May my friends on the other side of the globe permit me 
herewith to repeat to them my heartfelt thanks for the munificent 
present and for the honours and distinctions, with which they have 
been pleased to overwhelm me. May they also in my endeavours 
to present to them the full and detailed results of my various 
researches, in which they aided me so vigorously and extensively, 
recognize my earnest, eager desire to repay them a debt of gratitude. 
I was very sorry, that from want of time I could not accept 
the kind invitations to make a stay also in Wellington , New Ply- 
mouth (Province Taranaki), and Ahuriri (Province Plawkes Bay), 
for the purpose of exploring those provinces, which according to 
the representations made to me by Messrs. J. Crawford in Wel- 
lington, A. S. Atkinson in New Plymouth, und Triphook in Ahuriri 
Bay, promised so many points of attraction. Nor could 1 avail 
myself of the Governor’s kind and friendly invitation to accompany 
him on a trip to the southern parts on board the English man-of- 
war “Iris” ; because , I had accepted a prior invitation of the Su- 
perintendent of the Province Nelson to visit the Southern Island, 
which, however short the stay, seemed to me of the utmost im- 
portance. It was not merely the fine name of “the garden of New 
Zealand,” as Nelson is styled, that enticed me to that step, but 
rather the manifold mineral treasures, such as copper, gold and 
coal , which had obtained for Nelson the fame of being the prin- 
cipal mineral and metal district in New Zealand. Besides , how 
could I think of returning to Europe without having seen, even 
though only from afar, the magnificent Southern Alps with their 
dazzling summits of perpetual snow? 
GVmsequently , on the 28 lh of July, I went in company of my 
friend Haast on board the steamer “Lord Ashly” bound for Cook- 
Strait. As the steamer lay to near New Plymouth , and moreover, 
before entering Blind Bay, anchored off Wellington , tire voyage 
to Nelson afforded me at least an opportunity of hasty visiting those 
places. Thus on the 30 th July I enjoyed the magnificent view of 
the Taranaki Mountain (Mt. Egmont), 8270 feet high; and from 
the sugar-loaf cliffs of the Taranaki-coast I had an opportunity of 
