370 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [September 
Sounding work does not, as a rule, provide exciting 
incidents, the day when it is undertaken coming under one 
of two headings — suitable for work or unsuitable. On un- 
suitable days, if the wind was easterly, nothing could be 
done except to heave to and drift ; if westerly, there was 
good anchorage inside North Cape (the extreme north-east 
point of New Zealand), and the whole company were on 
these occasions very thankful for the quiet days in the 
ship, in comparison with the tossing about experienced 
in easterly gales. Mr. Williams was also able to take 
advantage of these days to clean boiler tubes. 
The time away was strictly limited to the period 
covered by the insurance of the ship, and so, on 
^ September 22, she had to leave for Lyttelton. 
lands, Sept. On the way down she called in at Russell, Bay 
24-28, 1911. ^£ Islands, to take in fresh provisions and 
pick up her mail. Three days were spent here waiting 
for the mail and were much appreciated by everyone, 
as it is an exceedingly pretty and, historically, very 
interesting spot. Rennick without delay set about cleaning 
and painting the ship so that she might be presentable 
for Lyttelton, though frequent showers of rain did not 
help him. 
Lillie and a companion walked over the peninsula to 
the tiny little Bay of Wangamumu, where there is a small 
whaling station belonging to Messrs. Jaggers and Cook. 
After a delightful walk through the bush, which took some 
seven or eight hours instead of three or four as expected, 
they were lucky enough to find Mr. Cook there himself, 
for he had arrived from the Southern Ocean only a few 
