THE KING'S HIGHWAY

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 3, Issue 9, 2 March 1925, Page 35

THE KING'S HIGHWAY

<®y " SANCHO "

TPHE trend in American car development is well shown by the announcement in the American papers of a leading manufacturing concern that its closed car model will be the mass production article at the popular price, whereas the few people who want open touring cars will have to pay extra for them as the luxury article. This is an extraordinary reversal of current practice, and in view of the extra material required in the construction of a closed car as against an open one indicates that the economies to be effected by mass production must be prodigious. * <* * * Before standardising road direction and mileage signs the Highways Board has been endeavouring to ascertain the views of the Automobile Associations on the matter, but not a very great deal of interest has been displayed by the associations generally in the board's proposals. In the South Island the Canterbury Association is, of course, especially keen on road signs, and the style of sign proposed for the standard is largely on the lines of that adopted by Canterbury. In the North Island the Wairarapa Association has done a lot of useful sign-posting, and in addition to direction boards at road junctions, danger signs, etc., now has boards at bridge approaches giving the names of the rivers. The Board's proposal to mile-post the roads is looked upon with small favour by some of the automobile bodies as unnecessary. It is not a work on which a large expenditure should be incurred, but it appears that the mileages arc being ascertained in connection with improvement works on the various highways, and the actual expenditure on mile-posting will not amount to more than putting up the figures on the nearest telegraph post. Mile-posts are undoubt|'ly handy, as everyone knows who has travelled over roads with them, such as those in the vicinity of Taupo, and if the cost of mile-post-ing these roads is not going to involve more than the erection of the signs, the work should be well worth doing. ** * " A PROPOS of roads and routes, what the Dominion really needs is an up-to-date set of maps show-

ing the actual roads on the ground and differentiating the metalled road from the unmetalled, and so on. On nearly every map issued by the Land and Survey Department appear roads that have no existence in point of fact, and the only traces of which are a few decayed surveyors’ pegs. Maps of this kind are little better than traps for the unwary, for in strange country one never feels confident about anything. The carelessness with which the maps are compiled is shown in the big four-miles-to-the-inch map of the southern portion of the North Island, on which no direct road connection whatever

FOR YOUR EASTER HOLIDAYS

Our next issue will contain specially drawn road maps showing how to reach the National Park from Auckland and Wellington that will be invaluable to the Easter Tourist

between Masterton and Gladstone is shown, although a much-traversed road has been in existence for longer than most people can remember. With sixty thousand motor vehicle owners in the country it should be worth the Survey Department's while to turn out something better in the way of road maps than its present slipshod and, from the traveller's point of view, almost worthless productions. * * * 'T'HE present summer has seen the roads thronged with motorists on tour, the bulk of them apparently

A CAUSERIE ON MOTORING MATTERS

being bitten with the fever to cover the greatest possible length of road in the shortest possible time. This is a natural desire with the new car owner, with whom the novelty of transportation at will to distant parts has not worn off. On the other hand, it is far from an ideal holiday. A too ambitious tour in limited time involves a state of perpetual motion for everyone in the party, and in view of the rough state of the roads in the interior of the North Island the motion over large sections of the tour will be quite as much in a vertical as in a horizontal direction, with the passengers heads hitting the roof at frequent intervals. It is pleasant to see as much of the country as possible, but the wise motor tourist will pick out some central spot of interest at which to make a lengthy halt on his tour, and make a leisurely progress to and from it. This is especially desirable on a motor camping tour, for a succession of over-night halts and all-day runs involves an enormous amount of work and loss of time in continually packing and unpacking. * * * 'T'HOSE in search of a motor holiday tour through the North Island should not overlook the attractions of the Tongariro National Park. The best way is in via Taupo and Tokaanu to the Whakapapa Huts on the Waimarino Road. The Park can also be reached via Taihape and Ohakune, cars frequently going through in summer time to Waimarino and Whakapapa. From Wanganui a summer route is via the Parapara Road to Raetahi and thence on to Waimarino. From the north the most direct access is via Te Kuiti and Taumarunui, but this is a rough road, with a hill at Raurimu that is unclimbable in wet weather. It has to be admitted that all roads to the Park are rough, but the objective is so worth while that the need for steady going on the way here and there should not put people off the visit. The Whakapapa Huts are conveniently situated for access to either Ruapehu or Ngaruahoe and there are a number of other huts at convenient points. For those seeking a not too expensive holiday with full measure of open air life the National Park is an ideal spot.

TN our next issue will appear road maps which have been especially drawn for The Ladies' Mirror motoring supplement, showing the best ways of reaching the National Park both from Wellington and Auckland, together with full descriptions of the facilities that exist and the difficulties that will be encountered and we believe that many of our readers will find these to be of the greatest service during the Easter Holidays. The maps have been prepared from actual observation on the road, and may be relied on to be of far more service than the existing surveys. Another article that is full of suggestions for a motoring Easter holiday will be found on the opposite page, and provided we are favoured by the elements, no holiday can hold out more promise of enjoyment and health than a motoring tour, despite even the peculiar difficulties we have to contend with in this country. * * * 'T'HE interest that the average man in the street takes in motoring may be judged from the crowds that collect around every new model. Many enterprising dealers adopt the scheme of having the latest models of their various cars driven through the main thoroughfares, with the

name and price prominently displayed, and whenever a halt is made a large number of curious spectators collect and show a really intelligent curiosity in the particular features of the car. It is rather pleasing to note that small English cars have been prominent amongst recent importations, and that these can now be obtained at prices that compete with those of many American models. Certainly some of these small cars are very attractive in design and the economy they achieve in petrol and tyres must make a very strong appeal to the motorist who has to consider cost —and who amongst us to-day does not? The ease with which they can be handled makes them particularly suitable for women drivers, and in the majority of cases considerable ingenuity has been shown by the designers in providing for the comfort of the passengers. In fact on one or two that I have tried recently there was, apparently, even more room for my somewhat exuberant length than I have found in many larger models. Though not yet obtainable at prices that "puts motoring within the reach of all," they most certainly do allow many to enjoy motoring in the comfort of a car who previously could not have allowed their ambition to soar higher than a side-car outfit.