“A land of streams! Some like a downward smoke,
Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn did go;
And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke,
Rolling a slumbrous sheet of foam below.
They saw the gleaming river seaward flow
From the inner land: far-off, three mountain tops,
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow,
Stood sunset-flush'd: and dew'd with showery drops,
Up-clomb the shadowy pine above the woven copse.”

Tennyson.

New Zealand has been aptly described as a “Vest Pocket Edition” of the world's scenic wonders, and nowhere in the wide world have Nature's gifts been so lavishly bestowed as on this, the “Playground of the Pacific.”

A land of wondrous beauty-of endless variety and charm; a land of stately forest and lofty mountain range, mighty glaciers and ice-carved flords; a land of amazing contrasts-where spouting geysers play beside cool streams; where hot springs bubble 'mid ice and snow. Surely, nowhere else in the world can be found so many attractions-and on such a grand scale -assembled within an area not much greater than that of the British Isles!

The West Coast of the South Island is a region that is incomparably grand in point of scenery, and is famous the world over for its great natural beauty and charm. Its verdant valleys and magnificent forests are overshadowed by the majestic snow-capped ranges of the Southern Alps, whose glaciated buttresses culminate in the flordland of the south.

The main “gateways” to the historic and wonderful West provide the visitor with a foretaste of the varied attractions which annually draw thousands of tourists to this beautiful district.

Thus, the route from the north via the famed Buller Gorge, compels the interest of the traveller. Every mile-every turn in the road opens up some new and everchanging vista of loveliness. From the time that the Gorge is entered near Murchison, until it ends in the vicinity of Westport, the journey engages the admiration. The visitor who travels by the alternative route is likewise assured of outstanding scenery. Not a few there are who make the journey across Arthur's Pass and the Otira Gorge -a journey, every mile of which is packed with interest; a journey by “forest and ice,” unequalled in its rugged grandeur, and a fitting introduction to the natural glories of the “Golden Coast.”

Greymouth, the largest town and the commercial and geographical centre of the West Coast, constitutes the ideal base or “jumping-off place” for those who would acquaint themselves with the famous resorts and the many other wonderful attractions which the district has to offer.