cold, although the thermometer is not lower than 37°. The people on board have all been variously employed. Captain Cross sent a man to pull me round the Port, as I wished to look at the different anchorages. In a small but snug cove on the south side of the bay, which is called Oyster Cove, we found a party consisting of an Englishman, a half-caste Maori, and two Maori women, who (with five ragged and somewhat ferocious looking dogs) were dwelling in a cave in the rocks, their business there being that of dredging for oysters, which they dispose of in the Invercargill market. They presented me with four or five dozen, which I must pronounce the finest I have met with in the Southern Hemisphere.
I was very much gratified with our pull round Port Adventure. I carefully inspected the timber, which is abundant and of considerable variety; but saw only one tree which at all resembles that on Auckland Islands. It is that of the hard-wood, and is here very appropriately called iron wood; but it grows much straighter and larger than that of the Auckland Islands. Amongst the herbage I saw nothing resembling in any way that of the Auckland Isles, excepting some of the tufty grass; and amongst the feathered tribes I only saw one little chirruper such as we had down there—this is the robin; neither have I seen any of the boggy earth such as is down there, and the rocky formations which I saw are quite dissimilar. On returning to the vessel in the evening I found the crew as busily employed as I had left them, in putting everything in order for a sea voyage, which I believe the vessel has not yet been called upon to perform. She is nearly new, and has been wholly employed in the coasting trade.
Wednesday, August 2.—Heavy S.W. gale, with bitter squalls and showers of hail. It is very fortunate that we are in a good harbour during this heavy weather and head winds; the little vessel would have got a severe thrashing had she been out in it, as it would be right in our teeth. Everything on board is snugly arranged, and she is now
