by Mr. Aldred, the Ministers of the two Churches in Nelson.”
On November 9th Brunner was “again southing,” passing through country which he described as worthless. On the 14th they reached a small Maori settlement called Porangirangi, where there was a potato garden, and the travellers, “assured of a good meal, stopped for the night and the Sabbath.” On the 16th the night was spent in another native settlement, Parika, where, states Brunner, “we received the welcome of strangers, in a bountiful supply of fern root, preserved wekas and fish.”
The hospitality of the natives at Parika was enjoyed for the next two days, during which sufficient eels were caught and dried to provide food for one week as the country ahead was said to be devoid of sustenance of any sort. On the 19th, when approaching the Waiho, Brunner met with a most unfortunate accident. Rounding a small headland he was washed from a rock by a heavy sea, both his feet being badly crushed and his right ankle severely sprained. Finding it impossible to proceed he attempted to return to Parika, but was prevented from so doing that day by his lameness and the incoming tide making beach travelling impossible. On the following day, however, they were successful and Brunner dressed his broken feet with weka oil and bandaged and
