Day 2: Sunday, December 24 1933
Avon arose first (about 4:30) and in a way which must remain a secret with us alone, found himself in the railway hut. Bob, Ted, Huia, and I followed him and we had finished our breakfast when Reg & Cliff arrived for theirs. By 8:30am all and each had partaken of his share of BACON, BREAD, & BUTTER and TEA. And the rest of the morning was spent in drying out or wandering up the railway line, for conditions had now improved to such an extent that the sun shone at intervals out of a cloudy sky, the heat of which was neutralised by a cold breeze.
At 2pm we had dinner; a sort of Xmas Eve dinner, steak, peas, potatoes, plum pudding & reduced cream with a piece of imitation holly in the pudding & to give a further festive feeling, we had four or five balloons strung up. To enhance the effect we now felt full and so when Cliff, who had caught a cold, decided to go to bed to sweat it out, we all tumbled in and slept from 3pm to 7. We arose at 7:30 to drink a strong cup of cocoa and then, tired out by our hard day's work slipped or rather pushed into our sleeping - bags once more. We managed to stay awake or sleep fitfully until 10pm when some arose to adjust themselves and we noticed that it was a clear, fresh, starry night with a cool breeze. Then off to sleep until ...