Hill. — On the Buapehu District. 425 



It is difficult, somewhat, to trace the relationship be- 

 tween the limestones and the sandstones, but possibly 

 they pass one into the other, and are the corresponding 

 beds to the fossiliferous grits and sands as seen when 

 approaching Te Hauroto from Mohaka, on the Taupo road. 

 The Te Hauroto limestones, however, which overlie, and 

 in places pass into, the grits, abound with fossils ; but, as 

 already remarked, no fossils were noticed in the fluted lime- 

 stones such as were exposed on the top of the saddle near 

 Mount Blowhard. 



Between this place and the top of the next hills, which 

 really separate the basins of the Ngaruroro and Tukituki 

 Eivers, the country is somewhat broken, but there are few 

 exposures in the roadside. A little to the southward great 

 scarps are seen facing to the westward, and overlooking the 

 valley in v^'hich Kuripapanga Hotel is situated. Such rocks 

 as are exposed in the cuttings by the roadside appear to be of 

 a tufaceous character, bi'ownish in colour, and almost identical 

 with tufaceous rocks found on Euapehu at a height between 

 5,000ft. and 6,000ft. Although somewhat porous in texture, it 

 is a difficult rock to fracture, and appears to have plenty of 

 wearing-power. The soil covering the hills is of a reddish-brown 

 colour, with pumice grits and pebbles. Here and there over 

 the surface of the ground are white-quartz pebbles, well rounded, 

 and generally in small heaps of a dozen to a score. These 

 pebbles, Mr. Hamilton informs me, are moa crop-pebbles; and 

 if such is the case it would seem that moas not so long ago 

 must have been extremely numerous in this district. It might 

 be mentioned in support of this that many moa-bones have 

 been found scattered over the country between Mount Blow- 

 hard and Karioi, a small settlement a few miles south of 

 Euapehu Mountain ; and as the country becomes better known 

 and caves explored no doubt evidences of the moa will be 

 largely increased. 



From this place to Kuripapanga, which stands upon 

 the Ngaruroro Eiver, the country is very broken, and there 

 are accumulations in places of pumice jDebble-deposits, which 

 would seem at one period to have choked up all the old 

 water-ways and formed plain-terraces of rather large ex- 

 tent. The terraces on this line of road begin on the same 

 longitude, or very nearly so, as on the Taupo-Napier Eoad, 

 where pumice sands and pebbles are first met with as 

 terrace-deposits near the Mohaka Bridge ; and after the 

 Taurangakumu Hill has been crossed the terraces are trace- 

 able right on to the Kaingaroa Plains. At Kuripapanga the 

 pumice-deposits fill up the valley, and overlie coarse bouldery 

 shingle of a semi-conglomerate character. Underlying the 

 shingle on the left bank of the Ngaruroro are blue clay-marls 



