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The journey from New Plymouth to Wellington occupied a long day of twelve hours in the train, and I do not think that there was one whole hour of them all during which we could not see the sea.

A fellow-passenger was so enthusiastic about the Rimutaka route that Captain Greendays suggested our changing at Palmerston, the junction, to go by it. But Colonel Deane dissuaded him.

“We would have to spend two hours in Palmerston, where there is absolutely nothing to do,” he said, “and then go on by a wretched local as far as Masterton, where the hotels are not very good, stop there for the night, make a very early start, and not arrive in Wellington until after mid-day to-morrow. The line runs through very pretty country, I admit, but I doubt if you would find the interest that attaches to the Rimutaka Pass sufficient to make up for so much loss of time, especially as you have only a day and a half to spare for Wellington as it is.”

“But do you mean to say that the train does not go right through to Wellington?” asked Captain Greendays in astonishment. Rh