NOTES FROM A JOURNAL

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 165, 29 December 1847, Page 2

NOTES FROM A JOURNAL

Kept during an excursion to the BojhngSpnngs of • Hotorua and ßotimakana.by vavo/Jhe Waikato and ' Waif a countries, in the Summer of Eighteen Manure^ : and Forty-six and Seven f ' ! (Concluded.) ' j Jan. IB.— We aroie aa uiual atday-break, but the, fog was «o dense that we could acafcely.see'a few yards beyoudour bivouack, and our blanketa w«eso saturated^ with moisture that it took lome time te dry them, evenj by the aid of.a Urgefire.^Ai.weJ.booghti^dtngerous toproceed down the river for fear of upsetting the •mall canoe we had procured, on the.snags and itumpi, of treei which encumber it, wejweakfaited before set-; ting out, contrary topqruiualcuitom, but finding no, abatement of 'the clramertari" darkness tout ahroudedj every object, we becamf impatient and embarked, but] were obliged to roqre t with the greateit caution, both toj ■ atoid the b'efof^mentioned dangera ahd^to keep the proper channel, for theriVer here brtfrichei off into leTeralj •tr«tms, forming numMouV'iilahdi,': A"i we carefully; moved on, howerer, the fog became less heat?, and. wa | cftuld see that the tianka were frinfedwUh noble toura, « tree much reae?nbling\the.Engliiih,yew_in its- foliage.] We then continued our courae downwarda JorjaeTeral t miles, paiiing . a continudualine 6f cultirationir na .' at length reached a pa strongly stockaded,; but whose , inmntea had notyetTentur:eTdfortMnto|hemiat.^After paddling for.tt leait iixmilwiot^jXfr?™^^ 10 .^ of the stream, almditdoubling^c&iaicourie parallel to the one we bad juit paased, the mi«t, P aoddenly diaperied and we aawjit roßingiipjh^Bteep, and wooded aides of Taupiri, at whose base t we found ourselves, and by a vigorous exertion, of the paddle, weihot out from the dirk and aluggwh^watf rs \6f the Maungawera, which might be;about,ihirty,oj ifor^jfeet yfidej s into the cWr arid azore itwam'of thf b^dWaikatoi ghttering under a biilliant aun,' justiopnaaiteito tie pa of Kaitotehe,' whtre we ;landed| and^etoet-ity our former hospitable entertainer Mr. Aihwjllrto whole residence we proceeded. , He; informed 1 m ( e^ithat orthe,iick personant took me fa Si«t«mmywa) up the cpwtrj, six had diiil dttring% abiende] 4 now" this irallarge pro. portion of deatha in ao short ia time but of a population of three hundred, and iUorrobqratesi-what I bwe %- aamed regardiojt the deejejse^f .the jN«|tiyes, as Jhere were not a corresponding nnmber of ; births, it appeared also that the'questtqnlof permitting the propoied I road from- Auckland to pMi'throoghJtheir country had • been again agitated^at aeYerjaM^ero, and the .usual objections "started. On oneof theie - an;old and sensible Chief atarted up, and said-?-" Of what are you afraid J - was it thewhitejnen who first begun the .war? No! it wai Hflki at Kororarika, and Ranghlata in the South'." " If you commit thefta iat Auckland, you are afraid,, of >eing pursued— do no \ewii, and you will never be injured by the Governor t" 'The fact is that the 'more intelligent >»d refloc«n S iChiefs foresee the benefitthaTwill .accrue to the country by such a measure. . They^memb^r the state of Jthe island before our' arrival^ and they contrast it with iita present condition, : and they cannot buttckndwledge Jthat » taat improTemeniin fegibcUl condition has been the result , of our coloniMtlpn. Thty no doubt

feel that ti our power increases, their influence U diminishing, but .they mus£;see;thatthey r reap- equivalent advantages. That sagacious Chief Te Whero-whero, when Captain Hobion the first Governor visited him in thtyear 1842, addressed the multitude at the great korero, which was then held at this very place— 41 Come my friends, listen to me, and,to this my new treasure (pointing to the Governor)— when muikett and powder were fir«t brought among vi we were plotted— when the Miisionariet c^me I contented, for I taw they' were good. And now I bring thit new treasure do not turn your backt— do not turn your backi on this great treanure. , We hate brought a law, a new law, to save us from killing nnd robbing each other. I will take this my new treasure ' up the Wnipa, through every bend of the rirer. Friends, do not think little of what I lay I" , : Having procured a guide I proceeded to ascend Taupiri by- crossing the river, and .as my time was limited commenced climbing straight up the steep face of the hill, instead of following a more_cjrcuitous> but longer path. The old proverb of—" the longest way round is the shortest way home/* wai here fully verifiid, for the ground was so 'slippery from the continued drought, that I made two paces backward for one in "r dunce, and was at lefl«th*fairly L obliged to pull myself up by sefzing hold of the young underwood, and. thus, hand over hand, as bailors "say, retched the lummit— but here the magnificent prospect > which presented itself amply repaid me /orJali^my^olU ,-,',' i * * i jAt my feet, for the sides of Taupiri are so steep that one almost overhangs it, lay the river, winding either way ' through the pats, ' amidst rich cultivations, •mow? which were scatt'eied the pas that line the bank, and the pretty Mlsilonlry'nismion with its gardens— and the downward course of the river was hidden from our view for a space by closing Will, . ouly to carry the eye beyond it to the vast plain to the west,; through which iti windings again became viiible, flanked bv eight lakes— Wsikari, that spU'ndld sheet of water with its three satellites -lying 'to the north, and Wangapf, less inVze but more picturesque in form ;and accompanying icenery, grounded by a similar number, of smaller lakei, sprcid out to the south, all glittering like burnished mirrors under the noonday sun. ., Beyond Waik are extended the vast swampy flat of Maratea. nue, like a bright green sea, on which the clusters of isolaWhilla that were dotted over its surface resembled islands. Wangape" had a similar but less extensive girdle, and the wbole.of this splendid basin was encircled by rangrs of wooded mountains* which J.could trace by continuing my glance along 'the one on which I stood, until it joined theJWakatewai chain. jfhichcon r tinuous with that of the Manukau, and the ranges at the head of the Wairoa, stretched westward to M&uni gatawhiri, which is only divided by the river, Trom the set-range, that iwept round to tht mouth of # the psss. , ; ■•• ,- 1 " ' 'I I wss ntt however to be gratified with a similar prospect to the east, for in tbat.direotion the immense vo-j fumes of smoke that arose fr6m,the«tensiv(B fires then, burning on th» plain, completely obscufdi every object except a transient glance of the riter, as it .wound along the foot of the western hill» from Ngaruawahia] as the point of. junction of tbe.Waipa with the Waik ao is called, bordered on the sides of the plain by clumps of kahikatea, ind^coaWJastMe the faint.outHne of Pirongiafe^^fe^. rfAP#f V^?^^™/ less d^nielM'tKeylMcef d;ed^l wa<much dUaPpointed tor, I'was feld.thMon alright dayUe [fmgm s'-Jua. paho',-fSntiir'i,CaW^6t^rl^ toto chain, andamor, i brilliant day never shone under the face of Heaven; •>'"■•** ; ' • • ■ s As we were anxious to push on „ to J>e.|ul«tea, and' spend the. hightthefe, we resisted. Mr. AshweH's hospitable invitation to remain with him, therefore ■ to.«J nediteus, he k'indlv:'fttrnished 5u5 ui i f ,with ll 4a 4 a light canoe belonginitohimnelfrbrtt ,tbere were" so many delays; on the partof the Native, whowai to accompany us and to fcring the canoe back, t&t itwas,late beforewe could set out." Procrastination is a sad failinfcyl,might ssy vice, of the Natives^ siucfpWctuality is called a virtue, which is noB unojinf, ,• to every one who has any transactions with them,>nd one for which I do not see a remedy until competition wd necessity, two hard masters,' teach them the yalueW 4 timt. Although we shot rapidly through the waternndeed with the speed of a racing-gig whenever we could get our men to use their paddles, illiJoirtwchejl Motuta. rata, that we acceptedHbeofferof our, friendly PakehaMaori to stop there i forthe, night, and ti his cotttge was not quite so filthy at those of hjs adoptedcountrymen, we~got a fernibed spread in a dean corner of the floor, and though he, hwwife, hischildrtn, and halfa^dozen relatiyes^ slept id the Bame.place, we mannged to spend a tolerably comfortable night.

Jan. 19.— There Vm,* 8*"!8 *"!! 1 ,"! •] dfl fl 18 and^ ratberf cold fog OTerhanging the rirer at day-break^ to w« , breakfaited before r ifur departure, 1 hating lome fine eggi 'presented by'ourbjMt,: in .addition to our common hit \ of bacop, which is7fhe most coptenient article to carry i on excunionYof Ihia kind, a« it is so eaiily, cooked. We requited hTsaiftHty> us by almost the last remnantirof our bag 6t tobacco, fbtehoriginally contained twenty poundi>tight;ind embarked^ again. The care | of the'bag reqftiFesTsoMe little attention, as tobacco is ! aft article «Tc6>eted byrth^Natifei, that 'they «c of- , ten'inolined to fqirego their;uiual{horieity; andt, pilfer from it ff they.hare an opportunity^ coniequently, at night we were obligedttfpUcaJt under oar., pillow. Tobaccoia the* urrenCcoin^f the country, uJiMi, impoMible^ tdget;qn;cpWnientty a without it, ; t^ugh, indeed leii io no^thanfcirmeirly, jince, the'coiutant communic.tion th^NattTei^liaTe with Auckland, en»ble» them to procure it more rwdllj, ( , We won reached the Puk»to v ai the ; progrMa > Mcending and dMcending'tb'eliTer^are ▼ery;different, indeed in the wiofer, whtntthe current/ aeta, strongly, down it U.almpit^mpoiiible to stem it, un!eai,aided'byv a •tron^|#weiterly.wliid r Onqurjray, wepaiied Jhe'^tfof theTftrTam wWeh rra^fromithe Wa^ri lakefabout thMfmUei below, MototaraUl ?«&&s& Wangapfe, noffar fronV tfe Pu^ttea. „The fine fcenery. now commeiced, anditjonjy?^§ried from «hat .which I hiAe deicribtdin of the back-groundi About two mile« v aboTe the, Maungatawhiri Creek; |Jw MaTama-nue River, mdark •lug riih itream .which the'^lain, .joins the W»i. Sato. Iha^d"ei«ib 4 ed:in t bur'cour§e*upward», that^a spur from '.'thTiofftMwngatawhm^ and causes VcorrespondingjchangeiintUie direction of theriYer,xthe Miun>U%ifl t c|eeKeiterirthJ t Wa.katb at the eaitern bate of thiopnr, fed chufly^by.atreatoi from the hills, and from, a^nccejsionof sraupo^"wamps, 5 raupo^"wamps, which are but t coritmuatioiJor thoie of Mtr»ma-nue; Itdi a irelty dlfcrk'ltreim; r wiiE! scarce auy'current^q! wards lt^mputfirpd inot'nipre than twenty yards wide,: narrowinafin breadttf v and increa«ng injapidity, in as- , cending.to it« «ourpe, ,Itiijnot often made vie s of.no,w. ; r asfnTeinrof^nmunicaUoif, indefid^so ■eldom i that the* wild4iwfi>o>*^iwKoe^w_ej^^^^ »nd. J with the aidof a fowling; pi«»,VwC t might,haya made » i saToryfadditjontotour^ dinner. Tbore,are ,aeTeT»l varieties df/duqK» inUhe »wfmpa and liters, but tKecom. moo lirg« blick duck ii the fincfV botU for iport add

the pot,^ !Tfiey «re^foimd'm"g«j»ternaipberi on the Piako *nd iti neighboring swamps, thanMu any other part of the island, though they of comne ibound id every marsVjftdiitrict. They are the only trae sporting; bird in the country 'with the exception ofafew qu»il». for they artwary and Very strong onjthejringyjand.arav moreover capital eatiig, We ascended ita winding conrie for about fire or six miles, when it became|so narrow that we were obliged to pole the ctnoe,, anil near iU principal. Source .to ; rnake our NiUivea* dragit; upward through the weedt and long gran, andVe cbuldi not reach the uiual landing place for want of water. The pa of Maungatawbiri it situated on a bill within.' musket shot of this apot, shewing by its position, the military eje the Natives possess.,, On going up to it wi, " fouud only one old man as guardian of the p'atej,. whY was'hear'iy quite' blind and de«f,brjt he managed to ihform vi that the rest i of the iamat'ei were gone' to catch , pokote,a. small fiih not unlike, f\tl)e.iprat,: which jat *< certain leaioni,. particularly in thji autumn, aboundjin the VirVr— thesB,,irhen>cauf ht are itruog together jrlth flit, andhungupto'dry, and when cooked in a or Na ifeVven^ ar« Tery palatablir" " ~-'!za W« descended from the pi ioto v f- beautlfol gTMiy; plain eTidentiy- T old iAOlt^m^an^/uAi^m^^. it, cams to a pretty, riTdet,, where;thtaiceatof;M|Uqgatawhirl commence!. t^ Puiteg ,dpen r f feln-^ co&ertd hills, strewed pfer with baialtip boulder^and j coniequently or a rion .ibili %e:in%e^th^ormit t wfi|cti,^ was filled with thV usual yarietie^of |^d||nd^^giilj,i neTer.tr*Te>sed a mor« rof^d^dfc^nconjtt^^lw^. ,wa« One continual ascent and deicent; orer niusea of enormous tangled rooU, whlch^fo^edio^^JUiy^' •tumbling trapi, unlen the eya wa« 'constantly directed. '. •0 as to avoid them/ and anaccur»cjfoi balance main- „ taioedthut .almost required (ropiß.dan«i?ir; ( ropiB.dan«i?i r ; in springing . from one and lighting On the slippery \ t surface of another root. We at lasf reached -thft lum-; mit.ridge, and found,our T desjc«nt 'evJnlmojreTafffl|ilf-^ after continuing it for some time we came to a mulct, ; northern slope of thel-ange, for although at one period . of our journty, we inuit have been teTertl hundred ftet above the lerel ofjheiea,i Tet.sq^aae waatheforeit,;, 'and'so gigantic the growth of 'the trees, that we could ? tee nothing but an endless juccestlon O/Jittjni^ughs, ™ ,arid^foliage. There, was'an open ipsAon the oppoiitt ilopej/and*fU t^Vra^ai;lp t w^jn^mTO^ent|i we determined' on biVouicking ikere, > and ioon baa 6ur% fires lighted 'and'ferri^bXdslpreparS/r PS^-^fP^i, 4 • : ;One W.sleep gniefiy^k land nitho'ut the fear ofhating a diamond iDtke 4 take ' a ahare of your'bed/or findirigjone^^c^ 'your'piridwJnthVmorninfTbrjHShap^ tottnd ybw nw^yrer^helmospppr^ cravat; Nbw^uch things haTetiapiiened in the neigh-T 'homing Moniea^d^rightfuU^denta^^ higkly thatitmpUon-fromvenomou^eptilesswhich : thii cplony.CDJoyt. 1 There i»*indeedi*id tObea ipi. der Called kotipb, whose bitt is poisonous, but i have nerer seen one.,' Tbe only, annoyances/ incident to a .biyouack/tare the .mbiquitoes,4vhich can«be\driyfn »way 4 by firesf andf specieifof r yrtobMg $tiflsij.i named , by t>*^^^ to be touched which'dfteh.crkwroT^thg face, and>n, A the sligthteit touch ,em]ta *mJ»t^bomHiiWe| stench;—. ,; Keiping"tHe~/opa iiSithe^nlyJmeanBlof^pfdinf\thii,{ inconveniewel^l)id;|jjen|^^?ept^^ coun^likVN«w^Zealand^cove^^^ vdenwjyjpreajinffeni^nd/ foreffi^iihjloio^jhioktli^ •of shrubby ood^would'be jmpjMsaWe«^/" . , ;•;■ ■ •'/, v of the birdaVeryf pleasing, •nd < ,wc,«pruiig up^refreahfd^' by touad sleep, inhaling the- reTiTifyingfm6rningVairi< that seemed to knit a freshlerery sinei^'fprlreiiewed^ exertion. AUi6^7aJundl«;o4fpr ;^ujaj.a?M/^ blante"tsjiay,app«H^bn|sor^ vet 1 know no more agreeable bed in^nneiweathtr.~.' Ifyou'ch&W^fnll^Bigh^ reit on dark and dingy curtaini ! but on r thef'glnriduif canopy of. heaVeS,\s*pnrigled with thousandio^^^ ingstais, i andiniteadof.bre»tbing the cloieand 4 atmispher/Joftrftomj£y^jnhalaiJbe A cool^ which soon induces a refreshing slumber. ■• -fV,-' - We were quickly in motipn, and after three hours of-.i mo4trugged' L traVeiliig^|otiw;th%esrof^pifrpia^ which, we had a glimpse oT*theJMraala^^tuilopfli» WeretcoVeMwtelum^s>jVfiiS C >ftch|f fe? jeatr of :acce«i; would have -been a perfect de^ ing materials. l^ had^fMro~ely|r;em*atk^t%^^^ other part* of the forest, it .would/ therefore^sesmato ? affect « P ots;facin£th!|j£^V deserted pa of ?Maketu^,seatedfoi Juptoyicfi^ck^ composed of t horizontal mawet, of a volcanic. brocia, commanding the country around, andjwhich) before _ the introduction of fire-arms must.haTe been impregnable. ,vWe had a "splendid view from jt oflthe plaini^of v the^Manukafl— the estuarv ,'itselfi ,and the^country^tiT far ai 1 the^Bhores & 6f{the Wattema-al'The-fine jlopes at the bate formed of Irioh.ifriabler volcanic joil juid Jeenu planted with potatoes but jhe 1 drojighrhad desUrpyei. the crop, and the 4 few* huts 7 hear the 1 oultiyaftonsihadf been deserted^-we>ere' therefore comprtledJ^Mekfor the materialibf breakfast at a iWlcmbnti' the imoke of which iwe^siwi beloir us'rXn&WcJ 1 l^Bp^^R^f anjeitensive andrpßrrially wo^ fromWfootWthe^iUs.^^^^^ that & the ? (wnatanOntercpfw^these;i^pte^|v^^ A^kl.n^TdJ«thfS^^^^ 'genwally.ineet wi^ would; only give nVabaakft of potatoes MajiiWpr-^ 'b'itanf J plfioei' «■-" ""' <<HfH«yf t . 1 ' j *» J >:«^ iriiTi£ce;pf^natl'hava^foJ«jreni«^ dr«in?tgrolshe N^er^r^pjStf ithgl^ bouudfld™%hej; sidep^ y C araiince:byGoYernirwnt,;anduWngj^ hilira>yiKund£fy,^ul^ purchaie— butjhe.propne^s^too^^ A waik.oahr^mUe|terqtt|ht us 1 the^M"^ to Alckland^hichlweth^pa^^w^^ and retracin|»ur atept we ptiied P«p»kura, and r?mf& r q^ur^o|fam^^r^«r^ tyeningland *u we3erejmuchjfajfeued^by t nej^jfea Wave hours^alkjf tfdeC|'iu|n|^ thigii&W4tpf,b|mi|&^ thenighPiHe^hadftifwod^ and » herd SJam. Jl.-^.e ltft^O^lfter b^^l^iaMHi Auc"klin4»Bnii^t^^>^^« d^lS aitonithment onepf-outajtendantB,,wjkojtojw^etl^| I in AMMandrno^fli^^lS^JteS^^Jf^lfe^fe: Missionary cotUge, jxpresiedkltßaterytWngfhe^fji^ Ka pai liwereppntinually^n hi^momh.^ Jfojr,^i|| lidjiejng.faithjuilyrpaidrand kindly %t«d,wUlcrt?|

, very differcatideiliVf'the^kclit from- What he proba, 5 bly once entertained,* and hiraceount will serve tojdii. | _ffi^tftiss^Wu t if s inlwd tribe'entertaini s Thus, terminated month's excursion into the inte» , 1 t\oi, \?h'oie lext(Bnt1 ext(8nt i>nd capabilities are as jet little j • ;;kaowii'eT'en ! to those who have resided .for aome time in j «^the Ulandi In fact the hills 1 which toriler theses*' r* COHit, are but the walla of^tn- immense central b«iinof| \ comparatively level land, which is subdivided by ranges f .of iless height into coraparVmenti/each ' having their : peculiar! features..' 'A view ! 'of&tht coast ranges would f lead the bbierver^to, suppose :that according to thegeI neraf law whicH Lregulatei * the surface, of countriei, ICitbere'wOttM be itilFlo'ftier hilli inland, 1 now, jimte to ?' the contrary js the cur, the centre of the island is as I have'otiserTedralpoit a plrfeet flat— hence, instead t /of< mountain- tbrrenU, or at any fate» riyart with a rapid- ' current, Jtheteare. streams nearly- reiembliDg canals. That noble river the Wrikato, it; singly, an object wor. ; ' thy of a visit, and l a view of Rdtomahana' alone would ; amplyrrepay, ttie fatigues of "a jouf neV-to^ ii,'for the j greater part of it must be performed on f00t ,. . Indeed the whole of 'iheWrmal 'country, as<Rotbrua and its . neighbourhood may be called?' is ihiijhly^interesting acid, well worthy of notice. The .weather ! was delightful J during the whole time.ias is indeed, generally the cisc ; daring the summer in' New Zealand in a walk j of more than iKree' hundred milcai in a country pro- 1 ▼erbial for its- swamps, .we need not have wet our feet, j but from chbiceja;fordiog,'ilvara.-.^ii/i*<; i v- «&' v4 .We genetailEnietL-Wilh Jcivili^ from- the -nstives;! •ndmuit.ia;|)|tohei|^ -hpipiUlity and good conduct varied in ari ■'iH'Verir Mid to.dtir' dUtapce /rom Auck-^ land^>.Of/'oourie«"we''needAfibK(isite * people called I • savages, as juodtla , of v conduct^ for some are good; and ■ others ar^e oa^^s* w^lh%n(2ei/ei9,*bui we" nad every J 1 reason to be Mtiified with our'ffeatment, and did not | loae^singrejir^le\duripr.t|iejojubey^ ,