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cliffs form a continuous wall, almost without a break, some of them overhanging 

 One another, and attaining an elevation of at least six or seven Imndrecl feet. 



" The whole of the Auckland group is mountainous in the extreme. 

 Nowhere did I see a flat of any considerable size, and ' the level plains covered 

 with beautiful grass and refreshing verdure ' (as quoted by F. F. Shillinglaw, 

 F.R.G-.S., the editor of Captain Musgrave's journal) is all a myth. I ascended 

 to the top of the range on the west side of Rendezvous Harbour, and obtained 

 a good view of the whole of the backbone range of the main island as far as 

 Giant's Tomb (so named by Captain Musgrave), the most elevated hill on the 

 island, situated on the north side of Carnley's Harbour. 



"The main range commences at Mount Eden (1325 feet). This is the 

 most remarkable feature at the north end of the island. The top of the hill is 

 Composed of an immense rock, which can be seen all the way up the east coast. 

 It was ascended by Mr. Richardson, who describes it as being sixty feet in 

 height, and of a considerable circumference at the base. From here the main 

 range runs down the west coast, forming on the one side the immense cliffs 

 and precipices observed there, and on the other throwing out sptirs which 

 form the dividing ridges, and headlands between the numerous inlets on the 

 east coast. I only observed two breaks in the whole range ; one about half 

 way down the east coast, at a place we named Saddle Hill Inlet, because a 

 saddle at the head of the inlet led directly across to the west coast. The other 

 is nearly at the end of the range, being the saddle at the head of the northern 

 arm of Carnley's Harbour. 



" The range on Adam's Island runs nearly at right angles to the main 

 range, and probably at an early period formed part of it. 



" The shores of the whole of the Auckland Isles, with the exception 

 of the west and part of the south coast, are covered with scrub for a 

 considerable distance up the sides of the hills. In some places it is rather 

 thick and difficult to penetrate ; but in others it is very open, and not at 

 all bad travelling, for such hilly country. The largest scrub is found round 

 Carnley's Harbour. It consists chiefly of iron wood, and a tree called the 

 black oak. Neither of these grow to any height. The iron wood grows to 

 a considerable thickness, but is very knotty and irregular. It might be 

 used for the knees of ships, but I did not see any fit for sawing ptirposes, 

 the open land on the tops' of the hills is all peat of a very spongy and wet 

 description ; in fact the whole surface of the island, with the exception of 

 the rocks, is pure peat, and I can safely say that during the time I was 

 there, I never saw an acre of ground that was not perfectly saturated with 

 water ; it can only be in very dry seasons that the surface gets thoroiighly 

 dry. 



"The open country is chiefly covered with large tussocks of snow grass, 

 cotton plant, moss and other plants indigenous to the island. The average 

 temperature whilst we were at the islands was about 50 deg. I see that Sir 

 James Ross, in the Antarctic expedition, gives the average temperature for the 

 same month at 45 - 27. 



" The whole surface of the islands, even to the top of the highest hills 

 (Mr. Richardson and myself having ascended five of the highest), is covered 

 with a deposit to a considerable depth of genuine peat (not lignite), similar 

 in appearance and physical character to the peat of the Irish bogs. This 

 when cut (as we found in one place at the old settlement in Rendezvous 

 Harbour), from some distance from the surface and dried, becomes quite hard 

 and firm, like the Irish turf, and produces the same cheerful and pleasant fire, 

 altogether free from the usual suffocating smell of lignite. This deposit, as it 

 rests directly on all the different rocks alike, might also form some clue as to 

 the age of the formation of these islands." 



