74 Historical Notes on the 



shore can "be reached, at least ten old beaches, fully preserved and ex- 

 tending over the valley in a half circle, have to be descended. It was 

 indeed a great pleasure to be able once more to enjoy nature in her pure- 

 virgin solitude. The quiet mirror of the lake, only disturbed here and 

 there by ducks and other water birds ; the dark forest, with the rugged 

 rocky peaks above it, reflected in the lake, formed a landscape of such 

 exquisite beauty that I was very unwilling to leave it. 



On Saturday, the 8th April, still favoured by beautiful weather, I 

 left my kind host, and followed the human stream towards the west^ 

 The path leads along the southern shore of Lake Taylor, which, like 

 most of our alpine basins, is shallow only 30 or 40 feet from the shore, 

 then suddenly falls off and appears to become very deep. Several 

 cones of debris, some of considerable extent, come down from the 

 southern side of the mountain, and often stretch far into the lake. One of 

 these has at its extreme point, a tongue, several hundred yards long, 

 going towards the east, which rises like a dam above the surface of the 

 water, and is a speaking testimony of the duration and power of the 

 west wind, which prevails here. The western end of the lake is like- 

 wise formed by the high-walled debris cone of a mountain stream of 

 enormous dimensions, which covers the whole valley, and leaning 

 against the " Skor," like roclies moutonnees, of the northern side, forms 

 here several lagoons. The glacier furrows, with a slight fall towards 

 the east, are visible on both sides of the valley. Half a mile from 

 Lake Catherine the path ascends an old moraine, which likewise crosses 

 the valley in a half circle, and is tolerably well preserved. On the 

 ridge of this moraine the traveller has a charming view of Lake 

 Catherine, 1742 feet above the sea level, lying below him and surrounded 

 by little beech forests of a park-like character, between which the 

 numerous white tents of the roadmen, with their camp fires, glimmered 

 cheerfully. The valley of the Hurunui, above Lake Sumner, is already 

 visible from here. As the old bridlepath along the lake was so* 

 dreadfully swampy that several horses had perished in it, a number of 

 workmen were occupied here in forming a new road. This was already 

 made for a good distance, but beyond this we had to pass a few places 

 where the horses sank in so deeply that we had great trouble to get 

 them through. A deep swamp fills up the level flat between the little 

 Catherine lake and the large Sumner lake, which are united by a 

 sluggish water-course. After any change in the height of the water in 

 both lakes, the water runs from Lake Catherine into the Sumner Lake 

 or the reverse, as there is only a difference of a few feet in the level of 



