travel

Islands From

The Air

A Regular Pim Department

Reporting News Of South

Seas Tourism And Travel

From The Inside

pMJI’S famed Rewa River delta, A not far from Suva, lays itself out below Air Pacific Ltd.’s new twin-engined Beechcraft in this air-to-air shot. Air Pacific is an air charter service which recently began operations in Fiji. The Beechcraft takes five passengers.

At left, a Beechcraft-eye view of Suva’s main business section, with overseas wharf at left foreground. Area at right foreground is being reclaimed, and there are plans for a harbour drive. In the background is Laucala Bay. Over

Top picture on p. 42 was aken on the opposite side of the lain island of Viti Levu, and hows the Mocambo Hotel on a noil, surrounded by a pattern f canefields. The aircraft from diich Rob Wright took this boto (he also took the others n pages 41-43) was about to md at nearby Nadi international irport. Lower aerial picture on ». 42 shows the new Fijian Hotel, t Yanuca Island, which will be pened in September. The island ; reached by a causeway to the lainland, out of the picture at tie top. The hotel’s reception rea and dining rooms are in the The Fijian is owned y the Mocambo interests.

Latest aerial pictures of the kingdom of Tonga show, at ight, Nukualofa’s main street, nd below, the Dateline Hotel, ot far from the palace. Rob bright took these during the oronation in July. The dotted ne down the centre of the main treet comprises flower - pots rected as part of the coronation ecorations.

The Dateline Hotel, which is nly a stone’s throw from the each, is a well-managed luxury

hotel, owned by the Tongan Government and opened for busi ness only at the end of last year.

The airport, with services con necting Fiji and Samoa, is several miles out of town, and the new overseas wharf is about a mile from the hotel.

Point Cruz, the main wharf area of Honiara, capital of the British Solomon Islands, is in the aerial photograph by Ted Mar riott on this page. The town is spread widely around the wharf, with most private houses erected in the hills behind the town for coolness. The Solomons are making a bid for tourists, and will shortly be connected with Suva by fast small jet, operated by Fiji Airways. There is al ready a fast air connection through New Guinea to Aus

tralia by TAA. Honiara has two hotels the recently - extended Hotel Mendana, and Blum’s Hometel.

The photograph below was taken recently from a helicopter pad on 11,600 ft Mt. Otto, near

Goroka, in New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands, and shows part of the rugged Ramu Valley.

A VHF installation to link Lae with Madang is being erected on Mt. Otto by the P-NG Posts and Telegraph Department.