Hill. — Buapehu and Ngauruhoe. 609 



group of craters by a saddle composed of heavy basic lavas, 

 along which one can travel from one mountain to the other in 

 safety. At one period it would appear that Tongariro and 

 Ngauruhoe were separated from one another; and, from the 

 conformation of the country to the south and west of the 

 mountain, Ngauruhoe has grown on the lava-plateau that 

 once separated Tongariro from Euapehu. Curiously, no lava- 

 flow shows itself as if proceeding from Ngauruhoe either 

 towards Euapehu or Tongariro, and the only junction is by 

 means of the saddle, which is an old lava-flow from the latter 

 mountain. Ngauruhoe has been climbed by me on two 

 separate occasions, the first time being on the 25th February, 

 1887, and again in March, 1890. Messrs. Owen and Peacock 

 accompanied me on the first occasion, and Messrs. Eussell, 

 Caccia, and Studholme on the second. The ascent was made 

 from the north-west by way of the Mangatepopo Stream, 

 which is really the head- waters of the Wangaiaui Eiver. On 

 the second occasion our party not merely went round the 

 crater, but as far as they dared into it, and the descent was 

 made on the east, our camp at night being on the Waiohonu, 

 a tributary of the Waikato. 



The valley of the Manga- te-popo, when nearing Ngauruhoe, 

 is a very interesting one. On the south side it is bounded by 

 a high pig-backed ridge known as Pukekaikiore, a trachytic 

 lava-flow, which is quite separated from Ngauruhoe by a deep 

 V-shaped valley. This range was formed in the early history 

 of Tongariro, and really belongs to that mountain, as all the 

 lower slopes on the western side passing into the Waimanu 

 Plain are made up of trachytic lavas, whilst there appear to 

 be no such lavas in connection with Ngauruhoe. The north 

 and north-west side of the valley is bounded by the old lavas 

 from Tongariro, which are seen to pass underneath the lavas 

 which now block up the valley. Near the west end of the valley 

 there is an old crater known as Pukeorake, the northern half 

 of which appears to have been blown out. This crater has 

 a close resemblance to the one on Pihanga between Tongariro 

 and Taupo South. The valley itself is filled with a lava- 

 stream, or, rather, two distinct lava-streams, one of which is 

 so fresh that it has the appearance of having recently cooled. 

 The material is a heavy, black, shining lava, with a surface so 

 rugged that travelling over it is extremely tedious, and even 

 dangerous. There is no trace whatever of any vegetable 

 growth over the second or more recent flow, which does not 

 extend more than 700 yards or so from the foot of the cone. 

 This lava-flow, although so fresh in appearance, must have 

 flowed from the mountain many years ago, as Bidwill, who 

 ascended the mountain over fifty years since, refers, curiously, 

 to this same lava-stream, and from this fact I am able to state 

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