CHAPTEK XXXVL 



WAIGIOTJ. 



(JULY TO SEPTEMBER 1860.) 



rPHE village of Muka, on the south coast of Waigioti, 

 consists of a number of poor huts, partly in the water 

 and partly on shore, and scattered irregularly over a space 

 of about half a mile in a shallow bay. Around it are a 

 few cultivated patches, and a good deal of second-growth 

 woody vegetation ; while behind, at the distance of about 

 half a mile, rises the virgin forest, through which are a 

 few paths to some houses and plantations a mile or two 

 inland. The country round is rather flat, and in places 

 swampy, and there are one or two small streams which 

 run behind the village into the sea below it. Finding that 

 no house could be had suitable to my purpose, and having 

 so often experienced the advantages of living close to or 

 just within the forest, I obtained the assistance of half-a- 

 dozen men ; and having selected a spot near the path and 

 the stream, and close to a fine fig-tree, which stood just 

 within the forest, we cleared the ground and set to build- 



