Geological Survey of Canterbury. 5 



rapidly increases in grandeur, peak above peak, pinnacle above 

 pinnacle appear covered with snow, wherever it finds a resting place. 

 The mountains on the southern banks of the river, although very 

 broken, being only the outrunning spurs of the Forbes Eange, are not 

 so picturesque, being intersected by deep valleys, whilst on the 

 northern banks rise the precipitous flanks of Cloudy Peak, their base 

 washed by the main stream. Towering to the blue heaven two gigantic 

 pyramids here stand, the one in front of the other, the wild majesty of 

 which defies description. Between them glaciers of the second order 

 descend, their white masses shining like molten silver, but only visible 

 where deep rents seem to have cloven the mountain asunder. Several 

 small but beautiful waterfalls are seen, often many hundred feet 

 high, but generally not in a continuous fall, the breaks between them 

 as they jump from ledge to ledge adding however not a little to the 

 splendour of the scenery. In some spots the waters wind amongst 

 the rocks like streaks of silver, little promontories or forest vegetation 

 alternately concealing them for a time, until they appear again 

 clinging to the mountain sides. In another place, high above the 

 river-bed, a streamlet falls over an overhanging rock, but instead of 

 reaching the bottom, the wind takes possession of it, blowing it into 

 an almost imperceptible mist, over which the sun threw, when we 

 passed, a magnificent rainbow. Five miles from the junction of the 

 Havelock with the Clyde the beech forest (Migus Solandri) which still 

 now and then grew upon the steep mountain sides, disappeared, and a 

 new and strange vegetation took its place. Crossing and re-crossing 

 the river where it seemed best fordable, we halted ten miles above the 

 junction, where another important stream joined the Havelock from the 

 west-south-west. A magnificent peak rose to a great altitude at the end 

 of the valley, covered with perpetual snow, from which the ice streams 

 descended towards the valley, the terminal faces of which we could 

 discern at its head. Another reason why I selected this spot as 

 a camping place was, that here behind an outjutting spur a little 

 flat occurred, covered with coarse grass, so that we had some feed 

 for the horses. The river-bed, still a mile broad, consisted of 

 boulders in its whole extent, amongst which numerous water- 

 courses meandered, shifting however with every fresh. 



On the early morning of March the 14th we started towards the 

 first source branch, and after crossing the different streams into which 

 the Havelock is here divided, and of which the last one gave us 

 considerable trouble, owing to the very large boulders in its channel, 



