Colenso. — On Waikarcmoana District. 361 



(or mythical prehistoric personages), the print of his other 

 foot, made in striding hence, being near Poverty Bay, a 

 distance of more than fifty miles. Many marvellous exploits 

 are related of this celebrated personage. I did not (as on 

 my former visit) go round the East Cape — a bold and high 

 promontory, composed of indurated clay, reclining back in 

 solemn grandeur ; on its face nothing grows, owing to the 

 continual descent of debris from its summit and sides; but, it 

 being nearly high water, we struck inland through a narrow, 

 sandy defile emerging beyond the cape to the sea-beach. 



On the evening of the 9th December we readied the high 

 bluff promontory commonly known from its appearance at sea 

 by the not inappropriate, though quite unclassical, cognomen 

 of Gable-End-Foreland, given it by Cook, and equally well 

 named by the Maoris Pari-nui-o-te-ra (high cliff of the 

 sun). This remarkable headland, of not less than 200ft. in 

 perpendicular height, is entirely composed of white indurated 

 clay, on whose face and sides grew not so much as a single 

 moss or lichen, from the continual crumbling-down of the 

 clay of which it is composed. Here, in the pelting rain, 

 beneath this towering crag, where we could scarcely stand 

 owing to the extreme slipperyness of the wet clayey rocks and 

 seaweeds, we found that the tide had not sufficiently ebbed 

 to allow of our passing onwards without hazard. As, how- 

 ever, the evening was drawing on, and we had still some dis- 

 tance to travel ere we should meet with either food or shelter, 

 we were necessitated to make the attempt. Scrambling in 

 some places on all-fours like a cat, and upborne in others by 

 my faithful Maoris, I rounded this cape through the breakers, 

 passing under a natural archway in the extreme face of the 

 rocky cliff, and got in safety to the other side. Continuing 

 my march I collected several species of marine Algae that were 

 new to me. Ai sunset w 7 e arrived, wet, cold, and hungry, at 

 Pakarae, a small village containing about twelve persons, 

 who, according to their hospitable custom, heartily welcomed 

 us, although, as we subsequently found, they had not a 

 scrap of food to give us, this season of the year being always 

 the one of scarcity of cultivated vegetable food. The old 

 chief kindly pulled up three stakes from the fence of his little 

 citv — for trees there were none in this neighbourhood — as 

 tent-poles for my tent, and presented me with a raw dead 

 crayfish, which I was happy enough to obtain and divide 

 among us — six in all — as a substitute for supper. The next 

 morning we started early — having procured a basket of kumara 

 (sweet potatoes) for breakfast, which were kindly fetched during 

 the night from some distance — travelling, as yesterday, by the 

 seaside. About 5 p.m. we reached the river at Turanganui, 

 a village in the north-west angle of Poverty Bay, and, crossing 



