A BOUND TRIP.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18370, 1 May 1925, Page 4

A BOUND TRIP.

CANTERBURY MOTORIST'S TOUR. ■ J •i Mr A. C. Harris, a Christehurcht motorist, has supplied "Roadster" with, particulars concerning' a trip recently made by. him. to. tho West Coast and., hack to Ohristehurch, by way of Blenheim and the East Coast. . Taking his carte. Springfield ho I-adji it trucked thero to Otira, motoring through the same day to Hokitika over; a good road. The next day h© took a run out to Kanieri, a, distance of -'IS miles, finding tho road in excellent condition. The road to Eimu Flat, however, was a long way from perfect, and ha was pleased that it was only three miles in length. Ho had no fault to find with the highway between Hokitika and Greymouth, excepti when traversing Sandy's Hill, near Kumara, where loose stones were responsible for a certain amount of discomfort. <

Ho was pleased with the run from Grcymouth to Punakaikai, A distance of 30 miles over a splendid surface. This road contains a number of sharp bends, but although it is on the narrow side, there are numerous portions of it where two cars can pass each other without difficulty. In his opinion it is a trip which can bo undertaken withoui* fear by the average motorist. The only Tough portion of road between Greymouth and Murchison encountered; him was a stretch Qf about four miles near the Inangahua Junction, this* being the roughest portion of the whole of the round trip. It presents no difficulty, however, if taken slowly and steadily. " Crossing the, Hope Saddle, near Glen* hope, the surface he states is pood, but there arc some deep ruts to bo negotiated art the corners and bends, due to the traffic of RorviCo cars and motor lorries. In the- 3\fotupeka Valley, the roads are as level as the proverbial billiard table. The Spooner Range, the steepest pull on the whole trip, is in a similar state to the Hope Saddle. The same remarkapplies to the road on the Uai Saddle. Otherwise the roads right down to Kaikoura arc all that a motorist could desire. The roads in Canterbury Province, he considers, arc in a much more broken and uneven state than any on the Coast or in the Nelson and Marlborough districts. The general impression among motorists is that tho trip is a difficult one for the ordinary driver, but Mr Harris considers that no average motorist has reason 1o bo afraid of it. As an instance of this, he states that his car, which is a Continentl make of 10-15 h.p., did the trip with a lull load of four passengers, without it bciwr necessary to replenish the water in tho radiator after leaving Christchurch. Owing to tho state of the roads, and tho rivers between Springfield and Otira, be would advise motorists contemplating a trip to tho West Coast, to truck their cars at the Canterbury station mentioned.