HARRY'S ACCOUNT OF THE MARAROA'S STEWART ISLAND TRIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2541, 26 November 1902, Page 67

HARRY'S ACCOUNT OF THE MARAROA'S STEWART ISLAND TRIP.

Dear Dot and L.F., — And now for an account of how I- fared on one 'of the most enjoyable trips I have ever been — the trip to Stewart Island in the s.s. Mararoa. Procedmg to Port Chalmers by t the 2.30 train, I boarded the steamer an hour or so before time. Even at that stage the ship's decks were crowded" with passengers, while on the wharf were many people anxious to bid good-bye to the excursionists. Good-natured barrack passed freely between, those, on the wharf and those on the «h'ip,-but a lot of heed we all paid to the reiterated warnings and comical gestures of those on dry- land! The last good-byes were uttered, and * slowly the 'ship backed " away from the wharf, turning her prow seawards. Halfway between Port "and the Heads there occurred a slight mishap which occasioned about an hour's delay. We got under way again about 5 p.m., and soon the anxiously-awaited Heads were passed." A most refreshing breeze sprang up from the southwards, and, oh, the groans of the afflicted ! ~ An old High School mate of mine, who had never before ventured on the briny, was begging me to smother him with a pillow; but, deeming such a course inadvisable, and not looking for bother at the time, I persuaded him to promenade the deck, and constituted myself a sort of medical adviser to him. When, after a time, he grew too weak even for promenading, I saw him safely anchored in his busk, and,- sitting by his bed, watched his peaceful slumbers. By this time the gallant steamer was ploughing her watery way in the teeth, of a biting gale. The struggle with the elements was stiff, and caused many to toss into bunk with boots and clothing on. I had not been sitting very long when in came a Bteward, who, descrying boots on the bed, wakened the sleeping beauty, and then the fun commenced. , Every one of my cabin companions save one only was writhing in mortal agony." Oh, how can I describe that frightful feeling! fox, alas! for the first Sine I learned what mal-de-mer was like. The wind, which we could hear rattling the cordage and seething the waves, was just a little too refreshing at times, but we were all too sick to do anything but groan at intervals, "Rocked in the cradle of the deep." Oh, that poor old mate of mine! He was far more sick than the rest of us. For him it was not "A life on the ocean wave, a, borne on the rolling deep" for which he craved. "Home was never like this." All of us felt miserable sinners, and no mistake. But everything has an end, ;<even. sea-sickness; and by the time we were under lee of Stewart Island, in sight of H»lfmoon B»y, on Sunday about noon, the more fortunate of us were. recovered sufficiently to get up and .view the — ahem! — scenery. In front of us was that lovely little eettlement of Halfmoon Bay, its white -houses showing out plainly in contrast to the wealth of green beyond. At our rear we could see the madly-rolling billows of the straits, while on our right-l ay the big liner Tongariro, taking shelter from the' gentle breeees without. After a. good look round, I went below and refreshed the inner man. Ahem! It was the first time I had been able to take food since noon on Saturday. As may be imagined, I ate like • famished savage, and the g*nt!e rocking of the lj;>at did not trouble me in the least. As the cements were not gracious enough to permit of our landing on the favourite bay, we passed away time by cruising about Paterson's Inlet, feasting our eyes on the<beautif ul little verdurecovered islets, fit for another Robinson Crusoe. Houses there were, but, like angels' visits,, few and far between. It was while cruising about here that the "Johnny with his camera^ on the ship thought it was a good opportunity to snapshot us. I kept in the background, so did not manage-to break. the glass, as usual. After intricate windings, twistings, and turnings, we again shaped our course for Halfmoon Bay, and the waters being a little more peaceful the order was given for the launch and boats to be lowered. My word! you should have seen the eagerness with which my mate bailed the idea of putting his foot on dry land. He was the first to leap on to the launch, and I followed, but with more caution. The settlers of that district must hay* been arJittle surprised to see a little launch puffing away bravely, towing several lifeboats, all well filled; with" anxious ' sightseers, to the shore. Anyhow, they came down to the "wharf to see our landing. My erstwhile sick chum was now as" lively as a cricket, and jumped' off the launch aii easy first ere she was moored. Together we made our. way ,up a path leading ovn the hills. The native, bush was very dense, and ferns abounded in millions, and, oh ! such a plenitude of supplejacks! If only I had possessed myself of a tomahawk or a strong knife, I could have supplied a few masters with their favourite instruments of torture. Those "supplies" would have effected a great saving in straps. Still, perhaps, I might have received the first dose for my pains. While travelling, we came across -a house in process of- formation, and I could recommend any budding architect to go thither. He might make 1 his fortune there, unless, of course, the architect of that house was only on ticket of leave and was likely to return, in which' case 1 should advise my budding architect to make lumself scarce, and leave them all down thero in blissful ignorance. Making my way to -the Post Office, etc., I ther. made 'the post-box worth clearing, afterwards returning to the wharf with an easy conscience. Some lines were qver the wharf, and I followed suit with mine, but I was very guileless in the matter of fish. There were plenty of fish stories on the go, but the little creatures were very shy. Perhaps church was being held in a different part of the coast, and all the fish were goocT churchgoers. Oh, how I wish Boy had been there, for he is a regular Izaak Walton, and his fine throwing might have tempted the fish to come and view him. It was lato on Sunday afternoon, when, laden with trophies, we re-> turned to the ship, bringing our appetites along with us.

On Sunday evening came the announcement, that there was to be a sacred concert in the saloon that evening. I would not have missed that for anything, so made my way down•toirs, while my poor mate, suffering a relapse, toned- sfeain into bunk. Wh.en I arrived the •aloon was packed, even the staircase and alleyjrays being crowded. I felt quite at. home then, «nd joined heartily in "Abide with me, fast {alls the eventide." Mr M'Crorie gave us an excellent rendering of my favourite, "Rocked »n the cradle of the deep," while Miss .Thomp-

Another favourite hymn, in which we all joined heartily, was "Eternal Father, strong to save." How little did we think of the appropriateness of those two lines:

"Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea."

How little did we dream that 12 hours before, at the opposite extremity of New Zealand, the s.s. EUngamite sank to rise no more, and that, while we were all singing that beautiful hymn, her passengers and crew were fighting manfully for their jives. Truly, the unexpected often happens. As usual, the concert concluded with the singing of the National Anthem. At 3.30 a.m. on Monday we made a start for Port Pegasus. I am sure we all appreciated the wisdom of the captain for thus early "doing tie flit," for most of the passengers were in the land of nod. Spme few, like myself, disinclined to sleep, loitered on deck, and enjoyed the calm, gliding movement of the vessel. We leached our destination all sefene on- Monday morning. Fishing parties, exploring parties, and picnic parties were soon formed, and were apportioned boats. The bushy hills looking so' tempting, I threw in my lot with an exploring party, and we enjoyed a good walk round the coast. We visited a fish-freezing establishment, but, alas! it was only open for inspection, or we might have been strongly tempted to procure "cured fish, fresh caught," etc. TA. large number of the common red cod were swimming round the wharf, but blue cod "were not having any," and, of course, we sighed for the unattainable, as usual. Next, in a sheltered inlet, a miniature Niagara came into view, throwing up its amber spray, and rushing irresistibly into the inlet. This was a favourite spot with the picnickers, who were there in crowds. After seeing all there was to see, I threw in my lot with a fishing party, and caught half a dozen red cod, but was not fortunate enough to get anything else^-alas! that I "have- to record the failure. I itried once to haul up the anchor of the boat, but I doubted the strength of my line to perform such a -feat. After returning to the steamer, I had a good tuck-in, and, at the invitation of some 10 A.B.s, I made one of their party, and we rowed to an islet where none of the other boats had visited. It was over half an hour's hard pulling *way, but, oh, how we enjoyed ourselves when we got there. Talk about schoolboys let loose, they were not in it while wo were about. Lovely shells dotted our landing 1 place, and caves dotted th« clifis. Quartz atones abounded, and lobsters eagerly invited us to try the strength of their claws. We had * glorious but fruitless chase after a Maori hen. How that hen dodged us was truly wonderful. The shrill screeching of the hen, our melodious yells and laughter over the fun, and! our barracking each other for letting that hen slip us was very exhilarating. At last the approaching darkness warned us of the lateness of the hour, and we returned to our boat. Oh, what a buffeting we had from the rolling billows, which, leaping overboard, obliged one of us to bale out the water. At last, fairly soaked through, we again boarded the Mararoa, T>ut never shall I forget the fun 1 enjoyed among those hearty "sons of the sea," so free and' pure was our enjoyment. On Monday afternoon we set sail again for "home, sweet home," the place we had all prayed for on Saturday night, but which we now dreaded returning to. At 6.30 or thereabouts a dance was held on deck, and to see the couples trying to spin, round, and getting stranded first on one side and then on, the other, was really .laughable. But it was still more comical to take on the game. At last, the. boat getting out fairly into the straits (not us), the gentle rocking created more fun than dancing, and our indefatigable M.C. (Ml* Ross) organised a concert. Songs galore were given us,' and, after that respite, dancing was resumed. We kept up the fun almost right up to the wee sma' oors, and then a young gent gave us a spout a la Ohisholm on Ladysmith Day. His mimicking was so good that we tried to persuade him to give us some Barclay, but he assured us that it was not his ambition to be thrown overboard. Instead, he obliged us with some comic songs, which were appreciated by all present. But I must not forget to mention that early in the evening a gentleman, on behalf of all the excursionists, publicly thanked the captain for the care and attention which he -and all his officers and crew had bestowed upon them. Three ringing cheers, heartily given, spoke volumes for the esteem in which Captain McDonald was held. The captain, evidently a man of actions more than of words, briefly replied,- whereupon we all raised our voices in "For he's a* jolly good fellow." Again cheers resounded throughout the ship, and back went the captain to his post of duty. Sleep seemed to be unnecessary that night, although we all had a day's work to look forward to on our return. After a perfect trip back over a sea aa smooth as a pond, we once more reached our native element, where a special was waiting to take us to town. A deep gloom pervaded all the carriages as -the unexpected sorrowful news re the Elingamite was passed from mouth to mouth. There was a rush on the Daily Times at Port, and soon no copy of that favourite paper was to be got for love or money. We reached town nt 9.10 on Tuesday morning, feeling all the better for our trip to -the bonny little isle. It is to be hoped that the trip 'will be repeated in the near future, and I hope that, if repeated, die elements will be more gracious to us. And now I shall conclude, hoping that this «?iort account will be of interest to a" few D.L.F. — Yours truly, i " HARRY.