NOT IMPRESSED.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XV, Issue 893, 18 April 1907, Page 21

NOT IMPRESSED.

Some of the recent Australian visitors to New Zealand (says the “Sydney Daily Telegraph”) have not returned overladen with enthusiasm as to the island Country, either with regard to its climate or its productiveness. One of the latest candid critics is Aiderman Baker, a member of the Municipal Tramways Trust of Adelaide. “New Zealand appeared to me,” said Aiderman Baker, “to be rather an over-advertised place. Perhaps I expected too much, or perhaps did not see the islands at their best. The South Island was short of rain; quite brown, in fact, though not quite so dried up as the Adelaide Plains. The scenery is very patchy, and it takes long journeys to get from one patch to another. Auckland is a

pretty town, owing most of its charm to natural advantages. The view from Mt. Eden, just outside the city, is one of the prettiest in New Zealand. There are some good spots in the hot lake district, but we were unfortunate in that part of the country. It rained incessantly for twenty-one days, and consequently getting about was difficult. The ‘Wonderland of New Zealand,’ as they call the hot lake district, loses nothing by its description in the guide-books. Among other things, what strikes the Australian in ‘God’s Own Country’ is the absence of decent fruit and vegetables. They don’t seem able to grow them. An American whom I met in the North Island said to me—‘Vegetables! They are too busy rooking tourists to grow vegetables.’ Without supporting that statement, I think New Zealanders would benefit themselves by importing fruit from South Australia in quantities. The cold lake district is delightful in many ways, and the scenery magnificent. The Tourists’ Department in New Zealand is extremely well managed, and information is always forthcoming. The tourist is encouraged to be always on the move —at his own expense, of course!”