1 1 34 AUSTRALASIA ILLUSTRATED. 



Hauhanga, Kakaramea and others lie in the surrounding district, and are called by the 

 natives the wives and children of the two giants. It is also part of this fanciful tradition that 

 Mount Egmont formerly stood beside Tongariro and Ruapehu, but that having quarrelled 

 with the latter he fled to the west coast where he still dwells in sullen isolation. 

 Tarawera, in the very centre of the Hot Lake District, was thought to be an extinct 

 volcano until 1886, when it suddenly burst ' out with terrific violence and devastating 

 effect ; but it is now again inactive. The second volcanic zone spans the narrow isthmus 

 on which the city of Auckland is built, but its numerous cones have not within the 

 memory of man exhibited any tremors. In the Bay of Islands District is situated the third 

 zone, small extinct cones and occasional hot springs and solfataras indicating its limits. 



These volcanoes are quite distinct from the grand mountain chain which, in the 

 North Island, passes to the eastward of . Lake Taupo, starting from Cape Palliser and 

 trending away to the East Cape. It includes the forest ranges of Tararua, Ruahine, 

 Kaimaniwa and Te YYhaiti, but its highest peaks do not attain a greater altitude than 

 six thousand feet. The Main Range is divided in its centre by the deep gorge through 

 which flows the River Manawatu. After Ruapehu, Tongariro and Egmont, the highest 

 peaks are Ikurangi (five thousand five hundred and thirty-five feet) and Pirongia, the 

 former near the East Cape and the latter in the Waikato country. In the province of 

 Auckland there are the Coromandel, the Pataroa, the Wairoa and the Hakarimata Ranges, 

 besides others of much less note. Farther north the highest mountain is Maungataniwha, 

 some distance beyond Hokianga. The North Island, as a whole, is largely diversified 

 with unimportant mountain ranges and hills. 



The rivers of the North Island have already been mentioned in their places, so 

 that little more is required here than a mere recapitulation of their names. This part 

 of the colony is particularly well favoured with regard to water intercommunication. The 

 most northerly of the rivers is the Hokianga, about fifteen miles long, and receiving 

 the Mangamuka, Waima, Whirinaki, Omanai, Motukaraka, Orewa and Hauraki Rivers. 

 The Awanui falls into Rangaunu Bay, and the Kaipara Gulf receives no less than seven 

 important streams, among which are the Northern Wairoa, navigable for one hundred 

 and fifty miles ; the Otatnatea, the Arapaua, Oruawharo and Kaipara Rivers. On the 

 eastern coast the Wiahou, or Thames, and the Piako discharge themselves into the Firth 

 of Thames, the former of which receives the Wairere. The Waikato, the longest river 

 in the colony, rises in Ruapehu and flows through Lake Taupo, receiving the Waipa 

 at Ngaruawahai. Farther south is the Mokau, forming the boundary between the provinces 

 of Auckland and Taranaki. In the Bay of Plenty District are the Rangitaiki and 

 Whakatane, and beyond East Cape is the Waiapu. The Wairoa falls into Hawke's 

 Bay, and the Ruamahunga into Palliser Bay. On the western coast south of the Mokau 

 are the Waitara, Patea, Waitotara, Wanganui, Rangitikei and Manawatu. This last-named 

 river is remarkable for the wild and striking character of the scenery along its banks, 

 in which respect this part of the country is not to be surpassed. 



Stewart Island, named after the whaling captain who demonstrated its insularity in 

 1816, is, of course, the chief of those appertaining to the South or Middle Island of 

 New Zealand. The Maori name was Rakiura, but this, with the later one of New 

 Leinster, has fallen into disuse. It lies at an average distance of only fifteen miles 



