TRAVELLERS' JOY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 664, 28 March 1952, Page 13

TRAVELLERS' JOY

THE MILFORD COUNTRY and STEWART ISLAND, by N. S. Seaward; both 2/6. sy, SOUTHERN ALPS, by. John Pascoe; /6. CENTRAL OTAGO, by J. D. S. Roberts; 3/-. (All published by the Pegasus Press, Christchureh. ) ; "HESE first four New Zealand Holiday Guides vary a good deal in scope, and indeed are addressed to quite different audiences, as the nature of the country often requires. The Milford guide (which includes Manapour: and the Hollyford) is for the tramper without much experience and describes the main routes for the foot traveller in this enchanted region, covering some of the same ground as Moir’s Guide but at a different. level. Stewart Island will be very useful to anyone staying at Half Moon Bay and extends to al! the excursions readily accessible from the settlement. Both these guides could be improved by fuller maps, and the tramper’s food list in the former is scarcely adequate. John Pascoe’s treatment of the main mountains of the South Island from the Kaikouras to the Rangitata is.a tour de force as exacting as many of his own journeys. The amount of accurate and useful topographical information packed into these 96 pages is astounding, and the 18 maps leave scarcely a corner of this vast territory untouched. Pascoe,

of course, is writing. for the tramper and mountaineer and admirably serves their purposes, whether the ground is known or new. Much of the northern end of this country, the St. Arnaud and Spenser mountains, is little described in mountaineering journals. J. D. S. Roberts’s guide to Central Otage will help the ordinary tourist pushing the family car into these golden highlands. Queenstown is regarded as the cynosure of the district and is fully treated, but Wanaka is rather scamped. The notes on history and place names are interesting. The Pegasus Press is to be congratu- | lated on giving us such value for money. | These booklets, each with its sheaf of excellent photographs, are designed for the pocket or the rucksack. We may congratulate ourselves too that this country is so rich in natural beauty. While we sit at home planning imaginary journeys, we can anticipate with watering mouths the pleasure of a visit to the ghost town, Bullendale, with it§ acre of wild strawberries, or the delights of Ulva and Thule, of Routeburn and Greénstone, of the More Rain Hut (an extended stay is indicated) and of the

Cannibal Gorge.

David

Hall