4 
During the night we passed the straits between Cape Barrier 
and Cape Colville, and in the morning of the 22 d , favoured by a 
North-Eastern breeze, we sailed down the spacious Hauraki Gulf. 
The weather had entirely changed by this time. The mountains 
were shrouded in fogs , and the horizon was so misty and murky, 
that we could hardly see the little islands surrounding us, or the 
land we were making for. Suddenly, however, the wind veered 
round to the opposite direction, the haze cleared away, and we now 
saw before us the entrance to the Waitemata Bay; — we had ar- 
rived in front of Auckland Harbour. The South-West wind had so 
suddenly withdrawn the veil of mist and clouds, in which we had 
hitherto been wrapped, that we were perfectly amazed at the first 
sight presented to us. 
We were surrounded on all sides by islands, peninsulas and 
main-land, Tiritirimatangi, Wangaparoa, and the outlines of the 
North-shore; a low, undulating country destitute of woods, with 
steep shores, exhibiting regular layers of sandstone and shale, with 
small, sandy bays, the beach of which was dotted with small, 
isolated wood-huts. — Before us, in the direction of the sporadic 
groups of houses composing Auckland City , there lay numerous 
small truncated cones of hills, the form of which at the very first 
glance betrayed their volcanic nature. Pre-eminent among all the 
rest, as it were the leader of the whole host, who alone had ven- 
tured out into the sea, and here proudly reared his lofty head, 
arose the Rangitoto, an island mountain, 900 feet high, — the 
true prognostic of Auckland. 
Attractive as the view of this volcanic island was to me, with 
takes its rise under a dome-shaped hill at the back of Wanga para para and flows 
towards 1 lie east coast into a large swamp near the sea. The water of the springs 
is very clear, and the temperature ranges from 50 deg. to 212 deg., boiling point. 
The water is strongly saline, and gives forth a strong sulphuric smell like burnt 
gunpowder. A large quantity of white sediment accumulates rapidly on the 
stones about the springs, and quickly becomes hard and cemented to them. In the 
neighbourhood of these springs, about balf-a-mile to the east of them, and flowing 
from the side of a heavily wooded hill, are some clear waters very cold, and 
exceedingly salt. 
