"SUNSHINERS"

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 123, 21 November 1932, Page 7

"SUNSHINERS"

NEW YOUTH CLUB

RESPECT FOR FLORA

(By "Nicpicker.")

The .tramping ("hiking") movement is expanding in New Zealand in sympathy with the renewed "call of. the outdoors " experienced in other countries. As;:the sale in. shops of, plants and. seeds shows,- gardening and the outdoor tramp, are flourishing together. They have the blessing of a glorious spring. Formerly-the ;Tararua Tramping-Club was' the sole organisation iv these parts. It operated sometimes above the bushline, sometimes below it, with long,- well-organised tranip-and-camp expeditions. Also it. provided, for less strenuous people, shorter no-camp Walks through' /'interesting ■ country, which meant less carrying. of gear, and therefore;, lighter packs. By organisation and a vari&d programme, it made tramping easy for many .who - otherwise would never have^tramped. Similar, clubs sprang .up.: But■ all. classes of the people were not reached. ! ; •With, the mystery trains a new army of.- -'hikers".seems to have been created, because'the, "hike" from train, and back to ■ train; can ;be made very easy. and. interesting for many varied types of people. And the Bailway Department .filled a want which had long been foreseen, but which . had never been properly filled ' by .the " clubs. Having among its associates a Maori scholar and historian, the Department made brilliant .use of him. securing from his pen well-written 'leaflets descriptive of ,the.routes taken,- their physical features, natural beauty Maori history, early pakeha associations, etc.It is the soil,of material which is of more than merely temporary value. Its temporary' importance -was, however, sumciently great,,for.,hikers '.by the mystery trains are able>to mis mystery and., history^ Many '- trampersV have known. Papaitonga - without .= knowing that, one of the islets, in the lake is a man-made island, x■- built" out '-Id. the water for-tribal safety-from; raids—a remarkable example of Mibri'miUtary engineering. ..A , long-feltr :t&nf. for something written-—sometMng- to link beauty with lore, to interest a tramper who walks and>reads—was-thu's• filled (for the,first time adequately) by the Department •of Bailways 'and its writer. " - ; --. ; ■ :■ • t-.-v- -. .-.- -j

And now a new esp'ansibn'of the outdoor, call is proposed^-something simpler, and .even cheaper, than what has beenj something suited .to youth. Side by side with the tramp^and-camp methods, it is proposed to establish hostels^' where a tramper-can sleep and eat at a cheap rate.: Much carrying (especially bedding;. and": food) would. be thus avoidable/ ..This new movement, implies the.- formation in Wellington of a Sunshine: Club, with a " nominal ",. subscription.' It" is'possible-that'the more recent forms and proposed forms.of "hiking" may:be to some, extent'competitive with the. .tramping clubs. /If so, it speaks emphatically for their public .spiritedness: to-; say -that they are-supporting the youth . hostel movement; and- tho ' "r*raru?" Tramper ' \ hasrecorded satisfaction • in: tHe general good ■ resulting from the mystery trains' call :to' the outdoor. " "■ ■•■ ''■ ' ■'■■ .'■■■■'■•:

At a recent conference of tJirLGiiides, cyclists, collegians, : /health-.v campers, and traihpers,; they SunsSi»e" s Club received a general-.blessing, and the president of the. Tararua Tramping -:;. Club, Mr. H. El Anderson, said that " this club was;-well provided for "in ; the; local ranges, but wished" to help young .people to tramp'lightly.' The Sunshine Club would be part .of. the New Zealand Youth Hostels Association,- already active in Canterbury.' The' "Sunshine Club could be joined by people not belonging to existing c1ub5...... : Mr. Johannes.C.-Andersen said that the members of. the new movement would, be able .to- tramp the countryside: on a less strenuous basis than the trampingl clubs' longer tramps, -; and would receive the benefits of sunshine aid health; . ■■■'■ ■-.-::-■:.■•■:> ■;:■•>? ;.•• In view •of . the fact some of the mew hikers of 1932 have .no birdconsciousness or plant-consciousness, and are guilty of despoiling,- native plant; life,, it .is. weir that Mr. Andersen added that, an .object- of the'movement would be to. understand Wild life' and historical associations,.also .to protect; native - flora . and fauna,' .'natural features, historic places, and-such. like.