A TRIP TO HONOLULU.

Evening Star, Issue 4182, 22 July 1876, Page 4

A TRIP TO HONOLULU.

•\ i.» :-. -lOri board the s.s. Australia. We left Auckland on the stli June with

cloudy weatherrwhich.. continued for some "ff :"i'dayi. v On.the* 9th-W£llighted Mount Washington, and coming round the reef anchored alongside the fes. San Francisco, passing the M'Gregor buoy, so-called from the wreck of •""■ $ steamer on this spot. ,We were\ boarded ■'-, ' by Wo crews irom*the station, \ and -■ ''- had permission from Captain Cargill : to go . a,few hours. : From'the dek ':' ; siei Iwid difi »ot >look particularly : infi.\- f fvitiag,; and but' for the palms and some '"..,•>, verylwight green patches on the hills, we c .\ might have' doubted being in the tropics. Ik a boa*- -manned by sir "natives we wore rowed a mile, and then finding we should-have to walk through water about *ix ineh.es deep, to dry land, we mounted on the back 8 of'these men and were then in Fiji. We expected to find a small settle,r, ment,-but notr quite so small as .it turned ~ x out to be on inspection—one store and two cottages containing and somef<sw ; hundred yards off a Native village with about .«>'• 2(H) inTialwtarita.. They commotion, -• >. wrowdingroimdus with a^few shoPs to sell t uTr :i_e TM wa^a shilling; but a Biscuit, kniffr, or anything in that line, wotild' secure . a rush of attention and curiosity. Among •: thdiu/were some fine-looking; fellows ; and r) women were not bad looking. One, a" light-haired princess, attracted a

good deal of notice. Her ignorance of what wtwh'jsaid uto. her made her very jshy, and she appeared as modest as any young lady, ought- to be. Leaving the village we had time to Walk about a mile and a-half along the shore, and struck into tiie bush, thus cdming on,to, one or two palm groves. # -.- Cocoanuts were either not abundant or not : in season, for th,oP.e on the tree 3 were very sniall. There'were several enclosures of young trees, the leaves of which looked very beautiful and healthy. Birds I saw none, but could hear numbers chattering in the bush.,, We passed several native graves, • i; '" sample in']the extreme, generally a small - \ /mouhd, with a few shells marking the spot. -■-'• The atmosphere was damp, warm, and oppressive, and on this day no sun. We did notkiiow.we,should be delayed in getting away till ljite on in the night, or wo should

. ~ .. have remained on the-land longer and induced the natives to get up. a oorrobory. Returning to the vessel, we found her deok c "covered •with natives selling shells, andsatis•l fying their Curiosity by looking everywhere. Some of the younger ones were diving for ooins—any'you like to throw in they overtake "long before they reach- the bottom. They were very clever at it, and all swim expertly. Being well rubbed with cocoa oil, the water runs;- off ; directly, and, I daresay, enables them to bear more of that kind of .thiug "than, they otherwise could. We left , iafemidnighft, the moon being up", we steamed into the "open sea without any risk. All the ■way the prevailing wind was a-head, and the heat at" no time particularly oppressive, not even crossing the line, lhave fet it much hotter in.Wanganui. The good opinion I preTiously expressed of the captain, oilicers, and arrangements generally for the comfort of the passengers, have been more than main-

(; _..;..: tajned. ' To; vary the monotony of evening life, cards, music, friendly nips, and the •rerlasting weed, each played their part. The first.concert was given by the passen- •";-. gers, 'which went off •with. Mat. ' The i«3ond : '-' _.|mtertaiimietit was by a professional, conjuring tricks," second sight, &c, being the nature of it, .Then, the stewards gave a hegio concert, with recitations and illustrations of Scottish character, the latter being very original, and the whole a success. One day a pre-arranged alarm of fire waß given. If a muster on such an occasion would be carried out as quickly, there can be no doubt • ' that this boat could not bo burned, unless ' was a panic. .The men were at their posts, pumps in order in a very few minutes, and in less than twenty minutes . . the: crews for each boat' were ready to leave the ship. In case of anything happening passengers would feel pretty secure if they would keep their presence of mind. All vessels should have fire practice. To give you an idea how we live 1 enclose* a few bills of fare, which are all .., strictly carried out, and as good as any hotel l on shore (except Wain's), and you can have a go in at everything if you like. There are 240 souls in the vessel. Freedom from the . risk of. fire, good living and sleeping accommodation, a cheerful route, the attraction of : seeing the Pacific Islands, a good Ship and captain, are sufficient to ; me strongly recommend anyone to ;tak£ this.routei for the Old Country. We arrived at the wharf at Honolula at six o'clock lo day, • 20th June, and a more chafniing'Jittle spot I have not seen since I left New Zealand - I may well add that. Time ~ ...; Fill not permit me to add or describe the place by this.post, as we leave at 2 o'clock t»-day. ■• Nisi.