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New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 152, 13 November 1847, Page 3

Kept during an excursion to the Boiling Springs of Rotorua aiulßotomdhana, by way of the Waihato dnd Waif a countries, in the Summer of Eighteen Hundred and Forty-si\ and Seven. (Continued.)

Jan. 2.— -We rose at day-hreak, and after having breakfasted, and overcome the usual difficulty of pro curing guides, who always put off the arrangement until the last moment, for the purpose of extracting a larger utu, in proportion to the traveller's impatience to get on, we set out on a glorious morning. The road to the bridge over the Waikato, is one continued ascent and descent, across the plateaus and into the ravines thatdivide them, the clear mountain-streams which course through them being seldom so deep or broad as to require fording. The surface was covered with fern, intermixed occasionally with grass, which at one period must have been forest land, judging from the stumps still standing, and the remains of decayed trunks scattered about. I remarked several ancient pas, defended by earthen ramparts and ditches where necessary, on commanding hills near our line of route. Nothing shews the present peaceful slate of the country, more than the abandonment of these strongholds, which were once so necessary to the safety of the inhabitants. After a few miles, the face of the country changes, becoming more broken, and the soil lighter, mixed with pumiceous gravel, and shewing by the stinted vegetation its inferior quality. From the crest of a hill, the vast plain which extends eastward in an almost unbroken level to the Lake of Taupo, and through which the Waikato winds, opened out, its surface being occasionally crossed by lowridges of hills, and its distant horizon broken by the dim outline of still more distant mountains ou the borders of the lake ; and a little farther in advance, the more immediate valley, or bed of the river, came into view, bounded on either hand by two rows of terraces, so accurately lined out, as to seem almost an artificial work, maintaining a continuous level, excepting where -the rise of the general level of the country, caused a corresponding elevation and break of continuity, in order to maintain the horizontal line which deposits from water always assume. We could distinctly trace them until, in the language of perspective, they were lo»t at the " vanishing point." The terraces are evidently ancient beds of the river, formed as I have briefly described, in the lame manner as those on the banks of the Waipa : an accurate examination of them, and of thai part of the country generally, would be a most interesting occupation fora geplogist, and it is to be hoped that some of the enterpriztng members of the Geological Society may be tempted to extend their researches to the antipodes. We soon reached them and descending their steep sides, which slope at an angle of 45 ° , we stood on the lowest bed, lying between them, through which the river holds its course, and found the soil composed of water-worn pumice-stone, basalt, and pebbles of obsediau, or volcanic guvss, forming a perfectly smooth aud hard road Here I first observed that strong wiry grass, called wi in the Native language, scattered over the surface in large patches, and which appears 10 be indigenous to these volcanic regions. In the centre, the river, which above may be a hundred yards wide, as it winds between the slopes of the terraces, whose bases it washes, is suddenly contracted by masses of pumiceous conglomerate, to about ten or fifteen yards in breadth, and through which, being of a soft nature, it has scooped out a channel, where it rushes dovnwards with great velocity, as if through a millsluice, for two hundred yards, when it leaves its confined channel, and pours itself, boiling and eddying, amidst masses of basalt, into a circular pool, where its white and foaming waters again assume their pure green color. The scene was, altogether, most singular, I cannot say picturesque, as in looking upwards, nothing was seen but the bare level «rests and rampart-like sides of the terraces, whi'e each salient point formed by the winding of the river, resembled the angles of a huge bastion. At the narrowest point of the river's course through the rocks, the Natives have thrown across a canoe, with its bottom made'level, which serves as a bridge, though not a very agreeable one to a timid person, from being unfurnished with a parapet. TheNa fives are in the habit of exacting a toll from Paheka travellers, which they fix arbitrarily, demanding as much as they think they can screw out of a stranger. Ou a recent occasion they would not let a gentleman and his party pass until he had paid a sovereign. We however escaped scot free, from my companion being known at the pa. These rapids form an impediment to navigation, though canoe? are sometimes transported across the flat, but this is one reason, together with the barren quality of the soil, and absence of wood, why settlements are so "few and far between,*' on the upper Waikato, and those that do exist are situated close to basaltic tracts,* where there is wood aud a soil fit for cultivation. ' Our guides now led us to the level of the first terrace, whose surface formed of the gravel I have described, was perfectly hard and would make an ad inirable natural road. It was thinly sprinkled with dwarf fern, grass and manuka, and was the very personification of sterility, while a burning sun heated the dark gravel to a pitch that we could feel through our shoes, and there was just wind enough to waft the hot air radiated from the earth, in our faces. We could almost fancy ourselves parched by the hot winds of Australia, rather than journeying in the moist aud temperate New Zealand Our route lay for some time in a north-westerly direction along the lower terrace, when it suddenly turned northward, and wound up the slope to the upper terrace, whsn we found ourselves at the mouth of a valley of some breadth, which

extended several miles northward, perfectly level, bounded to the west by the flanks of Maungakaua, and to the east by a continuation of the dividing ridge, between the valleys of tbeWaiho andWaikato, which terminates behind the plain of Mata Mata, with which place an opening at the further end of the valley, we were told, communicated. From this spot we again commanded a view of the terraces, extending eastward as far as the eye could reach, until lost in the plain I have described as extending to Taupo, iv the centre of which now rose an isolated mountain called Warehunga— to the west again we could trace them winding round the base of the spurs of Maungatautan, on the left bank of the river we had crossed the preceding evening, and on the side we stood running parallel to Maungakaua, until they merged into the level of the low country beyond the mountains, at Kiri Kiri roa. Here may be said to be a portion of the projected road from Auckland to Taupo, ready made, for these terraces are both levelled and metalled by the hand of nature, and would require little labor to convert them into a road, beyond lining out, an occasional cutting to form an ascent nnd descent from the terraces, which are, as before-mentioned, discontinuous, and the con- j Btruction of bridges across the mouths of ravines, formed by the winter-torrents from the hills, eating deep into the loose soil composed of pumiceous sand and gravel. In fact the members of the four-in-haud club might dash along in style, over the greater nuui ber of these terraces as they now staud. In assuming therefore that the road has reached the base of the Maungakaua Mountain, it might becarried round its western shoulder to the terraces, or which would be better if practicable, from the absence of swamps, which there is reason to believe is the case, might be carried across the head of the Piako, and northern flank of the above mentioned range, until it reached the opening I have before described, in the valley and conducted onward along its bed, to the upper terrace of the same level. This line would, not only be much shorter, but would give access to the fertile plain of Mata Mata, aud the adjacent country. Some distance down the river, at the back of the terraces, on the left bank, rose to a considerable height, a line of whitish rocks of pumice-conglome-rate, assuming in -.natty places a columnar form, and supporting an irregular table land— these, seen from' the river, with the opposite scenery, must form a verysingular and romantic pass. We now crossed the bed of the valley to a subsidiary vale, extending eastward into the hills, through the centre of which coursed a stream called the Piariri, that had worn for itself a channel more than fifty leet in depth and breadth, in the yieldiugsoil over which it passed, aud we could perceive that in its downward course to the river, it formed a perfect ravine. Obstacles of this nature, would form the principal difficulty in making the proposed road. I remarked here a syngenesious plant, resembling the evtrlasting flowers of English gardens, and a small jacobea, with a purple flower 1 had never before seen, both of which seem peculiar to these pumiceous plains. They were new objects which immediately attracted the eye, in a country where such humble Bowers are so very rare, ' for trees aud shrubs form the floral ornaments of New Zealand. We now ascended the vale, whose bed was wellfurnished with several varieties of grass, and clurups of towi-towi, and would form a good cattle-run. Rocks of the formation I have described, jutted out from the bare hillsides in very fantastic forms, atone spot, a mass of them resembled the ruins of an old castle. Near the head of the vale, a bed of rock stretching from one side to the other, over which the stream poured in a cascade, terminated the deep chasm we had followed, and here we vrere enabled to cross and ascend the hills, which apparently of alight soil, were covered with tall fern. From the summit of a ridge a splendid view opened on all sides— Maungatantari, the easteru extremity of the Rangitoto Mountains, abutting on the plain exteuding towards Taupo, with the distant hills bounding the lake, lay to the south—the plain of the Waiho and the lofty Aroha chain to the east, while Maungakaua rose to the west, and a perfect sea of hills of the most irreaular aud picturesque forms, were immediately ground, but baie and wild looking, uuinbabited and uncultivated. After following a ridge of the bills for some time, we reached a clump of wood, where we found one of those isolated plantations which are usually formed in the line of tracks, from one part of the country to another, where the Natives make summer residences, retiring to their pas in the winter. A very wild and ragged party of the Ngatihona occupied it, and we found them living almost al fresco, on the wood at the edge of their cultivation. A young woman who, a few hours before, had given birth to a child, was lying under a rude canopy of branches, and immediately opposite lay a poor old woman, dying from a mortal disease, it was life and death strongly contrasted. The unfortunate dying creature was scarcely noticed, all attention being devoted to the lady "in the straw," whose infant was a son, consequently valued as an addition of strength to the tribe. I shall never forget the look of gratitude the dying woman gave, on offeiiug her some bread and tea, part of our meal, nor the look of astonishment aud envy of her unfeeling countrymen, at our throwing away such luxuries on so useless a subject. This specimen of our liberality served as a hint to the girls of the tribe, some of whom were good-looking, to beg tobacco, which, however, from our abhorrence of the neglect the dying woman experienced, we latly refused.^, This indeed is one of the annoyances to which travellers are subjected, but if the beggars are not listened to, they soon cease to importune, for, if from good nature, the request is granted to one, it is the commencement of an unceasing persecution from every mau woman and child in the place. Tobacco, which is the current coin of the country, should never be given except " for a consideration." The abstract sentiment of generosity is unknown to savages. If they give, it is always with the aussrance of a return, and any deviation from this rule is looked upon as a weakness, aud rather lowers the giver in their estimation. As we had still some hours of day-light before us, we rose to proceed to Pa-titeri, at the head of the valley of the Waiho, but this movement was strongly objected to by our guides, who, we now found, had brought us here by a circuitous route, that they might enjoy an evening with their acquaintance!. We were resolute and declaring that we would rather carry our own packs than remain, proceeded to shoulder them, when a stout fellow ot the party, wisely judging that the tobacco we offered was too .valuable to be lost, agreed to accompany us, and releasing our shoulders by burdening his own, we dismissed our former guides, and set out. On leaving the settlement we descended into a wild gorge, whose sidei were covered with projecting masses of rock, in every fantastic variety of form, and we emerged from it into a swampy plain of considerable extent, covered with a species of coarse grass, common to such districts, intermixed however, with a good dral of florin, the agrostis stolonifcra of botanists, which is greedily eaten by cattle, arid arikeki, or Native flax, again appeared. Grossing this, which was now almost dry, we ascended out of it into a lower range of hills than those we had passed, of a poor soil,

chiefly covered with dwarf-fern and manuka, but with °casional patches of grass, These ranges which ran north and south, were of some height and of very unequal outline, and several deserted pas crowned their highest summits. Traversing several flats, similar to the one 1 have described, but less swampy, and which would afford good feed for cattle, or even sheep, we reached what maybe called the true valley of the Waiho, consisting of a poor soil, covered however with a great deal of the wiry grass I have described, among the dwarf- fern and manuka- Over its surface were scattered long low ridges of hills with level summits, and to the east about twelve miles distant, rose the wall of mountains, which extending southward from the lofty Aroha, lose their serrated outline in an almost horizontal prolongation, to the denies of Toa, which close in the valley. Passing over a level tract between these hills, the path conducted us to a beautiful clear stream called the Horaki, which ran in the centre of an ancient bed, nearly forty feet below the general level of the plain— into this we descended, and forded the river which was kneedeep, and ran northward, with a rapid current, to join the Waiho. A country similar to that we had traversed, lay for some miles between it and the Waiho, which, deep and rapid, has scooped out for itself abed of at least a hundred feet in depth, in fact a perfect ravine. As there was no bridge over it, we were torced to strip, and to tie our clothes on our shoulders, and thus ford it, which we had considerable difficulty in doing, so strong was the current. Here the river runs on the western side of the plain, but its course tends gradually to the east, and some miles farther to the north, it approaches the eastern mountains, and finally, near to Mata Mata, runs along their base. From the banks of the Waiho, a walk of several miles over a country very like what I have described, in the course of which we forded several smaller streams, brought us to the wild gorges of the Toa, from which these streams as well as> the two rivers, have their source. This singular country would seem to be a table-land, supported by a mass of pumice-conglomerate, and split, if we may use the term, into innumerable fissures, each of which forms a ravine, and is the source of a stream. It was moon-light as we entered the ravine leading to Pa-te-teri, and its beams gleaming on the .white walls of rock which bounded it, while the recesses were in deep shadow, formed one of the wildest and most striking scenes I had ever witnessed. Ascending a zig-zag pathi up a salient angle, which projected between two of the ravines, we reached the table-land on which the pa is situated, and found that the people, a partoftheNgatiraukauatribe, seemed to partake of the savage character of the neighboring scenery. > We had not seen a living soul in our long day's journey, except at the temporary Ngatihona settlement, nor scarcely a living thing-, except a tew small birds and insects. There was an absence of animal life that was almost appalling. As it threatenedrain we obtained shelter in a rude ware, and had the pleasure of the company of almost the whole of the inhabitants of the pa, to witness us eat our supper, and make our toilette for retiring. We had but an uncomfortable bed, yet in spite of filth and fleas, our previous walk of more than thirty miles, in a very hot day, made us sleep soundly until the moruing. (To be continued.)