where did james cook go on his voyages?
A voyage to the Pacific Ocean
entailment
 The plan was that the convoy sail north to rendezvous at Lord Howe Island , then set a course broadly parallel to the Great Barrier Reef with the aim of reaching the Dutch port of Batavia . From there the convoy would sail west through the Sunda Straits to the Cape of Good Hope , then north through the Atlantic to England . This route was comparatively well mapped – the first part largely mirroring that of James Cook in his first voyage in the Pacific from 1768 to 1771 , and the remainder from Batavia being the traditional route of Dutch East Indiamen returning to Europe . Shortland estimated the voyage would take the convoy between six and ten months . 

entailment
 James Cook 's voyages of 1771 – 74 demonstrated conclusively the likely hostile nature of any hidden lands . This caused a shift of emphasis in the first half of the 19th century , away from trade and towards exploration and discovery . After the first overwintering on continental Antarctica in 1899 , the prospect of reaching the South Pole appeared realistic , and the race for the pole began . The British were pre @-@ eminent in this endeavour , which was characterised by the rivalry between Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration . Shackleton 's efforts fell short ; Scott reached the pole in January 1912 only to find that he had been beaten by the Norwegian Amundsen . 

neutral
 Accounts of his studies and adventures there were eventually published in 1869 as The Malay Archipelago , which became one of the most popular books of scientific exploration of the 19th century , and has never been out of print . It was praised by scientists such as Darwin ( to whom the book was dedicated ) , and Charles Lyell , and by non @-@ scientists such as the novelist Joseph Conrad , who called it his " favorite bedside companion " and used it as source of information for several of his novels , especially Lord Jim . 

entailment
 James Cook 's third voyage was the first to make landfall on Hawaiʻi island , in 1778 , and following adventures along the North American west coast Cook returned to the island in 1779 . On his second visit John Ledyard , a corporal of the Royal Marines aboard the HMS Resolution , proposed and receiving approval for an expedition to summit Mauna Loa to learn " about that part of the island , particularly the peak , the tip of which is generally covered with snow , and had excited great curiosity . " Using a compass , Ledyard and small group of ships ' mates and native attendants attempted to make a direct course for the summit . However , on the second day of traveling the route became steeper , rougher , and blocked by " impenetrable thickets , " and the group was forced to abandon their attempt and return to Kealakekua Bay , reckoning they had " penetrated 24 miles and we suppose [ were ] within 11 miles of the peak " ; in reality , Mokuʻāweoweo lies only 32 km ( 20 mi ) east of the bay , a severe overestimation on Ledyard 's part . Another of Cook 's men , Lieutenant James King , estimated the peak to be at least 5 @,@ 600 m ( 18 @,@ 373 ft ) high based on its snow line . 

entailment
 Bounty 's mission was to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti , for transportation to the West Indies as a new source of food for the slave plantations . Bligh , a skilled navigator , had travelled to Tahiti in 1776 , as Captain James Cook 's sailing master during the explorer 's final voyage . Bounty was a small vessel , 91 feet ( 28 m ) in overall length , with a complement of 46 men crammed into limited accommodation . Heywood was one of several " young gentlemen " aboard ship who were mustered as able seamen but ate and slept with their social equals in the cockpit . His distant kinsman Fletcher Christian served as master 's mate on the voyage . Bligh 's orders were to enter the Pacific by rounding Cape Horn . After collecting sufficient breadfruit plants from the Tahitian islands he was to sail westward , through the Endeavour Strait and across the Indian Ocean . Entering the Atlantic he would continue on to the West Indies , incidentally completing a circumnavigation . 
