Motorists Camps

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 534, 11 December 1928, Page 8

Motorists Camps

Permanent Structures Needed

THE present year lias almost run its course, and all motorists are now confronted with the question of “What are we going to do for Christmas.” Some prefer sea trips, some railway tours and other motor tours. All are in search of the ideal holiday. The present, therefore, seems the most appropriate time for a discussion of motor campingsites.

According to an American magazine, “the ideal tour is the ideal vacation. An ideal vacation is not the dull business of starting out each morning, reaching a designated town each evening, and dropping into a rocker on an hotel porch to hear vacuous gossip until bedtime. It is a joyous exploration of territory and human types to which one has been a stranger during one’s working months. It is complete escape from the humdrum and routine of office and home. It is adventure of eye, ear, and speech, a recovered zest for living. Variety, not loafing, is the soul of fine living. The jolt of change, not the ease of habit, tunes up the body and freshens the bi'ain. The ideal tour runs through the Land of Surprise, where Novelty is king.” What Australia Has Done Tho motor camps have advanced greatly in Australia. Camping in that country began to take root about four years ago, largely on account of statements made regarding the enormous development in America. A progress association at Woodend, a popular golfing resort, decided to start a camp, which was soon under construction. The district had the three great essentials for-a family camp. Firstly, the location, on the slopes of Mount Macedon, was surrounded by beautiful scenery; secondly, water was available; and thirdly, a lighting system was installed, and there was satisfactory sanitary accommodation for men and women. At the camp were installed a number of tents with wooden flooring. Electric light was laid on in each, and there was a common cookhouse, where meals were prepared over wood fires. Shower baths for men and women were a feature of the camft and there, were proper sanitary conveniences. The idea being new, it did not at first meet, with the success that was anticipated. Now, however, the idea has taken a strong hold on the motoring community, and it is certain that this summer will see huge developments in Australia. Camps are springing up everywhere, some of them being under the jurisdiction of municipalities and of progress associations, while others are conducted by private enterprise. So important has the movement become that the railways have taken notice of it, and with commendable enterprise, instead of competing with or ignoring motoring, have issued a booklet in which every motor camp (and sites available for campers generally) is set down, and a full description of each given. Nearby attractions arel isted, and information is given stating the distances from railway lines, and how to arrange for the cartage of goods from the railway to the camp. For the motorists in Australia there are being sold a large number of trailers, in which the drivers can pack all their gear, and can move from camp to camp when they so desire. The camps are being erected at the seaside, on the mountains, and at every popular seaside resort. Where there are several In a family, the cost of holiday-making in thte fashion is very considerably less than it would be if the motorists were to stay at hotels or boarding houses. Possibilities in New Zealand Although we cannot expect to have elaborate camps scattered all over the country, there Is a sufficiently large population of motoring nomads during tho holiday season to patronise and to popularise camp tents built on the Australian style—that is to say, tents with wooden floors. The more popular they become, the more they would be built. Each year their fame would spread, and many people would* try them, even if only for the novelty of camping. In the North Island there are nearly 90 recognised camping sites, which are

all more or less well patronised during tho holiday seasons. Rotorua is particularly fortunate in having a large and well-appointed site, which last Christmas attracted several hundred motorists. Now, if all these sites were developed and equipped with floored tents, electric light where possible, and sanitary conveniences, it is a certainty that they would pay for themselves over and over again. It would pay the various borough and county councils to erect such camps, or, failing that, to let sites to private companies, who could develop them in their own way. There is nothing like competition to push things ahead, and if some enterprising person made his camp especially attractive by the introduction oC any novelty, it is certain that the owner of the next camp would endeavour to do the same, or to go one better. At present all the sites have water, either laid on or within easy distance of the camp. Conveniences are erected on almost every one, and gas rings are available on many.