DISTRICT OF AFAREAITU. 
211 
About two o’clock in the afternoon we resumed 
our journey; travelling sometimes along the sea- 
beach, and at other times availing ourselves of the 
canoe until near sunset, when we reached Afa- 
reaitu, and created by our arrival no small stir 
among the people. 
The next morning we examined the district, and 
were delighted with its fertility, extent, and re¬ 
sources. Afareaitu is on the eastern side of Eimeo, 
opposite the district of Atehuru in Tahiti, and is 
certainly one of the finest districts in the island. 
It comprises two valleys, or rather one large valley 
partially divided by a narrow hilly ridge extending 
from the mountains in the interior, towards the 
shore. The soil of the bottom of the valley is rich 
and fertile, well stocked with cocoa-nuts and bread¬ 
fruit trees. The surrounding hills are clothed with 
shrubs or grass, and the lofty and romantic moun¬ 
tains, forming the central boundary, are adorned 
with trees or bushes even to their summits. Several 
broad cascades flowed in silvery streams down the 
sides of the mountain, and, broken occasionally by 
a jutting rock, presented their sparkling waters in 
beautiful contrast with the rich and dark foliage of 
the stately trees, and the flowering shrubs that 
bordered their progress. A number of streams ori¬ 
ginating in these water-falls pursued their course 
through the valley, and one, receiving in its way 
the tributary waters of a number of sequestered 
streamlets, swelled at times into what in these 
islands might be called a river, and flowed along 
the most fertile portions of the district to the sea. 
A small bay was formed by an elliptical indenta¬ 
tion of the coast; an opening in the reef opposite 
the bay admitted small vessels to enter, and a 
picturesque little coral island, adorned with two or 
p 2 
