The growth of overseas air travel is bringing more and more people to New Zealand and for a longer stay than the more leisurely (and, for some, more enjoyable) sea travel alone would allow. Auckland is the main port of arrival as it is served by several overseas airlines (TEAL, Pan-American, Canadian Pacific, TAI, QANTAS) and is the main port of call for passenger ships. Wellington is also an important port of call and has (like Christchurch) daily air services to and from Australia – a mere four flying hours away.
New Zealand's natural attractions could hardly be more happily disposed for the visitor. Everywhere mountains and hills overshadow the comparatively small and isolated lowlands, with all the picturesque and sharp contrasts of a geologically young land unfolding in quick succession before the tourists' eyes in this small, well-roaded country. The climate is mild. Summer (December-March) is the most popular visiting time, but the Spring (September-November) and Autumn (April-May) can be most pleasant. Much of the country is sparsely peopled, especially the mountain and valley regions. Open landscapes can appear abruptly on the edges of cities. In a matter of hours one can travel from volcano and geyser to glacier; through deep, heavily bushed valleys; to fiords and mountain lakes; through rich and various farmlands; and from the subtropical north to the alpine snow. One can enjoy all manner of sport with the minimum of formality – hunting deer, pigs, and other animals, sea bathing, yachting, fishing, tramping, ski-ing, and mountaineering. In the matter of human social interest there is much for an inquiring mind to study – the pattern of life in a comparatively recently European-settled country which has had for centuries a vigorous native Maori population; modern housing and transport schemes; hydro-electric and geothermal power development; and the intensive and ingenious mechanisation of farming.
Transport is fast, safe, and comfortable. All the main tourist attractions may be reached by road, and many by rail or air. All cities, and most major towns, are linked by air through an internal network, and smaller private airlines provide extensions to other areas. Widely varied coach tours are available, embracing holiday resorts and tourist centres. “Rental” (drive-yourself) cars are available throughout the country, and there are also good chauffeur-driven cars. Regular sightseeing drives are special features of most cities and resorts, with driver-guides to point out interesting places. A nightly inter-island steamer express links Wellington and Lyttelton (port of Christchurch), and a specially designed passenger and car ferry, which began in 1962, provides a daily return service between Wellington and Picton. A minimum of 10 days is required to see the best of New Zealand, although a stay of 14 days or longer is preferable.
Hotels provide good food and comfort rather than the more elaborate services featured by large hotels in America and Europe. Most hotels use a daily tariff, which includes three meals; but there is a gradual trend to a room-rate only. Daily tariffs at top-grade hotels (all meals and a room with private bath and toilet) range from £4 to 6 for each person and in many of the less expensive ones from £3 a day without private bath. There are guest houses and bed-and-breakfast accommodation in most larger towns, and a growing number of motels. Advance bookings are strongly recommended between December and March and for most of the year at some of the outstanding resorts.
Although the tourist industry depends largely on private enterprise, the Tourist and Publicity Department (founded in 1901) helps considerably to promote travel to and within New Zealand. It has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Within New Zealand it has Government Tourist Bureaus at Auckland, Rotorua, Te Aroha, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill, and a network of tourist agencies in other centres. It directs national publicity overseas. Because of the cost of developing some of the more remote scenic areas, the Department for many years has run hotels at Waitomo Caves, Lake Waikaremoana, Wairakei, Tokaanu, and Tongariro National Park in the North Island, and at Mount Cook, Queenstown, Lake Te Anau, Milford Sound, and the Franz Josef Glacier in the South Island. In 1955 the control of these hotels passed to a Tourist Hotel Corporation.
The tourist industry earned over £63 million of foreign exchange in 1964–65 – a conservative figure which includes only direct revenue and not money spent indirectly by passengers from cruise ships, for example. The estimated real value would approach £10·4 million. New Zealand accepts for statistical use the International Union of Official Travel Organisations' definition of a “tourist”. In 1964–65 most tourists came from Australia (40,368), United States (15,958), and Britain (7,744), with respective travel receipts of approximately £3·1 million, £1·3 million, and £1·6 million. (Travel receipts exclude fares, migrants' transfers, and personal remittances.) The proportional income from British tourists is high, as they tend to stay longer (often on long working holidays) and thus spend more.
Northland. This long peninsula north of Auckland combines subtropical beauty with historical interest. New Zealand's most historic spot is Waitangi, close to Paihia, where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. A photographic copy of the Treaty and many historic pictures may be seen in the Treaty House. Nearby is a whare with Maori carvings representing all Maori tribes and, in another shelter, there is a Maori canoe 117 ft long. Just across the bay is Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, New Zealand's first capital. The Anglican Church, built in 1835, shows bullet holes and battle scars in the walls. Pompallier Roman Catholic Mission House, built in 1839 and recently restored, contains many relics of this era. Waipoua Forest, a huge stand of kauri trees (some more than 1,000 years old), stands on the opposite side of the peninsula. A smaller, more concentrated grouping of kauris can be seen at Trounson Park.
Waitomo Caves. Of a group of limestone caves at Waitomo three – the Waitomo, Ruakuri and Aranui Caves – are well known as tourist attractions. The Ruakuri is the largest of the caves and is a series of long galleries and lofty chambers, the Aranui is famed for the beauty of its stalactite and stalagmite formations, and visitors from all parts of the world are fascinated by the Glow Worm Grotto of the Waitomo Caves. On the walls and ceiling of this vast cavern live tens of thousands of larvae of a glow worm (Arachnocampa luminosa). Unlike glow worms in other parts of the world, this is a species of fly of which all stages are luminous. The fly is small but the larva may be as much as 1 ½ in. in length, and lives for many months. Each is found in its silken-lined tunnel in walls and ceilings, and forms many long silky sticky threads, which hang towards the water. It is by these that the larva obtains its food, for when tiny midges become entangled, the threads are drawn up. Guides take visitors through this cavern by boat on the underground river. They travel in darkness and silence, for glow worms are sensitive both to light and to noise, and can extinguish the light. The canopy of myriads of glow worms and the reflection of them on the water is a sight which must be seen to be believed.
Thermal Wonderland. Rotorua and Wairakei are centres of what many international travellers consider the most spectacular thermal region in the world. It has amazing variety and contrast, from spectacular geysers, hot springs, boiling pools, and bubbling “mud volcanoes” to restful lakes and forests. The many lakes attract tourists for fishing, boating, and swimming amid beautiful surroundings. As Rotorua is one of the main centres of the Maori people, there are many fine examples of their meeting houses, their carving and artefacts; and Maori concerts are given during the season. There is thermal activity at Waiotapu and other places, but the centre of thermal activity is the Geyser Valley at Wairakei. This was a wonderland to many visitors, but of recent years the man-made bores of the geothermal project, which harnesses underground steam to generate electricity, have been a detraction from the natural wonders.
Lake Taupo. The largest lake in New Zealand is drained by the Waikato River, with Huka Falls and Aratiatia Rapids nearby. Here are many attractions for the tourist and magnificent views of snow-clad mountains across the lake. Taupo is popular for swimming, boating, and hot mineral baths, but especially for trout fishing. Anglers from far afield are seen here throughout the season.
Tongariro National Park. Tongariro National Park, in the centre of the North Island, contains three closely grouped mountains – Mount Ruapehu (9,175 ft), a permanently snow-capped mountain with a warm crater lake; Mount Ngauruhoe (7,515 ft), a mildly active volcano; and Mount Tongariro (6,458 ft), an almost extinct volcano. Mount Ruapehu is one of the most popular resorts for climbers and enthusiasts in winter sports.
Mount Egmont. An extinct volcano, Mount Egmont (8,260 ft) is an almost perfect cone, and for symmetry closely rivals Japan's Fujiyama. It is popular with trampers and in winter there are snow fields within easy access of many places.
Lake Waikaremoana. Lake Waikaremoana (“Sea of Rippling Waters”) and a small lake, Waikare-iti, are set in bush-covered mountains. They are acclaimed the most beautiful of all the North Island lakes.
Mount Cook. The Mount Cook region is out-standing among alpine resorts of the Southern Alps – the massive backbone of the South Island. Mount Cook (12,349 ft) is New Zealand's highest mountain, known to the Maoris as Aorangi (“The Cloud Piercer”). Seventeen peaks over 10,000 ft surround Mount Cook. The 18-mile-long Tasman Glacier, the largest in the temperate zones, is nearby. One can take walking trips up on to the glacier ice, or land on high snow fields by ski plane. The Mount Cook region offers first-class mountaineering.
Queenstown. Queenstown, set on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, is overshadowed by The Remarkables Range. It is the centre of the Southern Lakes district and close to the sites of the gold rushes of the last century, which have left many relics in the district.
Lake Te Anau. Sightseeing includes a trip to the Te Anau-au glow worm cave (quite different from Waitomo), a jetboat trip down the rapids of the Waiau River, and a cruise on Lake Manapouri, often described as New Zealand's most beautiful lake.
Milford Sound. Few places in the world can surpass Milford Sound for scenic grandeur. Carved from the granite mountains by a vanished glacier, its sheer sides tower thousands of feet above the 10-mile-long sound, so deep that ocean liners cannot anchor. Mitre Peak (5,560 ft) dominates the view from the hotel at the top of the sound. There is a road through the rugged, beautiful Eglinton and Hollyford Valleys, thence through the Homer Tunnel (a ¾-mile tunnel piercing a 6,000-ft range) and down the Cleddau Valley. One can take the three-day hike over the 33 miles of the Milford Track, known as “the finest walk in the world”.
South Westland Glaciers. The Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are memorable sights. These glaciers flow down from the high snow fields to within a few hundred feet of sea level.
Stewart Island. This island lies to the south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a sanctuary especially for birds. It is mountainous and heavily bushed, with a most beautiful coastline.
Trout Fishing. New Zealand's innumerable lakes and streams foster outsize rainbow and brown trout. Seasons vary according to districts, but it is possible to fish somewhere most of the year. Licence fees are low compared with those of most overseas countries and there are no special privileges or formalities, such as sale of fishing rights. The most popular lakes are Taupo and those at Rotorua.
Big-game Fishing. There are plenty of big-game fish, such as black marlin and striped marlin, along 300 miles of coastline from the Bay of Islands to Tauranga. Several world records are held in New Zealand. The season is from mid-December to the end of April, and sometimes into June. There are no licence fees and launch hire is about £16 a day.
Ski-ing. Ski-ing is becoming increasingly popular and modern facilities have been installed on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the North Island and at Coronet Peak, near Queenstown. Mount Cook offers expansive snow fields for ski touring.
Hunting. Seven species of deer have been declared officially pests, so deer hunting is free and the rewards are great. But one must be very fit and be willing to rough it to gain these rewards, as the animals live in remote precipitous country. Chamois and thar can be hunted in the Mount Cook region, and wapiti and moose in Fiordland. One can get wild pigs in most bush regions of both islands. In season there are plenty of ducks and swans and some pheasant and quail shooting.
by J.P.C.