8 
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OF .TOURNEY, 
the track over the mountain. During this stay I occupied my¬ 
self in exploring the country in every direction around. In the 
evening my men came up with the provisions, and Messrs. Mackay 
and Burnett also returned, and reported that they had blazed over 
the mountain ridge, until they had seen below them the blue 
waters of the lake. 
It was very rainy the next day, but having already lost several 
days in looking after a good track over the ridges, we determined 
to start. The higher we ascended the mountain the worse the 
weather became, changing from incessant rain in the lower 
grounds to snow as we neared the top; the cold chilling us 
severely, as at this season of the year we were not prepared for 
it in the way of clothing. Here also we met with an additional 
difficulty, as we were for a long time unable to find a good spur 
by which to descend to the lake. As night was close upon us, 
we descended as fast as we could, but soon discovered that we 
had selected a so-called blind spur, which fell abruptly into a 
deep gully, through which we tried to reach the lake. Owing, 
however, to the density of the vegetation, interwoven as it was 
with numerous creeping plants, and encumbered Avith fallen and 
decayed trees, we were compelled to re-ascend the side of the 
spur at an angle of at least GO degrees. It was quite dark when we 
reached the top of the spur, which sloped rapidly towards the lake. 
As it was impossible to continue our journey in the darkness 
(a ? e y some searching) in the steep side of this spur a 
little hole which had formerly held the roots of a large tree and 
here we camped, lying huddled very close together. We had 
great difficulty in obtaining water, as the Maori, Dick, who had 
gone down the hill in search of some, could only maintain the 
direction in which he proceeded by our continually cooie-ino- to 
him. He returned in about half-an-hour, climbing up the almost 
perpendicular side of the spur, and told us that he had had to <n, 
doAvn at least 400 feet before he could find any. During the 
night we heard, for the first time, the call of the kiwi, which'"not¬ 
withstanding our discomfort, gave some degree of interest to the 
strange scene around us. 
Starting the next morning with a bright sunshine, we were not 
a little delighted to see, at a short distance before us a nuwf m ..,r 
mficent lake, stretching far away towards tho sotth-east and 
SdrX3 e r C Hdt !r TSfr *. lar « c flat at thTeastern 
this outlet, on account of Is d“nd £ 31 ^ ‘YT 
water, and I therefore thought if eonXLt'tag 1 fraf * but t 
examining the river near the side on which wc JA i A- ’ ’ j 
to he fordable. Mr. Mackay, therefore he™,? ’ ap , peOTeCl 
his load behind him, and hefbund th^the l^r W S wXf 
at least 100 yards wide, was perfectly fordable • Jo he came back 
and we all crossed, the water not wetting us abore 1-Tps. ’ 
