BY SHORE AND POOL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3016, 3 January 1912, Page 80

BY SHORE AND POOL.

By Apahata Renata,

Life on the island of lona, as my island was called, had its drawbacks only on very rough weather, when one had to remain indoors. Its area was about eight acres, and all beautifully wooded with rata, red pine, broadleaf, and other mixed bush. The margin of this bush was fairly fringed with mutton trees (Senecio rotundifelia), and their glossy, leathery leaves, combined with ferns and tree ferns, gave the while quids a tripical look. There was no soil on the island, but its granite rocks were covered almost entirely with a layer of rich brown bush peat; m places many feet deep. This peat bed was the nesting-place of hundreds of penguins of the small blue species. The granite shores were accessible in a few places, and the west and north shores were composed of detached rocks that in places ended in small beaches at or near low-water mark. There was a small cockle bank off the north side, much frequented at low tide by a solitary seagull. This gull seemed to claim the cockle bank, and gathered cockles regularly off it for months at a time, when the tide' suited. These he gathered one at a time and flew up over a rocky shelf about 100 ft from it. When he got well over this shelf and about 100 ft to 150 ft above it, he dropped his cockle, and it generally struck the rock a few yards off a centre, where most of the broken shells were. The gull would then settle down and eat the fish exposed by the breaking of the shell. At times tne wind would not allow the cockle to drop true, but this was a very rare occurrence A pair of sea swallows took possession of this ledge of rock, and I found two of their eggs lying, as usual, on the bare shelf. I took possession of them, as I felt fairly sure a cockle, or piece of shell, might smash them when the gull was in a busy mood dropping these about. This is the only occasion on which I have seen the sea swallows nesting in a solitary manner. I have often found a few dozen of their eggs on a bare rock, and on one occasion got 80 off a rock not 12ft wide on the surface. Here the eggs were laid in pairs, generally just on a slight depression on the hard, flinty rock. ‘ The eggs are slightly larger than those of the domestic pigeon, and mottled reddish brown, or possibly shaded to suit the shade of the bare rock where laid. The shell of their eggs is not stronger or thicker than those of other seabirds, as far a« I could judge. Shags were not as plentiful as one would suppose about the main or .smaller islands. I only knew of two nesting places. On© of these was on a rata tree about two miles west of where I lived. About a dozen nests were built on it. and when I saw it last the nests were well stocked with young shags of various ages. I am not inclined to attach much importance to the wholesale extermination of the river shags to preserve the flounders. It is quite possible that they kill and eat many enemies of the flounders. It might have been batter to spend the head money given for shays in breeding young flounders and distributing them when able to look after themselves. Be this as it may, the flounders have evidently greater enemies than the shags, and as they have been almost exterminated since, the shags have also met the same fate. Excursions from my island in summer were very frequent. Visitors from Dunedin or Invercargill made a practice of getting me to join their picnics and outings. Sometimes a tent or tents were taken and pitched on some beauty spot —and such beauty spots! The verythought of them makes one anxious to be on them again. One of many hundred is a sandy little beach 100 ft or more wide, rock-bound by rocks of granite, and ending in two granite points 30ft to 50ft vertical. To the south-east and east the fine expanse of Paterson’s Inlet; to the northeast and north islands, wooded headlands, and wooded bays interminally, and further back dense forest and lulls and mountains ; to the north-west a narrow sheet of water penetrating a quarter of a mile or more inland, and overhung with crimsonflowered rata trees of luxuriant and massive enough, their flowering branches fairly dipping into the water. Then, on the background of a nicely-pitched new, clean, creamy-white tent, a wooded high

hill clothed in the foreground with mutton trees, mixed with the usual tree ferns of rich colour and delicate form, and again the blending of the forgeous rata blossom, which causes the whole view to be a scene of dazzling brightness, vivid, bold, and fairly alive with its brilliancy when the play of sunlight touches ite many colours, and varied depth of shade and form. Such places are common in the harbours of Stewart Island. Then there are no crowds to push and crush or disturb the neace and tranquility of such pleasure places. By a point not a mile from the camp at the beach referred to there is a' famous fishing ground, and on it we soon begin to secure trumpeter, blue cod, white fish, and the troublesome little butterfish, who will persist in getting caught on a hook supposed to be too large for this to be possible. We shift to another famous fishing drift and secure more than enough fish for ourselves and friends. Then we go shell-gathering on some large beach ; then Maori curio-hunting on go me ancient camp ; then lunch by some pure mountain stream, where the indispensable billy is boiled and tea made. At low water we seek for more shells, and so the happy days pass like a dream in fairyland. I put in 10 days on one stretch thus, and only wish I could get the chance to do so again. Close .to this camn there was a rocky bluff clothed with a beautiful orchid. Its branches hung down over the rocks in masses like straggly weeping willows. Thee branches were covered with flowers of the size and somewhat of the shape of a medium violet. Some had white, yellow, and violet-splashed flowers, others had white and violet, and others again almost entirely violet. The display they made was something quite out of the usual, and although I have seen the same orchid flowering since then on many trees and rocks, I have never again seen such a variety and display of blossom. This orchid is called Dendrobium cunninghami. For many months after leaving my island home I went fishing with a mate in Foveaux Straits, about Ruapuke and along the north-east coast of Stewart Island. Our boat had two masts (fore and aft rig), and was over 30ft long. We generally slept on board. The life we led was exceedingly healthy, and to me interesting. I went to Stewart Island in the first place to try and gain health and strength, both having for some years been very indifferent. This fishing cruise soon put flesh on my bones, and I got very strong, for my build, in almost no time. We fished round all the half dozen islands off the coast of the main island, and occasionally went ashore on Ruapuke. All of the islands are covered with mutton trees of various species. Locally all the senecio and olearia shrubs are called thus. Bench Island, off Paterson.’s Inlet, is flat-topped, and was completely overgrown with these shrubs. Some portions of its coastline were entirely covered with the 0. augustifolia, and on one occasion I saw it in blossom so dense that it looked as if bush was flecked with snow; closer examination showed that this was due to this shrub having the habit of bearing its flowers in bouquet-like bunches. Each flower is like an ox-eye daisy ,about the size of half-a-crown, or larger on some plants, and with a rich purple centre. The w-hole bouquet is surrounded by a whorl of lance-shaped, serrated, olive-green leaves, each four to six inches long. The mass of flowers and leaves thus combined make an object of beauty hard to surpass. It is a handsome shrub in any case, and easy to cultivate on rich sandy soil, and old peat if possible, on an ocean or salt water aspect. A sea bird called the nelly frequented these islands. This is the only locality where I have seen them. Mutton birds were fairly plentiful on two of them, and were secured in their season by those Natives who have a right to capture them. We often saw the larger penguins travelling in mobs at great speed on their migrations. Our fishing lines were from 30 to 60 fathoms long, and loaded with 61b, 81b, or 101 b sinkers. There are submarine cliffs off the coast, and in coming on these longer or shorter lines would be required, according to how one was travelling. Our lines often fouled, or got fixed to rocks or deep sea plants. Sometimes we would bring a mass of these and rocks to the surface on our hooks or sinkers. On one of these masses I found some deep sea shells, and among them a rare lamp shell. But such luck was not common. At times very large trumpeter are secured on these fishing drifts among the islands. _ I secured one weighing 151 b, and found him great sport to land. Trumpeter are caught 301 b to 501 b weight at times, but I was quite satisfied to hook fifteen-pounders. Groper were avoided by us as unsaleable, but we often got them on our lines, and once two forty-pounders got on my line at one time. They had to be separately clubbed when on the surface of the water, and finally taken on board with regret as useless except to give .away. Sharks and dog-fish did not trouble us as much as one might suppose.