PACIFIC ISLANDS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1451, 11 May 1905, Page 3

PACIFIC ISLANDS.

.WINTER TRIPS TO THE SOUTH SEAS.,

To anyone desirous of escaping the Worst of oun .winter months the special winter trips to the So.uth Seas, inaugurated by .the Union Steam Ship. ‘Company, must appeal. Every day the Pacific is coniipg more and more to the front, not only in the Diplomatic circles at the European Courts on account of the increasing value of the trade of the Islands, hut also as a field of study for’the botanist, the scientist and the novelist.

There is as much material and more for stirring tal-ea in the Pacific . as there has been in the “ SpanishMain,” and at tne present day the romance of the Islands appeals .to any who has been fortunate enough to make an extended tour in them. The writings of Louis'Becke, Stevenson, Basil Thompson, etc., have done much to enlighten the world of the beauties anjd charm of life in the C.oral Islands, but nothing brings home to one a realistic idea of the V Gems ~of the Pacific; until they have been visited.

The opportunity to visit the most representative of the Islands in up-to-date passenger steamers, with every comfort, is the object, of the Union Steam Ship Company in announcing the special; winter trips to the Friendly,.. Navigator, and Fiji Islands. .

The fine steamer Maniapourl, specially fitted for the tropical run, is announced to leave Auckland on Tuesday, 30th May, and will mako calls at Nukualofa,- H-aapai-, Vavau (Friendly, Islands), Apia (Samoa. or Navjgatoß Islands), Lcyuka, ‘ Suva, and Lautokaj ,(Fiji Islands), The itinerary of the ship’s voyage has been mapped out to give passengers time to see all the most interesting Bights. Tickets will be available up to six months from date of issue, and passengers can break their journey and stay over at any of the Islands or Sydney should they desire to do so. We have no hesitation in recommending the trips to our readers, especially those who do not enjoy robush healthy and cannot endure 'the vigor of the winter months. It seems hardly creditable that a few days’ journey from New Zealand will land the traveller in the Islands where he can bask in the sunshine, tempered with the south-east trade breeze, or wander amid the orange and cocoanut palm groves as one pleases ; but it is so.