END OF TERRA AUSTRALIS 463 



Land lay a little to the East, but Cook could see nothing 

 but the ice-barrier, which stretched without the least 

 appearance of an opening. He grew sceptical as to the 

 argument that ice means land, and, as to birds, they were 

 deceivers ever. He concluded that Bouvet had seen 

 mountains of ice. 



Sailing North, Cook looked in vain for the islands that No 

 had recently been discovered by the French navigators cc 

 Marion and Kerguelen, and reported by them to be either 

 near to or a part of the Southern Continent. He lost 

 sight of the Adventure, and rightly supposed that Furneaux 

 would visit Van Diemen's Land on the way to New Zealand. 

 Again Cook went South. He saw deceitful birds and more 

 deceitful clouds, and icebergs of appearance so " romantic " 

 that they " could only be described by the hand of an 

 able painter." Icebergs were handy when you wanted 

 water, 1 but Cook was dismayed by the awful danger of 

 being surrounded by them at night. Long hollow swells 

 proved that, if there was land to the South, it must be at 

 a great distance. They were in Latitude 58, and the cold 

 was far more intense that the cold in the same Latitude 

 of . the North. Winter was approaching, and in March 

 1773 Cook resolved to sail for the rendezvous in New 

 Zealand, in order to seek the Adventure, and to obtain refresh- 

 ment. He had "some thoughts, and even a desire, to visit 

 the East coast of Van Diemen's Land,'-' in order to satisfy 

 himself if it joined the coast of New South Wales. But 

 the winds were unfavourable, and he made straight for 

 New Zealand. 



At the end of March 1773 he came to Dusky Bay in Dusky Bay, 



the South- West corner of the South island. He had ^ e T 



Zealand, 



observed and named the Bay on his first voyage. He March 1773. 

 found, as he had expected, good anchorage, and resolved 

 to examine the Southern end of the island. To-day one 

 may see the stumps of the great rimu-trees which Cook's 

 men cut down, covered with creepers and surrounded 



1 According to Forster, they discovered the fact " that nature forms 

 great masses of ice in the midst of the wide ocean, which are destitute 

 of any saline particles, but have all the useful and salubrious qualities 

 pf the pure element." 



