106 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. IV. 
i> He concluded the interview by saying that he re- 
membered I was fond of hearing the songs and seeing 
the dances of the natives. So, like a baron of olden time 
shouting " A hall, a hall !" he yelled, He haka, he haka 
mo Tiraweke I " A dance, a dance for Tiraweke ;" and 
100 men and women, headed by his wife Hokokai, went 
through some spirited hakas and waiatas for an hour. 
From Terapa to Tokanu the shore is formed by a 
swamp, which reaches to the hills. About a mile be- 
yond Tokanu, a settlement, called Pf^ai eriki, or " warm 
" water," is situated on some patches of rich dry land, 
on the banks of the branching creeks which drain the 
swamp between the hot springs and the lake. Beyond 
this a point runs out half-a-mile to the north ; and at this 
point the three branches of the Tonga Riro, or upper 
ff^aikato, flow into the lake. About the mouths, and 
in the creeks and lagoons all along between them and 
Tokanu, dwell thousands of ducks of various sorts, 
which afford excellent sport. I spent many hours in 
exploring the various retreats among the rushes and 
flags, from which they did not rise till my little canoe 
came within half gun-shot. 
The principal and easternmost channel of the JJ^ai- 
kato, running for some distance nearly parallel to the 
beach of the lake, which again retreats from the point 
to the S.E. corner, forms a long low peninsula, the 
inner half of whose breadth consists of swamp, while 
the outer is a bank of loose sand, about 100 yards 
broad. On this bank is built a very strong pa, called 
ff^aitanui. Across the eastern end of the bank, a 
strong double fence, 15 feet high, runs from the swamp 
to the lake, and a like fence protects the western point. 
In the pa are the finest native houses that I have yet 
seen. The ware puni, or sleeping-houses, are most of 
them 10 or 12 feet in height, and very spacious : the 
verandah, or open space in front, would easily accommo- 
