88 AROUND THE WORLD VIA INDIA. 



a place of safety, but enough space in which to raa- 

 neuvre. 



CLIMATE. 



We found New Zealand in the grasp of midwinter, 

 however not with ice or snow, not even frost. The grass 

 had lost its emerald green, and the naked trees with de- 

 ciduous leaves were about the only reminders of the 

 Xew Zealand winter. Many of the garden flowers, roses 

 and violets, were in full bloom, and the grassy slope- 

 of Mt. Eden were checkered with a little white flower 

 that peeped through the low grass, anxious to inform 

 the visitor that it had survived the rigors of the sub- 

 tropic winter. 



The snowclad mountains and the extent of the island 

 in a line from south to north, give to the New Zealander 

 a wide range of choice of climate. On the whole, the 

 climate is mild, equable and agreeable; extremes of 

 cold and heat are unknown. The perpetual snow line 

 is 7,500 feet above the level of the sea. The great for- 

 ests in the southern part of the islands secure an ade- 

 quate rainfall throughout the year. During the sum- 

 mer months, from October or November to April or 

 May, the weather is as nearly perfect as can be found 

 anywhere — days of sunshine, with pleasant breezes and 

 cool nights. Mt. Cook, 13.349 feet, is the highest of the 

 many mountain peaks. 



NATIVES. 



The natives of New Zealand are the Maoris, a chival- 

 rous, proud, noble race. They are Polvnesians, of the 

 same origin as the inhabitants of all the islands of the 

 South Sea. Their physical and mental characteristics 

 have, however, undergone marked changes since they 

 made their first appearance in New Zealand. Tasman, 

 who discovered the islands in 1642, but did not land, 

 and Captain Cook, who visited them several times be- 

 tween 1769 and 1777, found them densely populated 



