Geological Survey of Canterbury. 81 



river, through which we had to pass several times, was still rather high. 

 After four miles we came to a place where we found a great many 

 travellers, who had not the courage to cross a dangerous looking ford. 

 Most of thetn had already used up all their provisions, and begged me 

 to leave them flour enough for at least one day, which I did, the more 

 willingly, as I had been assured repeatedly that I should be able to 

 obtain new provisions at the so-called Pakihi, a large forest meadow 

 near Lake Brunner. After I had tried the ford and found it passable, 

 we took the pack-horses over, and the other people soon followed. 

 Towards noon we reached the mouth of the Otira, an important tribu- 

 tary ; at its source a pass, like that of the Hurunui saddle, 

 leads to the Waiinakariri river, over which the high road to conuect the 

 east and west coast was being: made. On the mountains to the south 

 side of the river and west from the Otira valley, which have very wild 

 forms, we could now observe some snowfieids with small glaciers of the 

 second order. The vegetation had changed very much since we left 

 our last camp. "We had long since left Metrosideros lucida and similar 

 trees growing near the pass, behind. Along the rather wet track 

 appeared, besides the Totara pine, white pines (Kahikatea, Podocarpus 

 dacrydioides), and black pines (Rimuov Dacrydium cupressinum), which 

 with their regularly-formed tops generally towered high above the 

 other forest foliage ; although here and there black beeches {Pagus 

 Jusca), 100 feet high, and 7 to 8 feet in diameter, were also to be seen. 

 Delicate tree-ferns appeared in great abundance, especially in the 

 gorge-like side valleys, among which Oyathea SmitJiii and Dieksonia 

 squarrosa were especially noticeable for their height and circumference. 

 Between this superb vegetation, the black stemmed creeper Phipoyonum 

 scandens (the Supplejack of the Colonists) often forms an im- 

 penetrable net, while the ground, as well as the stems of the trees, is 

 covered most luxuriantly with mosses, lichens, and ferns. The whole 

 enlivened by numbers of feathered songsters, forms a scene of inde- 

 scribable beauty. We had still to cross the river several times before 

 we arrived at the opening, two miles broad, which leads to Lake Brunner. 

 "We now left the bed of the Teramakau, which deviates a little 

 from the westerly direction it has had hitherto, and breaks through the 

 coast chain, but the valley, downwards, continues broad, and never 

 assumes the character of a gorge. Ha f a mile from the river the flat 

 is covered with the shrubs generally growing in the open valley, 

 such as Leptospermum Coriaria, Olearia, Coprosma, fyc. Then 

 the path ascends a little terrace, a few feet high, and enters a 

 magnificent forest with gigantic trees, between which are to be seen 



