Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 46 Walking 30 Miles
February 2, 7:6 am.Glenarvan led everyone on the road again.The rain had stopped at night, but the sky was still covered with gray clouds, and even the sun did not show a smiling face.Just hurry forward while it is cool.

From the map, Paganel measured the distance from Kahuatip to Oakland to be about 80 miles.If you walk 10 miles a day and a night, you have to walk 8 days.So instead of following the coast, he proposed going straight to the village of Navasia, 30 miles north, where the Kumpa and Kumakato rivers meet.It is a place with a lot of cars and horses, and there are special ones going in the direction of Auckland.He planned to get on the train from Navasia to Drury for a rest.Because there is a biologist at Drury, Hutchett, who will surely find a good hotel as he wishes.

Everyone carried dry rations and guns on their backs, and headed north along the Austrian Bay.In order to prevent accidents on the road, they kept a certain distance from each other, and each of them held a gun in their hands, and they were always on guard against the hills to the east.

I saw Paganel holding the map in his hand, admiring its precise judgment from time to time.There is a sandy beach full of shells under your feet, and some natural iron oxide slag is mixed in the sandy beach.You can also see all the animals on the nearby sea at any time.They don't run away in fear when they meet the crowd, they seem bold and very friendly.

The round-headed and big-faced seal stared at a pair of seemingly affectionate eyes, which looked particularly loving, just as they were praised in ancient poems, as cute and lovely as a mermaid.

Seals abound off New Zealand's coast, and their skin and oil can make a fortune for the hunter.There are also blue-gray walruses that are particularly attractive.Most of their body lengths are between 25 and 30 feet. The big nose that can be softened and hardened at any time is very vivid, and the long and curly hair looks like the hair on the heads of playboys.

Robert looked at these animals intently, and suddenly shouted:
"Ouch! Look, the seal is eating stones!" Everyone turned their heads at the same time.I saw those seals eating stones as if they were hungry. "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing! Now who can believe that they can actually eat rocks!" Paganel concluded. "But can they digest it?" Robert asked curiously. "Oh, they're not for digestion! They're for keeping their balance and increasing their specific gravity, so they can easily and quickly swim to the bottom of the water. When they come ashore, they spit out the stones they've eaten into their stomachs. Amphibians are like this! You Look, here, we are about to drill into the bottom of the water!"

As expected, the seal that ate the stone slowly crawled towards the sea.Just when everyone was waiting to see how the seal returned to the shore to spit stones, Glenarvan gave the command to move forward again.

Paganel deeply regrets this. 10 O'Clock.

Everyone sat around and had breakfast on the snowflake rocks everywhere.Diligently, Obine picked out a lot of sea mussels from a shell beach, and according to Paganel's instructions, he roasted them on the fire and served them as a meal for everyone.Although the taste was not very good, everyone ate with relish.

After eating and resting for a while, everyone went on the road again.It is impossible to count how many seabirds are flying back and forth between the rocks and the beach. There are frigate birds, gannets, and seagulls. They don't seem to know what it means to be tired.The fat and big albatross stood on the top of the cliff in a daze, as if watching the excitement.

4 pm.

They had walked 10 miles, and none of them felt tired.Both Mrs. Helen and Mary offered to move on.

A group of people continued on their way, bypassing the foot of the mountain in the north, and successfully arrived at the Kampa River Basin.

From a distance, it is green grass, but as long as you look closer, you will find that there are patches of bushes.Small white flowers bloomed on the tree, and tall and thick ferns grew under the tree.Therefore, it is extremely difficult to go on in such a situation.

In this way, after a lot of effort, they walked through several hillsides of the Hakalihuata Mountains.

8pm.They began to prepare for camping, spread the blankets under the pine trees, covered their bodies with something, and just made up for the night.In order to prevent accidents, Glenarvan asked the partners to divide into groups of two and take turns to guard on duty, and the bullets were also loaded. Be vigilant and be careful.

In order not to arouse the suspicion of the natives, they did not light a bonfire.Fortunately, there are no tigers, lions, or bears in the mountains of New Zealand.

Apart from a few sandflies (called "gums" by the locals) and a few wild rats, there were not many people or animals to disturb them.

February 2.After Paganel woke up from the sweet dream, his worries were obviously much less.Perhaps the reality of the moment—the Maori hadn't shown up—dispelled all his fears.It was the most solid sleep he had had in a long time.

He was in a good mood and said to Glenarvan happily: "If we go well, we can take the main road to Oakland tonight. As soon as we get there, there will be almost no aborigines." "Then we How many more miles?" asked Glenarvan.

"Fifteen miles, as far as we walked yesterday." "However, these bushes are so densely packed that we can't go fast at all!"

"It's just the bushes, we just have to walk along the Kumpa River, there are no bushes, it's very flat!" Paganel replied.

Glenarvan saw that everyone had packed up and said, "Let's set off!"

Everyone hit the road again.The bushy grassland like New Zealand is not even approached by horses and horses at will, only people and beasts can drill in it.The ferns defended their land as stubbornly and tenaciously as the Maori.

Before noon they had walked through the great bush; and with a deep sigh they all came to the Kumpa River.

The scenery in front of me is quite unique, with lush growth of aquatic plants, crystal clear river, and intricate growth of various trees, giving people a feeling of prosperity.

Botanist Hook once made a survey: more than 2000 kinds of plants were found in New Zealand, 500 of which were not found in other parts of the world.But there are not many types of flowers, and the colors are even more poor.The most abundant plants in New Zealand are ferns, grasses and umbrellas, and annual plants are extremely rare.

There are also many species of trees growing in New Zealand, such as the "Metrosidelo" tree with red flowers, the Norfolk pine tree, the cypress with unique branches, and a species called "Limu". Cypress trees are almost the same as European cypress trees.

There are countless birds in the forest, some of which are rare species.There are three kinds of large parrots alone: ​​one is called "Kakaliji", which is bright green from top to bottom, with a red feather under the neck; Another kind is called "Southland Old Man" by naturalists. It is as big as a duck, with brown-red feathers all over its body, and its wings are particularly gorgeous when it is spread out.

The Major and Robert managed to shoot some snipe and bamboo chicken with ease.Aubine carried these prey and plucked them while walking. He was very happy and very excited, because finally there was a delicacy that could improve everyone's life.

But for Paganel, his concern is not the food value of these birds, he just wants to catch a few New Zealand birds and bring them back to Europe.Especially the strange bird called "Tuyi", which not only has a strange shape, but also has a weird cry.The cry sounds similar to human laughter, so people also call it "Haha Bird".This kind of bird has black feathers all over its body and a feather on its neck, which looks like the clothes of the master of ceremonies, so it is also named "master of ceremonies".

Paganel said: "As long as the bird is in winter, it will be so fat that it can't even fly. In order to lose weight, it will open its chest and belly, and slowly peck off the fat stored in its stomach. Don't you think it's strange, huh? MacNabbs?" "I think it's outrageous! So, I don't believe it!" replied the major firmly.

Seeing Paganel scratching his ears and cheeks anxiously, he really wished he could grab a bird with a bloodstained chest and show the major with his own eyes.

But how can this bird be caught now?However, they really came across another kind of treasure - "kiwi", also known as "kiwi".This bird is now endangered.It has no wings or tail, and has 4 toes on each claw.The white feathers all over the body are scattered.And the beak is thin, long and pointed, similar to that of a snipe.

With great difficulty Robert found a pair of kiwis in a nest made of fallen tree roots.This unexpected harvest made him overjoyed.This kiwi can be regarded as a unique bird in the world. It specializes in eating pupae, insects and seeds.Now, you don't see this bird at all even in the largest parks in Europe.As early as when the Astrolab and Sele came to Oceania for exploration, the French Academy of Sciences specially asked Ju Mengjuwei to get a kiwi specimen for them.Therefore, Ju Mengjuweier once offered a high price to the aborigines to help him catch a live kiwi, but he failed to catch it.

Therefore, at this time, Paganel was really treasured. He tied the two birds together very carefully, and carried them carefully, for fear of any mistakes.He really wanted to bring this precious bird back to France and give it to the Paris Botanic Garden.And in the future, a very eye-catching sign will be hung on the birdcage, which clearly says - "Gift of Mr. Jacques Paganel".

It can be said that the banks of the Kupa River are safe, remote, silent and uninhabited.There is not even a trace of the natives here, as if they had never been here.

The river flows there quietly, the aquatic plants grow lush, and the sandy beach by the river is quite flat.

Walking in such a beautiful scenery, everyone's mood is particularly comfortable.

You can have a panoramic view of the east and west valleys and mountains at this moment.The hills are misty and misty, and the towering peaks have a special interest.

The island of New Zealand is a product of underground magma eruptions.So far, its land area is still increasing.Some peaks have even increased by two meters in the past 20 years.It is undeniable that under the crust of New Zealand, there is a huge volcanic energy, and it is because of this energy that this group of islands is constantly shaking and trembling.Moreover, there are countless craters, and even hot spring craters are everywhere.The continuous mountains in front of us are all made of volcanic matter.

4 pm.

We have walked 9 miles.

According to Paganel's map, it is now only five miles from the confluence of the Kumpa and Kukato.As long as you get there, you can take the main road to Oakland; there is a distance of fifty miles from Oakland. It takes two or three days to walk, but if you can catch the mail, you can get there in seven or eight hours.

"It looks like we'll have to sleep in the open air tonight?" said Glenarvan.

"Yes! But, I would very much like this to be my last night sleeping in the open air," said Paganel earnestly.

"I hope so! Oh, it's too much for Lady Helene and Mary to sleep in that open air."

"They are really good enough, they are too strong! No complaints!" John praised, "By the way, Mr. Paganel, didn't you say that there is a village at the confluence of the rivers?"

"Yes! Look, it's clearly marked on the map. It's called Navasia Village. It's about two miles away from the confluence of the river." Paganel pointed to the map for John to see.

"Great! If that's the case, then we can spend the night in the village! In order to find a good hotel to stay, Mrs. Helen and Miss Mary, don't you care about walking two miles?"

"Hotel?" Paganel asked back in a tone full of surprise, "Looking for a hotel in a village where the Maori live? Well, let alone a hotel, there are not even taverns or inns! That village has all It's a thatched hut! Listen to me, you're right: let's walk around this small village, it's really a tiger's butt that can't be touched!"

"You're such a coward now! Paganel!" Glenarvan said sarcastically.

"My dear sir, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just in case! Be careful, it will always pay off. This is near the coast of New Zealand! Where do you think it is! Anyway, I don't know the Maori at the moment. How far is the war going, maybe they are focusing on capturing Europeans alive? I, I really don’t want to send myself to be slaughtered by others!” The geographer said clearly, “Let’s go directly to Drewry to find them. Let’s go to a hotel. As long as we get there, not only these two ladies, but even our gentlemen can rest assured and have a good night’s sleep!” These words convinced everyone.Especially Mrs. Helen and Mary, they would rather sleep in the open air than provoke the troubles of those Maori.

We walked along the river for another two hours.The sun was beginning to set, and the last rays of light pierced through the clouds, and made many flushes in the western sky.In this way, dusk came quietly, gently covering the mountains in the east, and quietly opened the purple sand curtain.Even the friendly Feng gave the group of passers-by some last gracious glances.

Each of them knew very well in their hearts that this was a high latitude zone, dusk was really fleeting, and night would come suddenly.So, everyone tacitly speeded up the pace of progress.

The night fog has climbed up first, blocking the road from people's sight.

Everyone heard the sound of rushing water in this long fog, and the sound seemed to be getting louder.Yes, they finally reached the confluence of the rivers.

The sound of rumbling waves exploded in the evening, and the enthusiastic scene of the river water beating each other made everyone's heart surge.

Paganel let go of his voice and shouted loudly: "Here we are! We are here! The Kumakato River! The road to Oakland is on the right bank of this river!"

The major also spoke very excitedly: "We may embark on this bright road tomorrow! Let's be wronged for a while tonight, and sleep here! Not far ahead, take a look, there is a bunch of trees there, it is a Nice place. We'll spend the night there after we've had dinner."

"Then let's eat first!" Paganel reminded everyone, "However, we can only eat biscuits and dried meat, and we must not light a fire. We don't want anything else now, but safety! Besides, the night is very foggy , just to hide us."

Everyone gathered under this pile of trees.No one said anything, just ate dinner quietly, and then fell asleep.

After walking all day, who can not be tired and tired?

(End of this chapter)