THE FLORA OF RAROTONGA. 263 
chain of islets mentioned above; the two others are almost close together on the 
northern side of the island, the little villages of Avarua and Avatiu nestling round their 
shores. There is no harbour which ocean-going ships and steamers can enter, which must 
either anchor close to the reef, with everything in readiness for quick departure if the 
wind should set in on the shore, or lie off and on until their business is disposed of. 
The actual shore of the island is everywhere low and is covered with vegetation to 
the verge of high-water mark, so that a few steps carry the traveller from the open 
beach into the recesses of a tropical forest. This strip of level land, varying from a 
quarter of a mile to a mile in width, surrounds the whole island. On it are situated the 
villages of the natives and their cultivations, also the few plantations occupied by 
Europeans. Near the beach the soil is light and sandy, but a little distance back it is 
much more fertile, and mainly composed of the débris of volcanic rocks washed from 
the hills of the interior. An excellent carriage-road runs parallel to the shore; and a 
drive round the island, which can easily be accomplished in four or five hours, is the 
readiest and most enjoyable way of making an acquaintance with the scenery and 
vegetation. 
The whole centre of the island is a mass of rugged mountains, cut and worn by the 
denuding action of ages into fantastic peaks of very varied outline. The highest 
mountain, called Te Manga or Taitukura (or Tairukuca), has been variously estimated at 
from 2000 to 4000 ft. in height, but according to my measurements is not more than 
2250 ft. The extreme peak is cone-shaped, and rises to an exceedingly sharp point, 
so that, when I ascended it, my party, numbering four in all, had barely room to 
comfortably seat themselves on the top. Owing to the steepness and narrowness of 
the cone and the small point of support, the view from the top is very similar to what is 
obtained from a balloon. The mountain next in height is called Tekou, or “ the Mist,” 
from its top being often shrouded in clouds. It is 1850 ft. high, and is remarkable for 
being perfectly flat-topped. Its northern face is little more than a straight wall of rock 
about a mile in length, so steep that it would be difficult of ascent but for the tropical 
vegetation which everywhere clothes its sides. But perhaps the most picturesque mountain 
is Ikurangi, which reaches a height of 1575 ft. Its western face forms a sheer precipice 
of over 500 ft. and almost overshadows the village of Avarua. It can be ascended on 
the eastern side, where, as in the case of Tekou, the climber makes use of the tropical 
vegetation to pull himself up places which otherwise it would not be easy to cross. 
All through the island, the ridges which lead up to the higher peaks are remarkable 
for their sharpness and narrowness. In ascending Taitukura, it is necessary to pass 
along a ridge which in some places is certainly not more than a foot in width, and which 
on either side falls with a precipitous slope into a ravine hundreds of feet in depth. 
My native guides walked along this “ knife-edge " unconcernedly ; for myself, I must 
admit that I took to my hands and knees—a much safer, if more undignified, mode of 
progression. 
The mountains are separated by narrow valleys, which gradually widen out towards 
the sea, but at their upper ends are pure mountain-gorges, often encumbered with 
huge blocks of stone which have rolled from the heights above. Pretty little streams of 
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