Everything

London Via The South Seas, Mexico And Bahamas

The Air Route With Everything

One of the most attractive routes from Australasia across the Pacific to the Old World is undoubtedly going to be Qantas’ new service from Sydney to London via Tahiti, Mexico and the West Indies.

rHE inaugural service is to be flown towards the end of vfovember but when this issue went o press the exact date had not been lecided on.

Initially the service will be once veekly northbound and once-weekly outhbound. It will provide for eturn by the same route; return via 4ew York, San Francisco, Honolulu ind Nadi, Fiji; or on a round-the vorld basis through the Middle East >r Africa back to Sydney.

The new service will give Aus ralasians the closest link yet with ill the Latin American countries iouth of the U.S. border. Mexico City, which has been chosen the itaging point, is an aerial junction ; or all the countries of Central, south and North America.

One of the difficulties Mexico City poses, from the air-operat onal angle, however, is its high dtitude. Because of this jets cannot ake off with a sea-level load.

Lhis is to be overcome by the air :raft taking on only sufficient fuel for the 200 miles to the coastal resort of Acapulco and refuelling ;here for the Bahamas.

Stop-Over Rights

Lack of final details about the airport and facilities at Acapulco was one of the reasons that Qantas was unable to set an exact date for the start of service up to late October.

The service will carry full stop over rights so that passengers may break their journey in Papeete, Mexico City and Nassau, capital of the Bahamas, before flying on to London.

Qantas ran several services from Sydney to Faaa, the airport for Papeete, at the end of last year but then ceased to operate when difficulties arose between Australia and France over Pacific landing rights. Now the Australian airline

seems to have pulled the real plum out of the air-rights pie as no other company is operating this route — not, at any rate, for the moment.

Papeete, capital of French Oceania, has some excellent tourist hotels and is already a Mecca for Pacific travellers. Tahiti, neighbour ing Moorea and Bora Bora all are beautiful islands and have set them selves up to win the hearts of tourists —and have proved very successful at doing it.

Mexico City, next stop on the route, is in complete contrast. It is a city of over five million people situated at an elevation of 7,400 feet and is the oldest city in North America, built on an even older site.

Beneath the present city are the remains of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

Cool Nights

Although it is in the sub-tropics, climate is influenced by altitude. The coldest months are December and January and the wettest July and August. Even in the wettest season, however, rain is usually light and almost always falls only in the after noon. Nights can be cool at any season and visitors should go pre pared, with a top coat, light wool suits and warm sleeping wear as Mexico has not caught the North American passion for central heating.

There are first class hotels, at rates somewhat below those prevail ing in the United States.

Some of the best are the Reforma Intercontinental, the Continental Hilton and Plaza Vista Hermosa whose rates are about SUSI 2 single and SUSI 4 double per night; others are slightly higher but there are numerous good hotels with rates much lower, averaging rates of SUS 5-6 single and SUS 8-9 double.

The currency unit is the peso which is denoted by the $ sign but is worth only about 8 US cents.

The next hop to Nassau, in the

Bahamas, takes the traveller back to the tropics. Hottest months are June to October which are also the wettest.

Nassau is on New Providence Island, one of the 700 islands and cays that make up the Bahamas, and is the most sophisticated and modern resort in the group. It is the centre for tourism with famous hotels, night clubs, restaurants and bathing beaches.

Notwithstanding all this and the fact that its tourists are predomin antly American, it is said to have remained “quaintly British”.

The population of the Bahamas is

"Pacific Islands Monthly" is a member of the Australian National Travel Association and the Pacific Area Travel Association.

bout 87,000, half of it on New rovidence.

The five most famous and most xpensive hotels in Nassau are the Iritish Colonial, Montagu Beach, jnerald Beach, The Nassau Beach nd The Royal Victoria. Rates vary ccording to season but generally lake those in Mexico City look like le bargain-basement.

The high-season daily rates northern winter), at the above otels are from an average SUS3O ngle and up. These rates are iduced greatly for the off-season 'hich fortunately is long—from lid-April to mid-December.

Currency is the Bahaman £ which is tied to Stg., but US and Canadian dollars are used almost as readily as loca, money.

Qantas will use Boeing 707 jets on the new service which will be an additional service to the seven already operated across the Pacific via Fiji and Honolulu.

Fares will be the same as the current fare Sydney-London via the United States.

In Queensland The

Traveller Gets Variety

Queenslanders insist that the Sunshine State has everything the Pacific Islands have, only more of it. But it is true that part of Aus tralia attracts many visitors from the Islands as well as thousands from the southern States during the winter months. This is a round-up of news supplied us by the Queensland Gov ernment Tourist Bureau.

Festivals Two festivals coming up are Heron Island’s Barrier Reef Skin divers’ Festival which takes up three weeks of the month of November (7th to 27th). This is an annual event and skindivers from all over Austra lia converge on Heron for the occa sion.

The festival is not only for the ex perienced; tuition is available for would-be skindivers who generally become proficient shallow water divers after only two lessons.

This festival will be followed by the Great Barrier Reef Islands Festi val from December 5 to Dec. 12.

The resorts of Happy Bay and Palm Bay on Long Island, Brampton Is., South Molle, Lindeman and Hayman, plus the township of Proserpine, which is the jumping-off place for all of them, will be involved in the week of festivities.

There will be turtle races, oyster eating competitions, water-skiing and boomerang-throwing events, feasts a la Hawaii, “ihula” girls from the same area, sports, barbecues and dancing. Each resort has one festi val day to which guests from the other resorts are invited. The festival culminates in the final judging of the Coral Queen Contest at Hayman Is. on Dec. 11.

Go Sapphire Digging

The Anakie gemfields in Central Queensland are offering a new type of holiday.

The fields, source of Australia’s best sapphires, are situated in cattle

country 200 miles west of Rock hampton, with access through Emerald, the nearest town.

Queensland Airlines and Avis Rent-a-Car have combined services to offer a holiday to aspiring gem mologists.

A tri-weekly service operates from Brisbane and Rockhampton to Emerald. At the Emerald Airport, Volkswagen Kombi Caravanettes may be hired, to overcome transport and accommodation worries. These new vehicles each contain a lounge-dining area by day, which converts to a bedroom at night; they are fully equipped.

As sapphires valued at £.50 and more are frequently won from the Anakie fields, this new, “get away from it all” holiday offers the peace and beauty of Queensland bushland, as well as the opportunity of fossick ing out a stone which could cover expenses.