CHAPTER I 
Letter I. Auckland. — Wind and Waves — Mount Eden — Flowers in 
profusion — Russell — Long Island — Whangoroa — The story of the Boyd 
— Mangonui — A sea of fern trees — Return from the cradle of New 
Zealand. 
Auckland. 
What a day for a start ! Even the substantial pier 
shook with the force of the heavy waves as they rolled 
and dashed like mad things, first under, then over ; the 
sea-gulls cried above us, and the wind moaned and 
shrieked through the rigging like evil spirits trying to 
get loose. A few hurried shakes of the hand, a fare- 
well wave of a handkerchief, the shrill ring-out of the 
ear-piercing whistle, then the vibration, thumping, and 
clanging of the engines as they battled with the surf, 
and we shouldered off the heavy folds of water, 
showering spray in every direction, one misty glimpse 
of a drenched town, and Sydney was lost in rolling, 
spreading clouds, whose thick curtains now and then 
for a moment slipped aside and gave us but a fleeting 
glimpse of the beauties of this world-renowned harbour. 
A wan, pale look settled on our faces when through the 
Heads we got the full force of the storm ; things 
animate and inanimate began to take wing, and one 
by one the disappointed passengers went below. Thud 
went the rolling breakers over the stern, and whirr went 
the propeller, vibrating and shivering the vessel as she rose 
