AND THEIR SCENERY. 
9 
dashing itself into foam upon the rocks beneath. 
The Mangakahia, the Punaketere, the Otaua, the 
Waima, the Waikari, the Kawakawa, and, indeed, 
all the other streams of this part of the island, 
partake much of the same character: and are 
supplied by many little rills, with which New 
Zealand is so astonishingly intersected. The 
river Thames, the mouth of which lies about a hun- 
dred miles from the head of the Bay of Islands, 
is a splendid run of water, which, from Aotea, or 
Barrier Islands, as far as Kopu — a native fortifi- 
cation, just within the narrows — is navigable for 
vessels of one hundred and thirty tons burden. In 
approaching the narrow part of the river, there are 
many mud-banks to be avoided ; but which are dry 
at low water, and may, consequently, be laid down 
in a chart with the greatest precision. The lowland 
at the termination of the wide parts or frith of the 
Thames partakes much, in its scenery, of the cha- 
racter of Tonga and the Friendly Islands ; though 
perfectly distinct in climate and vegetation. The 
cocoa-nut tree, which abounds in the Friendly 
Islands, appears, in the distance, much like the 
mangroves, and the kahikatea, or white fir, of New 
Zealand ; and the extensive flat, which ranges from 
the banks, or rather the boundary of the Thames, 
and upon which the kahikatea and the mangrove 
flourish undisturbed, very forcibly strikes the 
beholder with its remarkable similarity to distant 
views of the Friendly Islands. But the scenery 
is most lovely on the fresh-water banks of this 
