THE IDEAL MOTORING HOLIDAY

Southland Times, Issue 23783, 3 April 1939, Page 14

THE IDEAL MOTORING HOLIDAY

Take the Lake Road to Queenstown Return through Sunny Central Otago

SHEN the road between Kingston and Queenstown was formed it opened a route which has captured the admiration of every motorist who has travelled over it—the sunshine route through the Lakes District of Central Otago. It is a route which must appeal to everyone. Those who follow it see majestic peaks towering above the unplumbed depths of Lake Wakatipu, distant views of snow-capped ranges, the leafy lanes and quiet happiness of Queenstown, the rugged splendour of Central Otago with its cavernous cliffs, its outcropping rocks jutting from the hillsides in mighty buttresses, and precipitous gorges with their tales ot hidden gold. No greater variety of scenic attractions is to be found on any other route in New Zealand; no other route can offer such a wide appeal to those who see e perfect holiday. To drive from Kingston to Queenstown is a delightful experience in itself. Motorists will be as charmed with their drive along the east shore of far-famed Wakatipu as they will be satisfied with the safety and good surface of the road. Queenstown, nestling in a sunny bay of the lake and appearing to the traveller as a gem in one of nature’s finest settings, is on the border of romantic gold-mming country. It was not far from here that Fox and his party worked for months m a hidden valley up the Arrow, accumulating unheard of quantities of gold from the river gravels and making nocturnal excursions to replenish his stores, until one day he was followed ana the Arrow became a gold miners’ Mecca. The country round here is the scene of other stories equally as romantic. Those who find pleasure in delving' into the past will be amply satisfied by what inquiries into Arrowtown’s past will reveal. From Queenstown, the motorist travels along the tree-girt flank of Lake Hayes, and from there the road runs parallel for miles with the Kawarau Gorge, which still guar s its wealth from the prying hands of man. On either side craggy cliffs tower skywards and strange rock figures on the skyline reveal nature as a sculptor with fanciful ideas. Cromwell, the living heart of Central Otago, is an illustration of the successful application of scientific irrigation to what was before barren country, and is rivalled m its fertility by Alexandra and the surrounding districts. z Roxburgh, another rich fruit-growing centre, Millers Flat, and Raes Junction complete the Central trip and at Raes Junction the motorist begins his homeward run tor Invercargill after passing through a district in which the past and present are blended to make an interesting study for all who care to see.