tt4 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XII. 
Colonel Wakefield's experience of Auckland during 
a month might be thus briefly summed up. He 
described the harbour as a good one ; but he con- 
firmed its two great points of inferiority to Port 
Nicholson, which I had often heard allowed by Mr. 
Blackett and other naval men, and by persons even 
interested in the capital. The first is, that a strong 
tide runs both ways through the anchorage ; and 
when the wind blows fresh against this tide, which is 
in the direction of the two prevailing winds, east and 
west, a very inconvenient rip is produced, which makes 
it even unsafe for ships' long-boats to be moored to their 
stern. Mr. Blackett had invited Colonel Wakefield 
to live on board his yacht, but had warned him that in 
rough weather communication with the shore would be 
difficult and unpleasant. The second point is, that at 
low water long flats of soft mud reach out to the dis- 
tance of 400 or 500 yards from the dry beach, and 
at this time much trouble is experienced in landing 
both goods and passengers. Colonel Wakefield likened 
this to what we had observed at Hokianga on a smaller 
scale. 
He described the neighbouring cpuntry, chiefly on 
the isthmus between the harbours of Auckland and 
Manukau, and between Auckland and the range of 
mountains west of the Piako river, as offering a tole- 
rable expanse of level ground, and pleasant, because 
easy to ride over. But this very quality arises from 
one less promising, which is, that the soil consists 
chiefly of pumice, with scattered lumps and masses of 
scoriae of various sizes lying about on it, and that 
nothing but a stunted growth of fern obstructs your 
free galloping if you avoid these lumps. He had 
observed many pretty and fertile spots ; but these were 
either in gullies or scattered along the valley of the 
