114 Historical Notes on the 



Kokatahi (Styx). From the banks of the Arahura, near the junction 

 of the Kawhaka, I could observe that this river, after having passed 

 the Lake Kanieri ranges, enters into a gorge amongst high mountains, 

 where, without doubt, its course is deflected towards east-north-east, 

 and then, turning at a sharp angle, will ultimately have a nearly 

 northerly course. Had I not been so much pressed for time, I should 

 certainly have devoted a few days to determining this fact, by follow- 

 ing the river in question far enough to convince myself of its ultimate 

 course. However, although my conclusions were much opposed at the 

 time, further explorations have shown that my deductions were correct 

 and that it is not the Taipo, but the Arahura, the principal sources of 

 which are situated on Browning's Pass. 



Having followed for a few hundred yards along the banks of the 

 river, clothed with grass, we had again to take to the mountain side, 

 covered with such a dense vegetation, that travelling became slow and 

 laborious. We passed several mountain torrents coming from Mount 

 Sale, mostly in deep rocky defiles, forming a succession of cascades. 

 Some of them were filled with avalanches, over which we had to find 

 our way. After three hours of this laborious work we arrived at a 

 larger mountain torrent, falling over a suecessiou of often vertical 

 cliffs, but then nearly filled with a large avalanche, where, owing to 

 the great steepness, of the talus of snow, and the smooth surface of 

 the highly inclined rocky banks, we experienced some difficulty in 

 bringing the men over. This the miner, who had previously been over 

 the ground, pointed out to me as the Harman stream ; and, as I 

 expressed some doubts, he assured me of the correctness of his state- 

 ment, by telling me that, before crossing the Pass, Mr. G-reenlaw had 

 kindly furnished them with a tracing of the road, and this was the 

 most important river all the way they had crossed. Advancing more 

 up the main valley, the vegetation now became more stunted and 

 gnarled, and consequently our progress was still slower. Towards 

 evening we arrived at the roclies montonnees, partly covered by old 

 moraines which stretch below the junction of the Harman with the 

 Arahura, across the valley. The rain, which had lasted without 

 interruption the whole day, did not cease during the night. For- 

 tunately there were many shrubs of Dracopliyllum longifolium growing 

 in this locality, which even in their green state burn freely, and which 

 enable the traveller in those regions, so much exposed to rain, to light 

 a fire with comparative ease. This plant has needle-shaped leaves, 

 generally of a brownish tint, and small bell-shaped white flowers. It 



