IN NEW ZEALAND 



sand on the beach, bathed in the sea and climbed 

 amongst the trees. We ht a fire and made tea on the 

 beach, and while we were having our meal the wekas, 

 the remarkable flightless birds found only in New 

 Zealand, came out from the bush for their share of the 

 good things. These quaint birds, with their long bills, 

 brown plumage and quick, inquisitive eyes have no 

 fear of men, and their friendliness seemed to us 

 like a welcome from that sunny land that had always 

 treated us with such open-hearted kindliness. The clear, 

 musical notes of other birds came to us from the trees, 

 and we felt that we needed only good news from home 

 to make our happiness and contentment absolutely 

 complete. One of the scientific men found a cave 

 showing signs of native occupation in some period of the 

 past, and was fortunate enough to discover a stone adze 

 made of the rare pounamu, or greenstone. 



Early next morniag we hove up the anchor, and at 

 10 A.M. we entered Half Moon Bay. I went ashore to 

 despatch my cablegram, and it was strange to see new 

 faces on the wharf after fifteen months during which 

 we had met no one outside the circle of our own little 

 party. There were girls on the wharf, too, and every 

 one was glad to see us in the hearty New Zealand way. 

 I despatched my cablegrams from the little office, and 

 then went on board again and ordered the course to be 

 set for Lyttelton, the port from which we had sailed on 

 the first day of the previous year. We arrived there on 

 March 25 late in the afternoon. 



The people of New Zealand would have welcomed 

 us, I think, whatever had been the result of our efforts, 

 for their keen interest in Antarctic exploration has 

 never faltered since the early days of the Discovery 

 expedition, and their attitude towards us was always 



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