A Whole Tourist World
pp. 85-86 · Read in the full issue
Every year the South Pacific’s largest islands —New Zealand—are the holiday destination of more than 3,000 residents of other South Pacific Islands.
THE lure that attracts them is not hard to define. Nearby New Zealand’s scenic and sporting attrac tions are so many, so varied and so spectacular that they draw tourists from the far ends of the earth. For people in the Pacific there are the added inducements of cheap, fast and frequent transport services by air and sea, and the fact that New Zea-
land’s attractions lie so compactly together that all can be visited with out straining a holiday budget.
As a holiday wonderland, New Zealand has something for everyone —scenic splendour for the sightseer, sporting excitement for anglers, hunters and skiers, modern cities for those who live in isolation, peaceful country panoramas for the city dweller, and a year-round mildness which appeals immensely to those who live in more difficult climates.
World in Miniature New Zealand’s variety is such that it is often described as “a world in miniature”. Certainly, it offers the visitor most of the highlights of a world tour, as well as some extra features uniquely its own.
Contrast is the keynote of the two main islands.
The North Island, more densely populated, has the largest cities and is noted for the world’s greatest con centration of geysers and other awe inspiring thermal activities.
The South Island is more rugged, more spectacular in sheer scenic grandeur. Its alps, rising over 12,000 ft. within a few miles of the western coastline, are greater in extent than the whole of Switzerland and in more (Over)
[?]ateau Tongariro, New Zealand's famous mountain sports resort in the North Island.
than a dozen places are indented with fiords rivalling in beauty those of Norway.
Both islands, although their terrains are different, have many things in common. Both offer splendid trout fishing, hunting and ski-ing for the sportsman, both contain fine examples of New Zealand’s unique glow-worm grottoes—at Waitomo in the North Island, Te Anau in the South; and both are studded with scores of beautiful, forest-fringed lakes, each a scenic gem in itself.
With a wide range of accommoda tion available and with most resorts easily accessible by road, rail or air, New Zealand is one of the few re maining unspoiled countries where the visitor can satisfy almost any interest, travelling independently or in an organised party, at a price to suit all pockets.