[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
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The 2 points which forms the Entrance are high, with Steap white Cliffs, and lay a League and a half or 2 Leagues from Each other, North-East by East and South-West by West.

The Depth of Water in this Bay is from 12 to 6 and 5 fathoms, a sandy bottom and good Anchorage, but you lay open to the winds between the South and East.
Boats can go in and out of the river above mentioned at any time of Tide in fine weather; but as there is a Bar at the Entrance, on which the Sea Sometimes runs so high that no Boat can either get in or out, which hapned while we laid here; however, I believe that Boats can generally land on the North-East side of the river.

The shore of this Bay, from a little within each Entrance, is a low, flat sand; but this is only a Narrow Slip, for the face of the Country appears with a variety of hills and Vallies, all cloathed with woods and Verdure, and to all appearance well inhabited, especially in the Vallies leading up from the Bay, where we daily saw Smoke at a great distance inland, and far back in the Country are very high Mountains.

At Noon the South-West point of Poverty Bay, which I have named Young Nicks head (after the Boy who first saw this land),* (* In Mr.Molineux's Log, his name is given as Nicholas Young, but no such name appears in the official lists.) bore North by West, distance 3 or 4 leagues, being at this time about 3 Miles from the Shore, and had 25 fathoms Water, the Main Land extending from North-East by North to South.

My intention is to follow the direction of the Coast to the Southward, as far as the Latitude of 40 or 41 degrees, and then to return to the Northward, in case we meet with nothing to incourage us to proceed farther.
[Off Portland Island, North Island, New Zealand.] Thursday, 12th.


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