It’S Snow Time In

The South Now

People who like to see snow—but just briefly—have a chance of doing so quickly in both Australia and New Zealand.

\ IRLINES of New South Wales is, during the Australian winter snow season, running one-day tours to the Mt. Kosciusko area. Passengers leave Sydney’s Mascot Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (6.50 a.m.) or Sundays (8.05 a.m.) for Cooma air port (which is about 14 miles on the snowy side of the town). Buses then convey passengers to Smiggin Holes, in the middle of the snow country, at about 6,000 feet. Skis, boots, to boggans can be hired at the new hotel and meals are available in the same establishment or local snack bars. Return flight is in the evening.

Fares are £l2/18/- per adult; £7/1/per child.

The NSW Railways also run week end excursions in the same way. Cus tomers sleep in the train (sleeping berths) on Saturday night, arrive at Cooma early Sunday morning; spend the day in the snow and take a sleeper back to Sydney Sunday night, arriving in time for the office Monday morn ing.

In the South Island of New Zea land, tourists may take a quick look at the beauties of Mt. Cook and the Southern Alps in three-passenger, ski Dianes. They can actually land on he glaciers or on fine powder snow, md soar amongst the snow valleys md 15,000 feet peaks of the Alps.

Phis service, quite rightly, is becom ing one of the most spectacular ourist thrills New Zealand has to )ffer. Particulars are obtainable from vlt. Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company, PO Box 226, Timaru, NZ.

Cruises—With a Note On the Nadi Area of Fiji jl/TATSON LINES will conduct a short sea-air tour of Noumea, New Caledonia and Fiji in July—l 2 days for from £A2I3/10/-. Matson vessels Mariposa and Monteray leave Sydney every three weeks and there is no reason why the itinerary should not be repeated as travellers require —although perhaps not at this con cession price.

The tour offered leaves Sydney by Monterey on July 15 and provides five days at sea—less the time spent in Noumea where a tour is ar-

ranged, including a visit to the aquarium and lunch at a French restaurant. Arrival at Suva is scheduled for July 20 and the follow ing week includes Suva, Korolevu Beach resort, the Mocambo Hotel at Nadi, with launch and car tours, yaqona ceremony, swimming, Fijian feasts, etc.

The tour ends July 27 with return to Sydney by Qantas.

This is a very pleasant tour but we think it was stretched a bit when the advance publicity—conjuring up ideas the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro or Tales of Fair Kashmir—said of the

Mocambo: “Located on a mountai top, the hotel is charming with loveb panoramic views of the ocean aii far off-shore islands”.

The Mocambo is on a knoll ovei looking Nadi airport and if it’s mor than 50 feet above sea level we’d b surprised. There probably is glimpse of Nadi Bay around th place somewhere (like from the to of the flag pole), but PIM staff men bers who stay at the hotel frequentlj have never noticed it particularly.

The Mocambo is a very pleasan place to stay—even without thi mountain air and the distant se; views. The swimming pool, added ii 1962, is an attraction these days, am a block of new de luxe suites am rooms is currently being completed It is hard to believe, now that thi Nadi area is developing as a touris resort in its own right, that righ up to 1961 Nadi was a place to go tc catch a plane. The Mocambo ther was an old building right at the air port, that had started life during the war as an American officers’ club; while the two other hotels in the area—Skylodge and the Nadi Hotel— which these days also offer fine ac commodation and service to tourists, had not been developed to the stage at which they now are.

Things You Should Know That . . . “Torrie Glen”, one of the many fully-furnished self contained units of flats on Norfolk Island ideal for tourists, can be had for £3/10/- a week per person, and not £l3/10/ —as a printer’s

The "Pacific Islands Monthly" is a member of the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) and the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), which are pledged to promote tourist travel in their areas.

had it in our April issue, ie Glen”, Elizabeth Street, is i 50 acres, and the flats have city and all mod. cons, it . . Travellers Digest, :’s fat (336 pp) and informative to 101 countries, mentioned in jne issue, is not only available ne passengers, but to the general : too, at BOAC offices and ellers. At only 8/6 it is the ourist value we know. BOAC, e way, has just opened a new at the corner of Elizabeth and is St., Melbourne, it . . . Cathay Pacific, also ed to in June, does not operate es from Sydney to the East any But both Qantas and BOAC te Sydney to Hong Kong, and ,y, of course, operates out of Kong.

beautiful Italian )YD TRIESTINO might have lone better to have called their vessels Gina Lollobrigida and a Loren instead of Galileo and oni. Although the two gentle are Most Famous Italians the that now bear their names might be described as feminine and certainly are mid-20th century sticates. lileo, as we recall, as well as a genius unappreciated in his country, was always in trouble me sort and spent the latter part 5 life suffering from a kidney ail wever, Galileo, the ship, which leted her maiden voyage to Aus in May is a very beautiful n and what might be regarded e owners’ pledge to a continu :aith in the passenger trade be i Australia and Southern Europe, ept in the UK, Italy has sup- Australia with its biggest quota DSt-war migrants.) e 27,500 ton Galileo caters for ■y and economy travellers in and tourist classes, both with ;rn Italy’s flair for design, colour functional elegance. ilileo will be joined by her twin , Marconi, in October this year together they will provide a ;hly service between Sydney and • Australian ports and Naples via arta, Singapore, Colombo, Bom- Aden, Suez, Messina and Genoa, mrist off-season fares are from Z 5; first-class from £A2SO.

Boomerang Season

For Europe

The off-season for voyages from Australasia to Europe is now just about to begin and canny travellers will have a large field to pick from this year. P & O-Orient alone has 14 sailings from Australia to UK from July 29, 1963, to January 3, 1964, which come within their Boomerang or off-season rates. (Boomerang fares operate Aug. 1— Dec. 31, give or take a few days; off season rates apply to single passages as well as return).

Strathmore, leaving Sydney, July 29, is the first of the Boomerang voyages this year; and Oriana, on January 3, 1964, is the last.

Boomerang tickets are current for two years and all include first class return from Europe (as there is pressure on tourist bookings south bound).

With tourist class northbound, Boomerang fares are from £A363 re turn; one-class vessel northbound, from £A373; and first class both ways, from £A426.

Boomerang fares are also available on P & O-Orient Pacific voyages although they have no seasonal limitation; they are available under certain circumstances —mostly for a round voyage on the same vessel— and work out at about li times the single fare.

For some probably adequate reason —but one that escapes the traveller —fares on a comparative mileage or elapsed-time basis, are much more expensive on the Pacific services than between Australasia and Europe.

Floating Hotels For

TOKYO GAMES: The P & O-Orient liners Oriana (42,000 tons), Iberia (30,000 tons) and Oronsay (28,000 tons) will become floating hotels at

Yokohama during the Tokyo Olympics next year (Oct. 9-24).

Iberia and Oronsay will be home ward bound from San Francisco at that time and will spend October 9-13 and October 22-24 respectively, at Yokohama. Oriana will make a special cruise from Sydney and be at Yokohama for 10 days from Oct. 9 to 19. She will complete the cruise by calling at Nagasaki, Hong Kong, Great Barrier Reef and Auck land before returning to Sydney on November 9.

100Th Pacific

VOYAGE: Matson Lines, in June, cele brated the 100th postwar voyage of a Matson liner be tween the US and Australia. The 100th voyage was made by the "Mariposa" which left Sydney for San Francisco on June 20. Matson's north and south bound Pacific routes are shown on the map.