4iO COUNTRY NORTH OF CAPI5 PALMERSTON. 



Meanwhile, we wadetl ashore, and got our things 

 out of her on to the beach, where we camped for the 

 night. We shot a few small plovers on the beach 

 to add to our dinner, and while it was being cooked, 

 walked up the hills near us. These were grassy 

 slopes, the open woodland having very fine long 

 grass everywhere about it ; but much of the lower 

 and flatter spaces, and some of the hills, were occu- 

 pied by dense jungle. In this jungle were tall trees, 

 with dark, umbrageous foliage, very different from 

 the light, thinly-leaved gum-trees, and having 

 immense creepers and climbers, like great ropes, 

 stretching from tree to tree, and hanging down and 

 matting the underwood into an impenetrable thicket. 

 When we reached the top of the hill, it was low 

 water, and we saw our fine looking port had now 

 hardly a drop of water over half its space, the tide 

 having receded to its entrance, and left mere de- 

 tached pools among the mud flats and sand banks of 

 the inner portion. The belt of mangroves appeared 

 to stretch a mile or two into the interior of the 

 country, but there seemed to be a considerable space 

 of fine grass land between them and the hills, which 

 were here more broken and detached than thev were 



* 



to the south of West Hill. Having returned to our 

 camp, and dined about sunset, we made preparations 

 for sleeping quite securely on the beach, as a fine 

 sea breeze was blowing on it, but before ten o'clock 

 this unfortunately died away, and for the remainder 

 of the night we lay sleepless and helpless, but not 



