401 
on the heights. In warm , dry weather tlie steam-clouds are less 
visible; yet the red patches on the sides, devoid of every trace of 
vegetation, point out from afar the places, from which sulphuric acid, 
sulphuretted hydrogen , sulphur and steam are continually escaping, 
producing fumaroles, hot springs, boiling mud-pools and solfataras. 
On the one end of this remarkable break in the table-land, which 
can be traced to a distance of 18 miles, Orakeikorako is situated, 
and on the other end the famous Rotomahana, the marvels of which 
far surpass every thing else occurring upon New Zealand in the 
shape of hot springs. Upon the western fissure, parallel to the 
Pairoa fissure, are the hot springs and solfataras of Waimahana, 
Rotorua and Rotoiti; and at. the North-East side of the break are 
the lakes Tarawera, Roto Kakahi, Okataina, Okareka etc. 
At three p. m. we encamped close at the foot of the Pairoa 
peak amid a dense growth of Manuka. It was a dismal neighbour- 
hood; for close by our camping-ground lay a terrific basin about 
30 feet in diameter, in which a bluish-gray clay-pap was boiling. 
By the side of this mud-basin, concealed among the bushes, arose 
a flat mud -cone about 10 feet high, with a regular crater on the 
top. A heavy cloud of steam, which, accompanied by a slight de- 
tonation , suddenly escaped from the crater , attracted our attention. 
Carefully sounding tlie ground with our sticks, we approached the 
mud-crater , and saw a deep , funnel-shaped hole , in which a thick 
boiling mass of mud rose higher and higher, heaving up in large 
bursting bubbles. As the mud rose quite close to the brim , we 
receded a short distance, and then observed a second eruption, dur- 
ing which again steam escaped with a hissing sound, wdiile the 
mud discharged itself over the margin of the basin. Quite a number 
of such mud-volcanoes extend on the steaming slopes of the Pairoa 
peak, playing in the gayest colours of red, white and yellow, while 
at the top of the mountain a powerful column of steam is seen to 
ascend, which, as the natives told me, belongs to the great foun- 
tain Te Kopiha. I am of the opinion, that this wdiole portion of 
the mountain up to the Te Kopiha fountain, — being, as it seems, 
thoroughly decomposed by hot vapours, — will some day cause a 
Ilochstetter, New Zealand. 26 
