Chap. XIII. FORDING RIVERS. ' 579 
The drift-wood, which abounds along the whole of this 
coast, served to maintain a large fire ; and after our 
meal we spread our blankets within its genial warmth, 
under the lee of a sand-hill, which protected us from 
the sea-breeze. But the wind shifted about the middle 
of the night, and blew fresh from the east off the 
snow-capped ranges. The cold was the most bitter I 
had yet experienced ; and we found it impossible to 
sleep, although muffled up in woollen shirts and pea- 
coats, and rolled all together under the thickness of 
three blankets, close by the fire. I alone got a doze 
towards daylight, by deserting the common couch, and 
coiling myself on the very edge of the fire, among the 
smoke and showers of sparks on its lee side. 
We were early on foot, and soon warm with walk- 
ing. About four miles further on, we came to a river 
called the Turakina, which we forded without difficulty 
at a spot indicated by the native lad, about half a mile 
from the sea ; the water being up to our waists, and 
very cold. After another mile of sand-hills, we reached 
the banks of the JWangaihu, and saw the remains of 
the encampment occupied by my party in April. The 
fording of this river was more difficult, the current be- 
ing extremely rapid, and the bed of the stream a shift- 
ing quicksand which seemed to move along with the 
water, and varied in consistency, so that at one step 
your ankles were hardly immersed and at the next you 
sank up to your arm-pits. The river is here about 
two hundred yards in breadth, and the water was pain- 
fully cold. After warming our limbs and drying our 
clothes at a large fire, we pushed along the beach, 
passed the remains of my first bivouac, and at length 
reached the hill near PVahipuna, overlooking the valley 
of the TVanganui. A glowing sunset warmed the 
features of this lovely scene, and we sat for some 
