Árdís - 01.01.1958, Blaðsíða 42

40
ÁRDÍ S
years to alert the small communities at the base of the mountains.
Orakei-Korako is a valley of great thermal activity where geysers
play regularly every three or four minutes and a great formation
of silicated terraces can be seen nearby. These and many other
interesting sights were seen in the Rotorua district. I must not
forget to mention, however, the sight of Blue and Green Lakes —*
situated very near each other — so named because one reflects a
distinct blue color and in the other a clear green color. During our
trip Christmas came and went, and on Christmas Day our dinner
was eaten outdoors in picnic style in pleasantly warm weather —
possibly 79°F. How different to our Canadian Christmas.
While I was not able to visit the South Island, with the aid
of slides and the help of the New Zealanders who are very well
informed when speaking of their own country, I gained a little
insight about what it is like. While the North Island, on which
Auckland and Wellington are located, is heavily forested and was
volcanic at one time, the South Island progresses from fertile farm
land through great snow-capped mountains to semi-arctic regions
of unexplored fiords. The bulk of the population lives in the more
inhabitable North Island, including most of the Maori population.
Huge sections of the South Island are as yet unexplored since they
are so inaccessible and recently the rediscovery of a bird long
thought extinct took place.
With regard to the population I might mention that the
greater portion of the population of the South Island immigrated
from Scotland while the people of the North Island came mainly
from England and Ireland. The Maori populations is very much in
minority.
With having such a favorable climate there is an all year round
abundance of flowers and shrubs. Lemons, grapefruit, apples,
guava, plums, tree tomatoes and grapes grow in many a garden as
well as being grown commercially. The growth of vegetables and
flowers is simply fabulous. A summer garden is no sooner har-
vested than the winter garden is planted. Flowers bloom the year
round. The size of the blooms is staggering by our standards here
on the Prairies, and such an array of beautiful, colorful and ex-
quisite blossoms are a constant delight. In Bella and Ivan’s garden,
the lilies, dahlias and hydrangeas were outstanding although there