BY W. G. WOOLNOUGH. 433 



Narrative. 



Leaving Suva on 6th January, 1905, we proceeded up the 

 Kewa River to Nausori. Mr. R. Gemmel Smith, general manager 

 for Fiji of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, extended his 

 hospitality and afterwards very kindly allowed the expedition to 

 travel to Bau Levu by the stern-wheel river-boat belonging to 

 the Company. At Bau Levu we were hospitably entertained by 

 Mr. Freeman. On Saturday night a hurricane commenced to 

 blow, and lasted until the middle of Sunday afternoon, but fortu- 

 nately heavy rain did not fall in the Rewa Valley, so that the 

 river did not come down in heavy flood. 



Dr. Corney had, through the kindness of Mr. Joske, Commis- 

 sioner for Colo East, etc., been able to arrange for a large canoe 

 to meet us at Bau Levu, so that we were able to start up stream 

 again early on Monday morning. The canoe was not able to 

 carry all our goods, so that we had to arrange for another one to 

 follow us with the excess. We travelled by canoe as far as 

 Naivucini on the Wainimala. While waitinoj for the second 

 canoe, we ascended Nacau, a mountain overlooking the town. 



We then travelled southwards to Nabukaluka, on the Waidina 

 River, and made the ascent of Nabukelevu, spending a night on 

 the summit. Returning to Naivucini, we were met by a train of 

 pack bullocks arranged for by Mr, Joske. These, with a party 

 of native porters, carried our goods through a long day's journey 

 to Narokorokoyawa on the Upper Wainamala, at which town 

 we had decided to make our headquarters. 



A few days were spent working in the neighbourhood of the 

 town. On 23rd January we set out to cross the high plateau of 

 Navosa. This took us two days of exceptionally hard travelling. 

 The climb on to the plateau is about 2000 feet, and the surface of 

 the plateau is simply a morass. After floundering through this 

 for miles, we were overtaken by a heavy thunderstorm, convert- 

 ing the streams into raging torrents which it was impossible to 

 cross. We were delayed for a considerable time waiting for one 

 of these to subside, and, after crossing it, reached the western 



