Chap. XII. A TRIP TO THE MANAWATU RIVER. 355 
I proceeded by land to If^aikanae, crossed in a canoe 
to KapHi, and there engaged a half-decked boat of 
three tons for the trip. The owner of the boat, 
Geordie Young, was a partner in the management of 
one of the whaling stations. This station was situated 
in a nook among the precipitous sides of Kapiti, near 
the Long Point. It took its name from a stream, Te 
kaho o te rangi, or " the mantle of the sky," which 
formed a narrow gully, in which the houses were 
perched. I was detained here two days Ijy stormy 
weather from the south-east, during which nothing 
except the whale-boats could venture out. The rough 
hospitality of the whalers, however, made me as com- 
forbible as possible ; and I watched two or three ex- 
citing chases from the look-out hill which overhung 
the principal ware. 
Starting with the end of the breeze, we soon reached 
the mouth of the Manawutu river ; and landed through 
the surf on the beach to the north, the bar looking 
dangerous. Three young natives, travelling to the 
northward, bivouacked on the sand-hills with us until 
dark. At midnight, the tide being more favourable, 
we threw out our ballast, and poled our boat, 
through the inner rollers on the north sand-spit, into 
the river. About a mile along the north bank, we 
found a small deserted pa, where we put up for the 
night. At daylight, we proceeded about fifteen miles 
up the river, to the spot where the vessel was building. 
The river was deep but narrow, and the land on both 
sides level, and apparently very fertile ; but the waters 
of extensive swamps drained sluggishly over the low 
banks in many places. Until near Captain Lewis's 
huts, the country was nearly clear of timber ; and we 
enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the north-western 
face of the Tararua range over the high flax and reeds 
'2 A 2 
