TIDES OF THE RIVER 57 



In the meantime a great deal of work was necessary 

 to put in order the base-camp at Wakatimi, and to 

 render it secure against an attack, should the natives 

 ever alter their friendly attitude towards us. The 

 bush was completely cleared for some distance and 

 a stout fence built about the camp. Then it was found 

 that at high tide, and especially at spring tide, a large 

 part of the camp was flooded and this necessitated a 

 great amount of levehing and trenching and banking, 

 a task which appealed to the fenland instinct of Cramer. 

 The tide made itself felt in the river for several miles 

 above Wakatimi, where there was a rise and fall of 

 about ten feet, but the exact tidal movements were 

 very difficult to recognise. On some days two tides 

 were distinctly seen, while on many others there 

 appeared to be only one. Their movements were further 

 complicated by the very variable amount of water 

 brought down by the river. Sometimes the river was 

 almost stagnant, but at other times it swept down 

 bank-high with a strong current for days at a time, 

 and no flow of the tide could be noticed. The river 

 Watuka, which joins the Miniika a few miles below 

 Wakatimi, had a much greater volume of water than 

 the latter river, and often when the tide was rising its 

 waters were easily recognisable by their white colour 

 floating up past the camp and holding back the waters 

 of the Mimika in the same way that the Blue Nile, 

 when it is in flood, forms a pond of the White Nile. 



It was unfortunate that no suitable place for the 

 base-camp could be found above the tidal water, because 

 it increased the difficulty of supplying the camp with 



