CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES 
Island, but the heat is tempered by the most delight- 
ful sea breezes. I could have enjoyed a longer stay 
than twenty-four hours, but that was the hmit of our 
vessel’s call, and we left next day for Port Moresby, 
which we reached after a two days’ run. 
As we approached the coast we found that it pre- 
sented a very striking contrast to that of Dutch New 
Guinea. Here the mountains came close down to 
the coast, which was rock-bound, but not cut to sheer 
cliffs. Inland the mountain ranges ran parallel with 
the shore line, range towering above range, as far 
as the eye could see, the whole prospect dominated 
by the magnificent peak of Mount Victoria, which 
sprang aloft into the azure to a height of 13,121 
feet. Viewed from the sea Mount Victoria appears 
to culminate in a plateau, but Sir William MacGregor 
declares that it is really a mass of peaks. 
As we drew nearer to the shore we noted unmis- 
takable evidence of the drought, which had just set 
in, and which lasted for nine whole months. ‘The 
vegetation was entirely brown, and everything seemed 
barren and burned up. The drought, it was said, 
extended as far west as the Fly River, at the 141st 
degree of longitude. Even at an altitude of 6000 feet, 
as I found afterwards, lycopodiums, orchids, and para- 
sites were falling off the trees, and this, too, within 
the zone of humidity for New Guinea. 
The approach to Port Moresby is dangerous owing 
to the reefs that encircle the coast, and accordingly 
sreat caution had to be used in navigating the ship 
into the harbour. The course lies east, then west 
along a certain known channel, and finally the 
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