Palms and passiflora abounded, the latter being specially
magnificent. It seems wonderful how their thin steins can support, at
a height of thirty or forty feet from the ground, the masses of huge
orange-coloured fruit which depend in strings from their summits.
At the third river, not far from where it fell into the sea, we
thought it was time to lunch; so we stopped the carriage, gave the
horses their provender, and sat down to enjoy ourselves after our long
drive. It was early in the afternoon before we started again, and soon
after this we were met by fresh horses, sent out from Papenoo;[10] so
it was not long before we found ourselves near Point Venus, where we
once more came upon a good piece of road, down which we rattled to the
plains outside Papeete.
[Footnote 10: From 'pape,' _water_, and 'noo,' _abundance_.]
We reached the quay at about seven o'clock, and, our arrival having
been observed, several friends came to see us and to inquire how we
had fared. Before we started on our excursion, instructions had been
given that the 'Sunbeam' should be painted _white_, for the sake of
coolness, and we were all very curious to see how she would look in
her new dress; but unfortunately the wet weather has delayed the work,
and there is still a good deal to do.
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