Loading...
Village Squire, 1977-07, Page 17Land of Dreams BY BILL HART If you have ever met a person without a special dream to fulfill send him around to me and I'll arrange to have the local undertaker embalm him as a curiosity. Your personal dream might have been Hawaii, and that of your neighbour a visit to the Taj in India. Many good Roman Catholics dream of Rome as Muslims in a foreign land dream of a pilgrimage to Mecca. Often when the dream becomes a reality the magic is gone and reality falls short of the vision. I can only hope that your dream when it is realized will be as rewarding as mine was. From the moment I started reading about far distance places, there was an ever increasing urge to have a look at New Zealand, and have a ride on Millford Sound described by many world travellers as the single most beautiful place on our small planet. Three years ago we finally made it and the moment we arrived in Aukland I began to worry. Millford Sound is in the heart of South Island's Fiordland and depending on the way you look at it is blessed or cursed with one of the heaviest rainfalls in the world. Time was limited and people we met as we worked our way south cheerfully told us it could rain for a week or 10 days at a time. As we crossed on the ferry from Wellington there were reports of rains heavy for even that area, in progress. Luck seemed to be turning our way for by the time we reached Te Anna the weather was breaking. We kept our fingers crossed. Next morning we woke to a smiling sky and set off by bus over the divide and down to the upper reaches of the Sound under a sky blue beyond the imagination of smog cursed North Americans. Shortly after we were on one of the small tour boats that were to carry us the length of Millford and momentarily out into the Tasman Sea. The sensation was not unlike that of walking down the centre of Salisbury Cathedral through here in place of tall pillars we moved between lofty mountains topped by Mitre Peak rising a mile shear out of the water on our left. Instead of the great arched roof we sailed under the blue arch of Heaven. Salisbury was man's handiwork at its best and completely dwarfed by the splendor of nature as it was laid down in the beginning. You can hunt the Oxford dictionary from A to Z or search Roget's Thesaurus for similes and come away defeated. The words have yet to be minted that will evoke on paper the majesty of this remote corner of the world. Nor will two dimentional slides however well exposed bring to the screen the impact of such an experience. Are you ready for an anti -climax? Well. ready or not. here it is. We had a third day in Te Anna and guided by Lady Luck we struck off on another all day combination of bus, boat, bus and boat to explore Doubtful Sound to the south. Doubtful. so named by Captain James Cook, because the prevailing winds off the sea were so strong he was unsure that his boat would get out again if he entered to explore. had just been opened to the public and there was little advanced publicity to herald it. Take our tip and if you arrive on a tigh schedule with an either/or decision, opt for Doubtful Sound as it's even more beautiful. There seems to be a fly in every bottle of ointment and we found on returning to Canada, that New Zealand does not accept senior citizens. If it did this bit would have a Nelson address. SAVE $$$ ON YOUR NEW *HOUSE *DRIVE IN SHED *ADDITION *TRUSSES ROYAL HOMES HAS ADDED A NEW LINE TO THEIR HOME PRODUCTIONS CALLED COMPONENTS This means prefabricating the entire building in sections; delivering these to your site; and all you do is nail it together. We can build anything - just bring in your plan or ideas, and we will quote you the price. THE HOUSE Everything is pre- engineered to help you build faster and better. .-llIII ms. Illi nn- ILII__- — =i MI --ll•■ _ Ideal for the farmer, home- owner and home -builder, for additions and new buildings. THE DRIVE-IN SHED 1111111111111111111P4 P4 TRUSSES Inquire today for your summer building and save sss CaII 357-2444 or Write to: ROYAL HOMES LIMITE IFL r P.O. BOX 370 - WINGHAM ONTARIO, CANADA 1I 1 1 NAME 1 � TELEPHONE am interested in your; Component House Li Trusses O Drive-in Shed ADDRESS 1 "Great or Small We Build Them All" J VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1977. PG. 15.