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around two brightly blazing fires ; it was a real gipsy-scene ; but 
the news that Pakehas had arrived , roused them all to their feet ; 
and till late in the night our tents were beset by crowds of curious 
spectators. 
March 15. — - At the very first dawn of day, the Maoris paid 
their morning devotion; their chants resounding as far as our tents. 
Then they went to work, — they were engaged in building a 
new church , - — and not until after a few hours labour did they 
sit down to breakfast. Such is the custom in all Maori-villages. 
The breakfast consisting of potatoes and fish, was prepared by the 
women for all at once ; the breakfast-scene itself, however , was 
highly amusing, since the dogs, pigs and cats of the village were 
also all socially admitted to the meal. 
After breakfast we continued our course upon the Waipa. The 
farther up the river, the more distinctly appears the terrace-forma- 
tion on both banks , which commences already below Karakariki. 
Terraces on the lower Waipa. 
a. Clay and sandstone strata with lignite. 5. Pumice-stone gravel and sand. c. Recent river alluvium. 
d. Bed of the Waipa. 
The Waipa- valley , it must be remarked, has so to say, two stories. 
The river-bed is bordered by steep banks , which at low water- 
mark are from 20 to 30 feet high. After these have been climbed, 
the first story or first terrace has been scaled of a fertile alluvial 
plain diligently cultivated by the natives, which is crossed by the 
river in various bends and curves, and represents, in some mea- 
sure, a second, broader river-bed running in plainer lines, more 
elevated , and sometimes flooded by the river at heavy freshes. 
The natives call this first terrace Te Kotai. From this first story 
a steep margin, 30 to 40 feet high, leads to the second terrace 
or the second story , a large plain extending on both sides of 
the river , and gradually blending with the flat-rolling hills of the 
Waikato basin. The plain of the second terrace has also been 
cultivated nearly the whole length of the river; the huts and vil- 
