DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OF JOURNEY. 
at once took measures to fix its position. In the afternoon we 
again resumed our journey, and in the evening reached the foot of 
Mount William. During the night we heard for the first time 
the cry of the kakapo, and of the large kiwi, to which we listened 
with great interest, regretting that we had no dog with us to 
catch any of these now scarce birds. 
We had a hard pull the next day, the ascent of the mountain 
being very steep, and the vegetation of the sub-Alpine scrubs so 
close and spreading that we had to cut our road through. We 
therefore advanced slowly, and it was past noon when we reached 
the ridge which led to the summit, which consisted of a broad 
plateau, covered with snow, and intersected by numerous little 
rivulets. In the afternoon we got to the top of the mountain, 
where my occupations kept me until sunset, so that we were 
obliged to pitch our tent there, shovelling the deep snow away 
with a plate. It was very cold, and it was not without great 
inconvenience that I could sketch or map, the pencil continually 
threatening to fall from my freezing fingers. 
I was much interested here on observing the tracks of numerous 
kakapos, or night parrots, which seemed to lead a tranquil life, 
unmolested by wild dogs, by which these beautiful birds have 
almost been extirpated in other places, existing now only on the 
mountain tops and in a few very remote valleys. It was not 
without great trouble that we collected firewood, the dwarfish 
stems of the Alpine plants being scarce and half buried in snow. 
It was, however, one of the finest winter nights I ever experienced, 
and it was wonderful and beautiful to see the valleys below us in 
deep shades, whilst the summits of the mountains around glowed 
in the rich red tints of the declining sun. As the night advanced, 
the stars shone with extreme brilliancy, the splendid constellations 
of the southern hemisphere rising one after the other above the 
sharp serrated outline of the eastern mountain chain, and the 
dazzling snow-field round us, illuminated by the flames of 
our camp fire, imparted additional grandeur to the scene, 
which was enlivened by the peculiar cries of the kakapo and kiwi. 
It would be difficult to imagine anything more majestic or 
interesting. 
The next morning, the 10th July, we ascended, just before 
sunrise, to the summit, having camped 100 feet below it on a small 
level spot. It was a glorious sight, and the sharp outlines of the 
mountains and deep shades gave me an opportunity of sketching 
more minutely the details of the scene. The view from Mount 
William is similar to that from Mount Rochfort, except that, 
being above the Orikaka valley, close to the junction of the 
Inangahua with the Buller, a much more complete view of that 
and of the Grey district is obtained. As I had got from these 
two points more topographical details than I had expected, I 
found it unnecessary to go further in this direction, and therefore 
