AURORA AUSTRALIS.
throughout the whole of our trip, we were singularly favoured. In the first place the route followed proved eminently satisfactory, for while it gave us good snow surfaces for our sledge, it kept us entirely free from any dangerously crevassed ice. Next the blizzard, though very trying while it lasted, on account of its violence and low temperature, commencing at –30° Fahr., proved a blessing in disguise, for it lasted just long enough to considerably raise the temperature, as well as to check the high-level south-westerly wind, and so produced a calm. Thus the task of reaching the summit of Erebus at the beginning of winter, was made much easier for us than it would otherwise have been.
Providentially the journey to the top of Erebus and back has been accomplished without any very serious accident, for which we are devoutly thankful.
These notes cannot be concluded without an expression of our hearty gratitude to our comrades who welcomed us back at our winter quarters, and who contributed so much by their generous help and sympathy, to the success of our ascent.
T. W. EDGEWORTH DAVID.
