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fine, and the climate similar to that in the Auckland Islands, from which it bears E.S.E., distant 145 miles. Antipodes Island. —After a detention of several days from a succession of adverse gales, we sailed for Antipodes Island, which bears about N.E., distant 396 miles. We had a heavy gale after us and a following sea, and arrived on the second day. This is far the most picturesque island we have visited. They have all been remarkable for beauty of outline and for their rock scenery, but Antipodes surpasses them all. Volcanic, like the rest, it is of a later date, and more mixed in its composition, in which occurs basalt, tufa, scoria, and ashes. The colouring of some of the rocks are most remarkable—one headland, for example, about 600 ft. high, was of a rich chocolate colour, and the contrast with the olive-coloured fringe of seaweed at the water-line, coming between the rock and the deep indigo colour of the sea, changing into dark cobalt on the top of the rollers as the long swell swept along the base of the cliff, caused a combination of colour which can be more easily imagined than described. This cliff was noticed in the report of H.M.S. " Eosario's " visit some years back. It contains a magnificent cave about 150 ft. high, with a beautifully arched roof, looking as if made artificially, and about 500 ft. deep, into which the "Hinemoa" might have sailed, in which the chocolate colour ofthe rock deepened into a shade of umber. This island is unlikely to tempt settlers, though capable of habitation. From the shore, for about half a mile inland all round, the walking is extremely difficult, from the size of the tussocks and the luxuriance of the long grass. Further inland the tussocks disappear, and coarse grass takes its place. The highest hill is about 1,500 ft., and there is about 2jft. of peat above the soil. Some years ago, in digging the foundation for a depot, Captain Fairchild found some fragments of a very roughly made earthenware basin, evidently of ancient date, for from the depth at which it was found it must have been there for a very long time. It is now, I believe, in the Wellington Museum. As an instance of the difficulty of walking on this island, I may state that the " Spirit of the Dawn," a barque of about 800 tons, was wrecked on the west coast of this island in 1893. Five of the crew were drowned, and the survivors, numbering eleven, landed, and for eighty-eight days never moved more than a few hundred yards from where they were wrecked, although there was a depot within two miles of the place where they landed, keeping themselves alive on shell-fish and penguins' eggs, until they were seen by the " Hinemoa " on her periodical trip, and taken off. In consequence of this incident Captain Fairchild has placed a large number of finger-posts on all prominent positions round the islands where depots exist. There is no harbour in the Antipodes Island, but there are two excellent alternative anchorages on the east side of the island, close in, in 20 fathoms, affording good shelter in north-west or south-west gales. Bounty Islands. —From the Campbell Islands we steered for the Bounty Islands, which bore N. by W., 116 miles. As another gale was blowing we could not land., but lay for a short time underneath their lee—long enough to observe that at this season they are covered with penguins, and other sea-birds, sitting on their nests. We also saw three fur seals lying on a ledge. These islands are merely masses of granite, without any vegetation whatever. There are some sixteen of them, the largest being about 25 acres in extent. A few weeks after the birds leave the islands, such is the exposed condition of these rocks that there is not a vestige of feathers or guano left to show that they are birds' breeding-places. When we saw them the sea was making a clean breach over most of them, and we learned that, though they are as high in some places as 120 ft., very few spots are out of reach of the sea. There is a rookery of fur seals here. Chatham Islands.— -From the Bounty Islands to the Chatham Group the course is N.N.E., 290 miles, and to the anchorage at Waitangi some 20 miles more. This group is the only one of the outlying islands of this colony where there is any settlement at present. We sighted the islands in the early morning and, standing along the land, arrived at Waitangi Harbour about 11. The morning was fine, and we saw three or four smiling homesteads apparently situated on excellent land. We were much struck by the sylvan aspect of the island, which differs entirely from those which we have lately visited. Chatham Island