Geological Survey of Canterbury. 51 



forming small groves in the deep moist valleys, and which, considering 

 we were still in the heart o£ the Alps, gave a strange aspect to the 

 scenery around us. At last we left this region of rocks, precipices, 

 and cascades behind us, and a fine river entered the main valley from 

 the south-west, which I named the Burke. We reached the confluence 

 of it on the evening of February 12th. Tine weather set in at last, 

 and the barometer shewed us that we were only about 300 feet above 

 the sea level. From this spot a most magnificent view over the 

 southern termination of the distant Bitter range, and over the 

 snow-clad Hooker range was obtained, — the more beautiful, as the 

 ranges on both sides of the valley were covered to an altitude of nearly 

 4,500 feet with forest, and the foreground consisted of fine groves of 

 large pine trees which, lower down the valley, grew on the very banks 

 of the main river. It was only on the morning of February 14th that we 

 were able to continue our journey. The Burke, although only slightly 

 flooded, was impassable, and the main river above its junction, after 

 several trials, we found too high to be crossed. We had just finished 

 making a catamaran of dead trees to get across the Burke, no flax sticks 

 being obtainable to make a mokihi, when a falling of the main river 

 allowed us at last to proceed on our way to the West Coast. 



After the junction of the Burke, the course changes again, the 

 river running for seven miles in a north-east direction, the valley opens 

 more, the fall of the water is much less, offering good fords, so as to 

 allow us to use the shingle banks to travel on. NoV and then small 

 grass patches of a few acres in extent appear. It was towards the 

 middle of the day when we observed that the river, before its junction 

 with another large river, viz. the Clarke, set against its left bank, 

 keeping close under vertical cliffs to this junction. I determined, 

 therefore, to cross this important river above the junction ; but when 

 we came to its shingle bed, which is here about one and a half miles 

 broad, we found the water of the first branch much discoloured. The 

 day being hot and the sky cloudless, I mistook this occurrence for the 

 usual discolouring of a glacier near its source, from the effects of a hot 

 day. We therefore proceeded, and, after some difficulty, found a ford 

 over this first branch ; but branch after branch succeeded, each one 

 larger than the former, and it was near evening when we tried to cross 

 the last branch, which proved to be the most important. Several times 

 we failed, but at last succeeded. Although we crossed in the Maori 

 fashion, with a long pole between us, two of my party were washed 

 away when near the opposite bank, and had to swim to shore with their 



