Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/554

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 unsuitable 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 Bay of Islands, Sept. 24–28, 1911. September 22, she had to leave for Lyttelton. On the way down she called in at Russell, Bay of 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