TRAVEL NOTES
NEW ZEALAND IF one is permitted to judge of such matters by official statistics, New Zealand may well claim to be the healthiest country in the world, since it had, in 1935, both the lowest death rate and the highest expectation of life, even including infants. Certainly it has everything in its favour in this respect : a climate which is mild and sunny, and an ample rainfall well distributed through the year. The annual average of sunshine is in the neighbourhood of 2,000 hours, a figure comparable to that of Italy. The country is remarkably varied in character : downland, plains, large tracts of hills and mountains, with plenty of lakes and rivers make travel a delight. While industry has grown very rapidly in New Zealand since the War, the chief occupation of the country is of an agricultural nature, very large areas in the South Island being occupied with the production of wool. Transport is good in New Zealand: railway, motor, steamship and aviation services providing excellent facili- ties for travel. Passenger and freight rates are kept as low as possible, and the Govern- ment has long co-operated with local authorities to build and maintain highways of modern kinds. A motor car is owned, on the average, by every ten persons of the population, a proportion second only to the United States and Canada. The Dominion has twenty-one ports of entry, of which Auckland, Wellington, Lyttleton and Dune- din are very well equipped. For the sports- man, New Zealand is one continuous delight, one visiting angler calling it "Sports- man's Paradise." In the large and numer- ous streams and lakes of both Islands ten- pound brown and rainbow trout are plentiful, and the cost of fishing is moderate when compared to that of other countries. The season for trout is from October ist to April 3oth in all acclimatisation districts except Rotorua and Taupo, where the period is November 1st to May 31st. For men, the season licence fee is 25s., for women 7s. 6d., and for boys under t6, in all districts except the two named above, the fee is 5s. The limit is twelve fish per day in the Taupo and Rotorua districts, and twenty to twenty-five in other districts. For those who like larger game there are swordfish, mako shark, and other big-game fish in the eastern coastal waters, from the Bay of Islands in the north,via the Bay of Plenty to Kaikoura in the south. For the visitor who loves beauty, and natural wonders, New Zealand is as much a paradise as it is to the sportsman. The mountains, lakes, forests and rivers ; the great tracts of grassy downlands, with their patches of dark-green " bush " ; caves of limestone ; glaciers, waterfalls, and a thousand other beauties are to be found on every hand. The beautiful bays and inlets of the coast give excellent scope for bathing, yachting and kindred amusements. There are plenty of golf links and tennis courts, and hotel accommodation is comfortable and comparatively cheap. The voyage, when travelling in the comfort offered by such steamships as those of the Blue Star Line, the Orient Line, and similar companies, is a holiday in itself. Round voyage tickets are available all the year round, the only condition being that the round voyage must be completed in the same vessel. Holders of these tickets need not incur any hotel expenses as they may stay aboard at the various ports of call. They may, also, if they choose, disembark at any port, and re- embark at any other port at which the steamer calls, while inland tours can be arranged to fit in with such plans. Fares for the Round Voyage, via Panama Canal (too days): L155 First Class ; £122 Cabin Class. Via Suez Canal, Ceylon and Australia (97-99 days) : £155 First Class ; £63 Tourist.
P. & 0. EASTER CRUISE
The P. & 0. Line have an attractive Cruise leaving London on April 14th, calling at Lisbon, Casablanca and Gibraltar. The cruise lasts eleven days and costs from 19 guineas. Passengers have 39 hours at Lisbon, 12 hours at Casablanca, and 6 hours at Gibraltar, reaching London on the return journey on April 25th.
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