[Captain Cook’s Journal During the First Voyage Round the World by James Cook]@TWC D-Link book
Captain Cook’s Journal During the First Voyage Round the World

CHAPTER 5
122/166

In the evening found the Variation to be 12 degrees 41 minutes East per Azimuth and 12 degrees 40 minutes by the Amplitude; in the morning we stood Close in with the Land, 7 Leagues to the westward of Doubtless Bay.

Here the shore forms another large open Bay; the Bottom of this and Doubtless Bay cannot be far from each other, being to all appearance only seperated by a low neck of land from which juts out a Peninsula or head land, which I have named Knockle Point.

West by South 6 Leagues from this point and about the Middle of the Bay is a high Mountain or Hill standing upon a desart shore, on which account we called it Mount Camel; Latitude 34 degrees 51 minutes; Longitude 186 degrees 50 minutes.

In this Bay we had 24 and 25 fathoms Water, the bottom good for Anchorage, but their seems to be nothing that can induce Shipping to put into it for no Country upon Earth can look more barren than the land about this bay doth.

It is in general low, except the Mountain just Mentioned, and the Soil to all appearance nothing but white sand thrown up in low irregular hills, lying in Narrow ridges parrallel with the shore; this occasioned me to name it Sandy Bay.* (* Rangaunu Bay.) The first ridge behind the Sea beach is partly cover'd with Shrubs, Plants, etc., but the second ridge hath hardly any green thing upon it, which induced me to think that it lies open to the Western Sea.* (* This is the fact.) As barren as this land appears it is not without inhabitants.


<<Back  Index  Next>>

D-Link book Top

TWC mobile books