THE IDEAL SUMMER HOLIDAY!

Southland Times, Issue 23379, 10 December 1937, Page 14

THE IDEAL SUMMER HOLIDAY!

a UNLIT summer days; a sweetly running car; an open road beckoning .... of such stuff every motorist fashions his dreams for the holiday period. Southland offers infinite possibilities for the fulfilment of those dreams. But of all the roads that invite the holiday-maker none has a greater variety of attractions to offer than the scenic-goldfields route. The name is coined, but it can best and most succinctly describe what should become one of the most popular holiday routes in New Zealand from Invercargill to Queenstown by the new lake road and back through Otago Central. Even the most blase could not fail to be impressed by the manifold delights of this trip. Motorists will be as charmed with their drive along the eastern shore of far-famed Wakatipu as they will be satisfied with the safety and good surface of the new road between Kingston and Queenstown. The seven miles of the road which lie between Kingston and the Devil’s Staircase provide but a foretaste of the exhilarating drive which is to come. Nevertheless there is much pleasure to be derived from this early part of the journey. The road is at no great elevation above the lake and possesses no corners which call for care on the part of the motorist, who can enjoy the charming view afforded by the lake and the brown hills which rise from its edge. The climb to Devil’s Staircase not only affords an excellent opportunity for looking out over the lake from a coign of vantage but enables one to appreciate the vast amount of engineering skill which must have been required to cut out a road on this rugged bluff. The descent from the Staircase is made by an easy grade and thereafter the road follows the indentation of the lake shore, sometimes being at an elevation of a hundred feet, sometimes almost at the water’s edge. Wye Creek, with its hydro-electric scheme, is sure to attract motorists who are not merely speed fiends. High up on the hillside is the pipe line for the electricity scheme, with the power house below the substantial bridge which was built when the new roading project began about 10 years ago. The name creek scarcely does justice to this rushing mountain stream, which at one place is a leaping cataract.

The scenery is even more magnificent after Wye Creek. On the right are the world-famous Remarkables; below are the rich blue waters of the lake; to the left are Mount Dick and Cecil Peak, reflected in the lake at their feet. From there to Queenstown there is less grandeur but some charming pastoral country as the road leads to the Kawarau dam—always a source of interest, for its construction played no small part in bringing the lake road into being. An idyllic holiday resort, Queenstown provides every inducement for lingering before the rest of the journey is undertaken.

To journey from Queenstown through Otago Central—the goldfields portion of the route—is to pass through a country brea'thing the romantic atmosphere of early mining communities. A link between the past and present is provided by the fruit-growing areas which grew and flourished as the old claims became exhausted. And the Cromwell Development Company’s irrigation works are an eloquent testimonial to the growth of the agricultural, fruit-growing and pastoral propensities of the district. Cromwell may be considered the actual heart of the gold-mining area and it is here that the confluence of the clear foaming waters of the Clutha and the muddy depths of the Kawarau forming the rolling Molyneux. From Rae’s Junction motorists can go on to Dunedin, if they wish, or return to Invercargill. Whichever route they take is certain to add the final measure of enjoyment to a trip rich in everything desired by the motorist on holiday.

T ake the Lake Road to Queenstown Return through Sunny Central Otago