EXPLANATION OP THE MAPS. 
49 
bush would otherwise have entailed, and luckily my journey 
happened to be during the harvest of potatoes, wheat, &c., &c., 
eonsecpLently I found no want in the commissariat department. 
We received the most hearty welcome at the various Mission 
Stations scattered over the country, and the native Chiefs 
everywhere received the Te Bata Hokiteta (my name in the 
Maori tongue,) and my companions, at their pas, with great 
honour and hospitality, were always willing to oblige, and with 
good-humoured zeal ready to assist with everything. 
With the assistance of my friends Haast, Hay, Koch, and 
Hamel, who were my companions, the results proved in every 
way as satisfactory as could be expected. A rich collection 
of Geographical, Mineralogical, Botanical, and Geological 
observations came into my hands, and also for Ethnographical 
studies I had ample opportunity. 
My principal aim was, however, the Geography and Geology 
of the country. To make geological sketches, I was obliged to 
work at the same time topographically, as the maps of the 
interior were based only on the reports of travelling mission¬ 
aries and a-la-vue sketches. 
The map which I took with me from Auckland, for my 
guidance, only gave a little information about the coast, and 
its value beyond a few miles from Auckland was not more 
than that of a piece of waste paper. I had, therefore, to adopt 
a triangulation system based on the nautical observations of 
Captain Drury, and carried out from the West to the East 
coast, with the energetic assistance of Major Drummond Hay. 
The natives, who otherwise always manifested their mistrust 
of the Government Surveyors, and placed every difficulty in 
their way, did not interrupt me. They knew that I was a 
foreigner who would remain only a short time in the country, 
and they assisted me in every possible manner, to enable me 
to relate in my distant land much of the beauties of their 
country. The chiefs themselves were my guides to the most 
interesting parts, and to the top of the mountains, where with 
the utmost readiness they gave me the names of the mountains, 
rivers, valleys, and lakes, and explained after their fashion the 
geography of the district. I carefully collected all the names 
* 
they gave me, and trust that I have rescued from oblivion, 
many beautiful Maori names. The terrain positions I 
