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The “Civic Square” of Mountain Huts.

One could fill a few pages with interesting details of the building, but something must be left for descriptive accounts when the opening ceremony arrives. To turn to out-of-doors, the first feature of interest in the front of the Chateau will be the 18-hole golf course, and putting green, all of which will be visible from the building. At the back will be a kind of “civic square,” where will be grouped prettily among the trees all the huts which have served mountaineers in the past, and a number of additional buildings accommodating at present the staff of over a hundred workmen which Messrs. Fletcher Bros. collected to make a quick job of the big contract.

In the mid-winter months, there is usually plenty of snow around the Chateau, but the best ski-ing ground is at Scoria Flat, an easy walk of an hour through a delightful beech forest.

In the summer, the attractions of the Park are widened, for with the long days, Ngauruhoe can be climbed and comfortably inspected—if it is not too active—in a day trip, while Ruapehu, approached over the snow slopes, will always be a particularly fascinating day's outing, with the crater lake at the southern end as the objective. Many shorter trips of real interest could be described, but this article is intended only as an introduction to a wonderful holiday centre, which for the first time in its history is being made comfortably accessible to everybody.