THE HOT LAKES DISTRICT, NEW ZEALAND. 



139 



spring up in the desolate regions which were once the home 

 of the far-famed Pink and White Terraces, both of wliich, 

 together with half of the Tarawera Mountain, disappeaied in 

 the great eruption of 1886, which also much reduced the size 

 of T.ake Eotomahana. The surrounding country is weird 

 beyond description, scored as it is by ancient flows of lava. 

 The whole of the neighbouring district is said to have 

 benefited (from an agricultural point of view) by the last 

 eruption, owing to the rains which followed it, and which 

 converted the layer of ashes and fine dust which had been 

 distributed over the land into a muddy soil which much 

 improved it for productive purposes. 



During our stay at Kotorua — which lasted three months — 

 the " ^Vainlangu " was playing every two or three days for 

 several hours at a time. 1 was unable to visit it myself and, 

 unfortunately, on the occasion of my sister's expedition thither, 

 " Waimangu " proved sulky and would not play at all. I shall 

 therefore do best, I think, to read an account from one of the 

 Auckland papers, given by an eye-witness and one well 

 acquainted with geyser-action in its every variety, namely, by 

 the Wairakei guide whom I have already mentioned. 



The paper is dated June 29th, 1901. 



" A party of four, consisting of Mr. Parker, Mr. E. Graham, 

 Mr. Scholtz and myself, pitched camp and ascended Mt. 

 Kakaramea on the afternoon of the 24th of April last, to 

 obtain a view of the country generally and to mark off the 

 principal volcanic lines in the neighbourhood on the map, 

 preparatory to visiting the Great Waimangu Geyser the follow- 

 ing day. We arrived near the geyser about 9 a.m. next day. 

 We found it quiet, but evidently ap[)roaching steaming point by 

 the amount of vapour given off. Having obtained a fair idea 

 of the height of the cliff on the south-east side (about 200 feet) 

 and wishing to reach a position over the fissure line passing 

 under the geyser from the direction of AVhite Island and 

 Tarawera, in order to time the pulsation during her play, we 

 crossed over the boiling river marked on the map, and found 

 the temperature 140 degrees Falir. The stream of water would 

 just about fill a flume 16 inches wide and 7 inches deep, 

 clearly showing that a large amount of steam was undergoing 

 condensation. We then ascended the liill behind the Inferno 

 Crater, which contained a small lake of water, the depth uf 

 which we did not obtain, but we estimated its area at about 

 90 yards long and 40 or 50 yards wide (almost as large as that 

 of the geyser). On the top of the hill we found another small 



