UP THE AMAZON BY LINER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17438, 9 April 1931, Page 5

UP THE AMAZON BY LINER

~<» FASCINATING TRIP NO EQUAL TO THIS NOVELTY Of the innumerable sea trips offered to the traveller to-day, one of the most interesting is that up the mighty River Amazon, in South America. It is pus sible now to journey in a modem and luxuriously-appointed' liner to Manaos. which lies a thousand miles up the great stream. It is a voyage which grips the imagination of the traveller as it unfolds to him something of the life in tropical cities, picturesque native settlements, and the flora and fauna of the equatorial forest. Leaving Liverpool • the steamer proceeds to Oporto and Lisbon and then across the ocean to Para. One spends three days there, marvelling the while at the scenic beauties and charms of this tropical metropolis lying but a few miles south of the Equator. Then comes the voyage through the Narrows up to Manaos. The Narrows extend for a hundred miles, and is truly one of the strangest of waterways. > The forest is sometimes so close that the overhanging branches of the trees almost sweep the sides of the ship, but it is relieved by tho primitive shacks of the Indians. They greet us with shouts, and put off in their frail canoes, for they love to ride the waves set up by the passing steamer. At last we drop anchor at Manaos, a picturesque city of some 40,000 inhabitants, on the edge of the virgin forest, but with most of tho amenities ofanodern civilisation. It is an ideal jumping-off place for excursions into the forest. Particularly fascinating are the launch trips to creeks and islands, giving an interesting glimpse of native life. One. passes the local fishermen standing alert in their frail craft with bow and arrow ready to shoot turtle and other big fish. The boto, or river dolphin, gives a display of his skill, in turning somersaults on the face of the water. It is in the creeks where one finds that wonderful aquatic plant, the Victoria. Regina. But what impresses one most is the forest, that rises up before one like a wall, an amazing trelliswork of myriad shades of green, grey, and silver, for the Amazon is essentially s, land of color and of gorgeous sunsets. Glorious butterflies of rare beauty, with an expanse of wing thi'ee to as much its Sim across, are everywhere, and large and small birds of beautiful plumage cross our path and disappear in the maze of greenery. Above all, there is the continuous noise, for the Amazonian forest never sleeps, day or night. There is the shrill chirrup of the cicada. accompanied by the drone, buzz, and whirl of a myriad other insects. Truly, this mighty river with its native settlements, forest, strange fish, animal and bird life, presents a touring ground which for sheer thrill and novelty has no equal. ■