoir, the botanical gardens, the Leith Valley, Mount Cargill and Mount Flagstaff arc all places which will interest, and the back road to Waitati through Ihe Leith Valley, especially when the clematis isj in flower, is a delightful spot in whfch camp can very profitably he pitched. One very quaint spot is worth the attention of those who arc keen on seascapes, this being Cargill \s Caves, some miles beyond St. Clair beach. Access to the caves is secured through a long tunnel cut through the sandstone, and the coastline which is viewed from above the caves is one of the most ragged and most interesting to lie seen in the whole of New Zealand. '

The picturesquoness of Dunedin is enhanced, very much by the town belt, a strip of bush-clad land which runs found the centre of one of the hills above tho town, for about half its length, and which provides an excellent recreation place, for children. There arc three very fine beaches within' handy distance of the town, these being St. Clair, St. Hilda, and Tomahawk, the last-named now beingvery much more accessible than in former years. In addition, every form of sport is catered for, and there are several fine golf courses, tennis clubs, etc., all of which welcome players from other centres. One of the best runs from Dunedin is out to tho Waipori Palls, the source of Dunedin's electricity. This road runs through some very . beautiful bush, and the trip is one that should certainly be made before leaving the southern centre. Willi good wenther, a. holiday at Dunedin, no matter how long; can be filled with variety. It is a splendid town, and every North Island motorist who visits the South Island should include a stay at Dunedin in his programme, for as a city it offers much that the North Island centres lack. MOKE CYLINDERS. I EIGHTS GAIN IN EUPOPE. PARIS SHOW'S REVELATION. At the international motor show in Paris, last month, six and eight cylinder cars outnumbered fours ' for the first time in any motor show in Europe. " The marked swing' to eight cylinder motors was a notable feature. Usually, cars of this type arc, built only for racing purposes in Europe, but pleasure vehicles with eight cylinder engines are shown by Bugatti, Ballot, Bianchi, Bcrlict, Amilcar, De Dion Bouton, Isotta-Praschini, Harris, Leon Laisno, Mercedes-Benz, Morris Leon Bollce, Scat, Renault, Horch, Panhard-Levassor, Unic, Genestin and. Messier, in addition to the American contingent. * Almost every Continental maker is producing a six, many have standardised on isixes only. Forty different makes of European sixes were displayed, the smallest of "which Avas the 12 h.p. Donnet. LIGHT CAR RECORD. The Melbourne-Perth and AdelaideBerth light car records have been bi*ken by a Baby Austin driven by Messrs. Fenrdon and Sinclair, states A cabled message received by tlio; Shell Company. The 2§si miles be-i twoon Melbourne and the Western, Capital were covered.in 350 hours, 39'minfttos, while'the time taken between' Adelaide and Perth was 10S hours,; I minutes for 1750 miles. Both drivers pay a high tribute to, the arrangements made for fuel and oil | supplies along the route. PETROL FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS. Following on the expanding demand for petroleum products in the Fiji,: Samoa and New Caledonia Islands,; the Shell organisation are establishing; a chain of bulk petrol depots at Suva, Levuka, L&utoka, Apia and Noumea. The facilities at these places will include kerbside pumps of British manufacture, and with the improved methods of distribution local motorists, will be as efficiently served as in New' Zealand and Australia. REPLACING COPS. 3500 SIGNALS~L\ T NEW YORK. NO TRAFFIC STOPS. New York is installing what is believed to bo the greatest street travel control system in the world. Covering the metropolis like a spider wolf, the 3500 silent signal cops are to blink with the regularity of clockwork. This synchronised 15ght plan will allow motor vehicles to travel through the city at a flat rate of 22 m.p.h. without a stop, by opening and closing traffic lanes progressively. It is to do the work of 5000 policemen, and permit them to join in tho war on criminals. While the system will cost only £4OOO to install and less than £2OOO a year to operate, it is estimated that the saving to the city will be £2,500,008 per annum.