130 



MISS HILDA. EOORD, ON 



unsophisticated still in this out-of-the-way neighbourhood^ 

 and we had opportunities of observing the native customs of 

 the hongi, or salutation by nose-rubbing, and the tangi, or 

 wailing, a very dismal performance. 



Our road, such as it was, lay for half the day through 

 beautiful bush, composed chiefly of the Ijirch trees, as they are 

 commonly called, though they are I think more nearly allied 

 to tlie beech. They have a very minute leaf for such large 

 trees, and there are at least three varieties, known to the 

 settlers as black, red, and white birch. We were too far 

 south for the Kauri Pine, which only grows in latitudes 

 north of the city of Auckland. What strikes one most in 

 coaching through the country are the great tracts of bush 

 which have been burnt down. It is a melancholy sight to see 

 the gaunt skeletons of bare, scorched, dead trees still standings 

 as it were, to form their own tombstones, reminding us of what 

 they must once have been. There may be many good reasons 

 for burning the bush in so ruthless a manner, and one is that it is 

 the cheapest way of clearing the country from the settlers' 

 point of view ; and another, that it causes the undergrowth to 

 spring up, thus providing fresh food for the sheep and cattle ;. 

 though amongst it is often to be found the tut, or tutu, which 

 is poisonous to sheep. The practice is said to be altering the 

 climate of the country, though how this may be, of course, I dO' 

 not know. 



At last we emerged upon the beautiful Marumutu Plains. 

 It was quite different scenery up here, and much colder. 

 Passing through the small missionary station of Karioi, we 

 came as far as Waiouru, where we put up for the night, 

 continuing our journey next day. We no sooner got up on tO' 

 these weird-looking plains, than we caught sight of the strange 

 group of mountains that seem to rise suddenly out of their 

 midst, I mean Mounts Euapehu, Tongariro, and Kgaruhoe. 

 The name ruapehu means "hole of dust and ashes." This 

 mountain (9,009 feet — the highest in the North Island) is 

 eternally snow-clad, and has a crater on the summit, with a 

 lake, the water of which sometimes reaches boiling point. 

 Notwitlistanding this, however, the sides of the crater are 

 mantled in ice and snow. A little further north is black 

 Tongariro, with the cone-shaped, and also black, Ngaruhoe 

 rising out of it, and emitting a small volume of black 

 smoke every few minutes. Earlier in the day we should 

 have caught a glimpse of Mount Egmont, or Taranald (the 

 native name meaning " naked spear "), about seventy miles. 



