Page:Tramps in the Far North-Hector Bolitho.djvu/22

limestone rocks are unique, both from a scenic and geological point of view. The way of the train led past some very fine scenery, which was mingled with evidences of settlement. An occasional bullock team was seen with its load of timber, and the beasts stared at the puffing train with contempt. Cows—well-kept-looking animals—paused in their feeding to note the passing of the train, and occasional calves scampered with disapproving jumps in no particular direction. Opua was an uninteresting end to a rather tedious journey, but all these discomforts were dispelled by the launch trip to Russell, and the pleasure of seeing the delightful waterway upon which the township is built.

RUSSELL

Russell is one of the few places that are contented to stand aside in the great awakening of the North. The town shows little sign of action, and the settlers are sublimely contented to allow the opportunities of life to pass by. No other place in New Zealand has the historical interest of Russell, and yet its buildings are falling to decay, and very few people seem concerned with these crumbling monuments to the very first of New Zealand’s pioneers. The town, and the Bay of Islands on which it is built, are supremely quiet. Nothing stirs the peace of the bays, and the policeman at Russell is morally unnecessary.

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