A Trip to the Waihou.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2612, 23 May 1877, Page 2

A Trip to the Waihou.

"The mind conscious to itself of right fears not publicity." This may.be taken .to be a free translation of an -old Latin saying, and in one instance at any rate a applicable to the Thames Borough Councillors who, on Wednesday last, readily accorded a passage when asked to those whose duty it was to report their deeds to the public. In the fast and favorite steamship • Pearl, Captain Souter commander, one Georgb as crew, did the four Councillors, acccompanied by your reporter and a friend, set sail (that is steamed) away from Shortland Wharf at half-past seven in the morning. Good men are scarce is no,doubt true, and the Town Clerk had evidently determined that ■ these good .men we had with us should not perish from hunger or thirst, judging from the provision made for the voyage. The start being an early one, no long time elapsed ere one of the three J boxes was opened just to see what was inside. The result was satisfactory, but, like Mr Pickwick, those who opened could not with certainty tell what the contents were, without lasting; so tasted they were.' After a short stay at the Hauraki Saw Mills, where, luckily for ourselves as it afterwards proved, we obtained the loan of a dingey which was; towed in" our wake* we proceeded on toi the Hvkutaia, having on board a gun with which it was thought that much damage would be dove amongst the ducks which c:.e said to frequent this spot, also it was rumored that there might be a Taranaki pheasant visiting the district, and it is lawful to shoot Taranaki' pheasants even before May 21st. However, the first thing we shot was the booms which are stretched across the mouth of the Hikutaia, and this turned out to be not only the first, but the best > shot made during the trip. Having disembarked at a spot beyond which the captain and crew did not deem it wise to take the fast and favorite, we proceeded : land, encoivtiering obstacles, but not

ducks, of Taranaki pheasants. The first of these 'wps a ditch, which had to be ji'mj cd, and the first jumper proved the dej.Ui of it by Tallin^ therein, and the last proved the height oi it by walking in, and getting hauled up the oilier side. However, by'the assiMnnce of Mr Kelly, who opportunely arrived, wo all got safe to land, and proceeded. On we went, and as one gun did not appear to us to be sufficient to shoot the enormous flocks of ducks-we v ore to meet with, we borrowed another on our way, and after a few minutesspent-in gazing on the charms of the Native population proceeded to view tiikutaia Block No. 2, which appeared-r----when we had ascended an eminence, whence the land might be observed, but the climbing of which cost deep breathings and much perspiration—to be highly undesirable, our engineer going so far as to say that he would not have it at a gift, the return to the fast and favorite ipne . was achieved not without difficulty for the Pearl had been taken down by the captain and crew to McCaskill's landing, and as the borrowed boat would not hold all of us, three had to walk. These three consisted of the visir tor, the representative, and the-medical adviser, and to enable them to walk they had to cross the river in a very wet boat, with no oars., for the same reason that ducks cross the road in a thunder-storm, namely, to get to the other, side. To reach this other side, the visitor or sportsman, had a. gun in one hand and a ti-tree pole :iu the other; whether he thought he; was about to shoot anything deponent sayeth not,-at all events the ti-tree pole •was an insufficient guide, and the boat presented the deplorable appearance of a-f vessel uncontrolled- floating down stream, with the medical adviser kneeling on the after thwart, holding on with both hands to the gunwale', the representative in the bottom wet'to his knees, duckin y; his head-every time the visitor's gu* came in contact with it, and tho visitor himself grasping alternately at boughs of ti-tree and roots of fern so as to stay the progress of the boat. The boat was ultimately stayed and fastened, and. three unfortunates we;| to the knees walked across Mr Alley's farm to the steamer, ,It appears we took a short but which, proved a long one, but at last enabled us to arrive in time for an excellent dinner, which was also remarkable for the fact that no more than one at. a time spoke with his mouth full. On we went; and having inspecteti sundry lands on the river's side, arrived at Thorp's landing, where we anchored for the night. When I say we anchored, I mean we tied the fast and-favourite steamship to a tree and, went on shore,: an achievement which nearly proved disastrous to one of our prrty, who essayed to jump from an insufficient bottom, and subsided on to the deck of the steamer. Tea succeeded, and after that the "crew"" and a Councillor proceeded' overland to Paerba, and returned covered with much mud to sleep, the one. on a rug and ti-tree, the latter on.a handful of straw and an..anchor, the latter of which he found .to be somewhat; hard about.morning. In the cabin, where the remainder of the party were ensconced, the riiglit passed off well enough, undisturbed, save by stertorious sounds, such as that which— - : v Lcr.der £L>an the Ibudc it thunder, Hai:sh ?.s 'barsbest op'.iicleide,. ' Nasal resphalions answered ■ ; . Tiie endeauients of : his bride. .„ .-. However, there was no bride on board, sc she couldn't be awakened. Others were ; and about five o'clock in the morning as the song hath it, the representative was pacing the deck vainly endeavouring tc awake the Councillor asleep'on the anchoi below. At last, aided by the whistle, al were aroused, and when the visitor hac 'got on his wet boots—which he did by using a knife instead of a shoe-horn— breakfast was laid and a start was made Past the enclosure mis-named a fort we speeded, and away up the Waihou, some keeping a good "look out for snags, some for ducks, and inspecting places suitable for selection of land on ou" way, we arrived, having taken a Maori on board, who, from his appetite, must have been observing the season of Lent lately, at what was called " Nicholls' new house." Here the land was inspected, and the festive " billy " boiled, and all went merry as a marriage bell until the start for the return, when, in endeavoring to turn the fast and favorite, the dark son of whoever was: the founder of the Maori race, let the rope slip, and the gallant; craft drifted to the other side, the rope well round her screw shaft, the Maori heels, up'ards on the Dank. How the Captain pulled, and the crew pushed, and the Councillors shquttM, and therepresentative looked oh, it mr.i;ters not to say here. After an eventful quarter of an hour the rope was •■recovered, the shaft unimpeded, the Maori taken on board, and the return commenced. Safely, spite of snags, did the vessel glide until the fort was reached, where the visitor, representative and a: councillor disembarked, and walked through mire: and mud to Paeroa, only for the pleasure of coming back again. The steamer, with those whom the good nature of the Councillors received on board, waited for them at Thorp's, and without another hitch, save that occasioned by a Councillor who, at whist, would'-trump his partner's best card, Grahamstqwn was reached at about 10 pm.