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by its rather singular form, — I am speaking of the Titiraupenga 
mountain, from the summit of which a bare pyramid towers up, 
resembling a ruined castle. The East shore in its greatest part is 
flat, and formed by a broad sand-beacli, upon which the road 
leads along the lake. W idely gleaming, white pumicestone cliffs 
border the strand. Above them extend pumicestone-plains , covered 
with grass and bushes, which rise in terraces up to the foot of a 
high wooded range, which under the name of Kaimanawa forms 
the continuation of the Ruahine-chain in the province of Welling- 
ton, and, together with this chain, is to be considered as a con- 
tinuation of the Southern Alps of South Island. The foot of the 
range is ten to fifteen miles from the East shore of the lake; be- 
hind the wooded ranges, rocky, pyramidal peaks tower to the sky, 
which attain a height of 6000 feet and more above the level of 
the sea, and present with their rugged Alpine character a pictures- 
que contrast to the regular conical shape of the volcanic mountains 
on the South side of the lake. Farther to the N. E. the moun- 
tains are growing lower, and bear the name of Te Whaiti. The 
range in its whole length from Cooks Strait to the East Cape, was 
and for the greater part is still a terra incognita, and if there is 
anywhere upon the North Island a prospect of finding gold, silver 
and other metals, it is in those unexplored mountain-chains. I was 
greatly surprised at the sight of them , because I had not found 
upon any map of New Zealand even the least intimation of the 
existence, between Lake Taupo and the East-coast, of such a high 
chain of mountains. In that range all the numerous and partly 
considerable rivers rise, which empty into the lake from the East. 
The detritus, which they carry with them, consists mostly of bluish 
slate, and of gray sandstone. At the North-end of Lake Taupo 
the beautiful cone of the Tauhara points out the region , where the 
Waikato leaves the lake, as a stream of a quite considerable size. 
By far the most attractive parts, however, are the southern 
shores. They are bordered by a successive series of picturesque 
volcanic cones, behind which the Tongariro and it napalm rear 
their lofty heads. From the South-shore itself those two giants 
