128 
HOADS, HASSES, AND AVAILABLE LAND. 
through the central chain, it will always he easy, at a small outlay, 
to reach the Karamea plains by the Matiri, there being available 
lands on the banks of that river which would compensate lor the 
additional expense of constructing that line. 
I have not seen the country through which the road from vol- 
lingwood to the mouth of the Wliakapoai would lead, but I think 
it is not worth while to incur the expense of opening that district, 
where only a very limited amount of land could be available, 
which, too, can be reached by pedestrians from the Karamea. A 
road for animals of burden, between the Haihai and Wliakapoai 
river, by which alone the Aorere could be connected with the 
Karamea district, would cost a great deal of money, and therelore 
the road by the Wangapeka would still be preferable. It may 
also perhaps be possible to construct a road from Little AVan- 
ganui, between the coast hills and the Lyell range, where open 
tracts of country lie, which would bring us to the Mokihinui 
river; but this, owing to the very broken nature of the country, 
could not be done without great outlay. 
Having treated so far of the principal lines of road, I will now 
proceed to speak of such branch roads, necessary to unite the 
different parts of the country, as could be constructed without 
great expenditure. 
Between the Grey and Buller, the best and easiest road will be 
by the Mawhera-iti, over the low saddle into the Inangahua, and 
down this river into the Oweka plains ; so that this extensive flat 
may not only be opened for settlement, but also for gold-mining 
operations, which I think would pay well if the diggers could 
remain at their work, and get their provisions partly by means of 
an easy road and partly by cultivation on the spot. 
From the Oweka plains a road might, if necessary, be con¬ 
structed by the Orikaka to the low saddle, north of Mount 
Frederick, which leads to the mountain plateau in the Papa- 
haua chain. Thence, following the AVaimangaroha to the sea¬ 
shore, the mouth of the Buller is easily reached. • This road will 
also afford an easy, though circuitous, road from the mouth of the 
Buller to that of the Grey, which, by the coast line, either on 
horseback, or even for a pedestrian not accustomed to such a task, 
would be impossible. 
Another road to connect the two harbours would be found 
through an easy pass, as the natives assured me, from the AVaita- 
kere, through a depression in the Paparoha chain, to the head¬ 
waters of the Otututu river. By that line, if adopted, the level 
land between the Bivers Buller and AVaitakerc, of which a good 
deal is available for agricultural purposes, would be opened out, 
and moreover the road would be shorter than that by the Orikaka, 
Inangahua, and Mawhera-iti, &c. Another easy pass leads from 
the sea coast by the Kokiwi, north of the Davy mountains, into 
the last tributary of the Grey on its northern banks. 
