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very narrow. Several miles further down, the river receives the Mo- 
kauiti, the little Mokau, its principal tributary, from the left. The 
latter, the course of which we shall follow on our road from Pukewhau 
to the Tuhua district, rises on the dividing ranges between the Mokau 
district and the sources of the Wanganui river. A few miles below 
the mouth of Mokauiti near Papatea or Whakatumu the river be- 
gins to be navigable for canoes, although numerous rapids render 
the passage difficult and even dangerous. From the mouth to 
Whakatumu up the river the natives reckon two days journeys; con- 
sequently the distance may amount to about fifty miles. The prin- 
cipal settlements on the river between those two points are Motuka- 
ramu, Mangatama, Mangakawhia , and immediately at the mouth 
the Pali Te Kauri. The old Missionary Station opposite the Pali 
is now deserted. Above Mangakawhia, twenty miles from the mouth 
of the river, along the banks seams of brown coal are said to lie 
open to view. 
Pukewhau is a central point in the upper Mokau district. 
From here the roads diverge in different directions. Our destina- 
tion was Lake Taupo, or, for the present, the Tuhua district 
towards East -South -East. The country we had to traverse pre- 
sents the character of a table-land cut up by deep valleys into 
long and steep ranges; its height from about 1500 to 2000 feet 
above the level of the sea. The road lies through swamps and 
marshes, over hill and dale, and cannot be found without safe 
and expert guides. Ngature provided us with a guide to Horitu 
on the Mokauiti, — a distance of three miles, — in the person of 
a charming Maori girl , who led us knee-deep into swamp and 
mud. Here we met Te Wano, Ngature 7 s brother, who himself 
became our guide thence for the next few days. In the evening 
we encamped on the left bank of the Mokauiti, about three miles 
from Horitu, at the edge of the bush. Our camping-ground was, 
according to my observations, 473 feet above the level of the sea. 
April 7. — The night was cold, with a heavy dew-fall; but 
the day was clear, with the sun shining brightly. And, indeed, 
we might well congratulate ourselves , for precisely like the country, 
