346 VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN [PART 11. 



We descended the hill through a very thick 

 brushwood, which, however, near the borders of 

 Rotu-Aire gave place to trees of high growth, espe- 

 cially matai and totara. In this forest the natives 

 had cleared large patches of ground, and the vigour 

 of the plantations showed the primitive fertility of 

 the soil. The repast with which they furnished us 

 consisted of a small fresh-water fish 1 boiled into a 

 soup, and most excellent potatoes and turnips. 

 After passing this plantation we halted for the 

 night at a village on the borders of the lake, where 

 we were well received, and enjoyed in the evening 

 a full and. clear sight of the Tongariro gilded by 

 the setting sun. Rotu-Aire was bordered on one 

 side by a stately forest, in every part of which 

 patches of native cultivation and houses were seen. 

 The base of the Tongariro itself had a seam of 

 forest, and the landscape was altogether one of the 

 most attractive I had seen in New Zealand. Seve- 

 ral pas were visible, and enlivened the scene, and 

 on a rocky tongue of land, which stretched into the 

 lake, there was a very large fenced-in village. But 

 here, after having reached the foot of Tongariro, to 

 ascend which we had come so great a distance, we 

 met with an obstacle which quickly put an end to 

 all our gratification. We could not persuade the 

 natives to allow us to ascend the principal cone, 

 which we might have accomplished in four hours. 

 The head chief of the Taupo tribes, Te Heu Heu, 



1 Elaeotris basalis, Gray. See " Fauna." 



