36 
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OE JOURNEY. 
but not of so dense a character, so that we were enabled to ascend 
with less cutting. A few hundred feet higher up the mountain 
was strewed with gigantic rocks, only partly covered with grass 
and mosses, but here we found a big gully, which, although very 
steep and full of spear grass, enabled us to reach the top at eleven 
o’clock. The clouds still overhung the mountain, occasionally, 
however, opening sufficiently to give us a partial view ol the sea 
of rocky peaks around us. 
It was very trying, after having got so far, to be stopped, first 
by the illness of my companions, and then by bad weather, our 
provisions too diminishing so rapidly that I feared, if the bad 
weather continued, that I should have to return without obtain¬ 
ing any adequate result for our exertions. 
Towards noon the clouds rose, and, to our dismay, we saw 
above us, separated by a valley at least 1,000 feet deep, the 
dome-shaped form of Black-hill. We had evidently missed the 
right spur, and ascended a mountain further to the south. We 
at once resumed our journey, and although the sides of the hill, 
which I named Deception-hill, were very steep and covered 
with scrub, we in a short time reached the saddle between the 
two mountains. 
Here, seeing that there was no wood higher up, I left some of 
my party to pitch the tent, intending afterwards to return to the 
camp on the side of Deception-hill, and, proceeding with all pos¬ 
sible speed, I reached the summit at two o’clock, accompanied by 
Mr. Burnett and one of my hands, finding, to our great satis¬ 
faction, running water all the way. The passing clouds still 
occasionally enveloped us, and the wind, blowing hard and cold, 
made our position very uncomfortable. But we were recompensed 
by a most extensive view, although the clouds covered the higher 
mountains. Towards the east and north, the large district of the 
G-rey was lying like a map before us, and the river meandering 
through it was visible from the point where it enters the plains 
down to the gorge near its mouth. I could trace the Ahaura in 
its whole course to its junction; far away the blue waters of Lake 
Brunner, or Kotukuwakao, were visible, whilst between it and 
the Ahaura appeared another beautiful sheet of water several 
square miles in extent, which I named, in commemoration of tlio 
visit of my eminent friend Dr. Hochstetter to this province Lake 
. , The * eve l country was only interrupted here and there bv 
ridges from 100 to 150 feet in height, partly covered with forest 
and partly with grass. The eje dwelt with pleasure on this ex 
tensive tract in which however, no sign of human presence was 
visible, except the smoke rising from Mr. Bochfort’s camp in one 
ol the grass plains, the colour of which contrasted agreeablv 
with the dark green tints of the forests. The valleys of the 
Otututu and the Mawhera-iti and their streams were also visible 
