Through South Westland : A journey to the Haast and Mount Aspiring New Zealand . denly I heard voices, and I could see Ted haddismounted, and standing by the track were fouror five men, drawn up to welcome us to the Haastand invite us to a repast at the Survey of our friends of the night before were amongthem. They said they did not mean the only ladyto cross the Haast should go through the passwithout being entertained ! So dismounting, Iwas led to a clearing. They had only shiftedcamp that morning, the swags were still rolled up,and the tents had not been pitched—a picturesquemedley
Through South Westland : A journey to the Haast and Mount Aspiring New Zealand . denly I heard voices, and I could see Ted haddismounted, and standing by the track were fouror five men, drawn up to welcome us to the Haastand invite us to a repast at the Survey of our friends of the night before were amongthem. They said they did not mean the only ladyto cross the Haast should go through the passwithout being entertained ! So dismounting, Iwas led to a clearing. They had only shiftedcamp that morning, the swags were still rolled up,and the tents had not been pitched—a picturesquemedley of bundles and cooking thing lay made me sit on a roll of tents, and Transome,coming up, on another. The cook was recklesslytearing open his stores searching for delicacies ; an-other man tried to open a tin of pears, and failingthat, attacked one of pine-apple. In a few minuteswe were grouped about, sitting and standing,lunching off girdle scones, currant cakes, pine-apple, and billy tea, and everyone was anxiousto talk, all so keen, so interested. Some of them. >5 ? THE HAAST PASS. 107 had been in camp for months without a break ;others had been on this Survey for several is a hard, rough life ; felling trees, making tracksthrough the unknown mountains, fording andswagging on foot, shifting their camp from placeto place. Yet all but one seemed full of life andcheerfulness. All that he has in camp or homestead proffersTo stranger guest at once a stranger host,Proudest to see accepted what he without a boast ! But I saw Ted furtively looking at his watch andI knew that we must not linger. Transome wasdeep in a discussion over the miracles at Lourdes ;and there were so many things these men couldtell me, that I was loath to go. I asked themabout the kiwis—those strange wingless birdswhose feathers are more like coarse hair thanthose of feathered fowl. They told me in the earlydays they were common everywhere, but that thestoats and weasel
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidthroughsouth, bookyear1900
