166 [PART i. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



District from Taranaki to Mokau. 



ON the 10th I started on an excursion to Mokau, 

 situated three days' journey from the Sugarloaves, in 

 order to visit a large tribe of the Waikato living 

 there. The son of the chief of that tribe, who had 

 come to Taranaki a few days before, accompanied 

 me as a guide. On the hard sandy beach which 

 lies to the northward of the Sugarloaf Islands we 

 passed the Huatoki, the Enui, and the Waiwakaio 

 rivers. The escarpment of the coast shows here 

 volcanic boulders, kept together by a yellow loam. 

 This formation is covered with sand. From the 

 Waiwakaio to the river Mimi the shore consists of 

 sandy downs. We passed the latter river at low 

 water. At its right bank is an escarpment, which 

 consists entirely of sharp-edged volcanic fragments. 

 A whale was lying on the beach, which seemed to 

 have been stranded a few days before. An enormous 

 quantity of drift-wood was imbedded in the sand, 

 intermixed with human bones, probably the remains 

 of the cannibal feasts held during the siege of Puke- 

 rangi-ora. We slept on the banks of the Waitara 

 river, after having passed several smaller streams. 



