settlements on the southern part of the island. I tnerefore at once made arrangements for crossing the mountains and proceeding to Dunedin for the purpose of communicating with the Government, according to my promise, before the expiry of five months from the time the Expedition started. Accordingly, on the 23rd September, I left the yacht in the Kaduku under the care of the skipper, and took three men across the mountains with me, one of whom was Mr. Hutchinson, the owner of the yacht, and whose great desire to see the West Coast had induced him to ship as one of the hands.
The river has a width of from 80 to 100 yards, and winds through a valley which, for the first 6 miles, averages one mile in width and trends s.s.e. from the lake. At that distance from its mouth, it receives a branch 60 yards in width that forms the outlet of the Wawaihiwuk Lake[1] of the Maoris, a place that they visit periodically to catch eels.
The upper part of the Kakapo River, and its tributary the Wawaihiwuk meet from almost opposite directions, the former draining the southern and the latter the northern extremity, of a longitudinal valley which extends for about 40 miles with a general direction from north to south, having the Bryneira Mountains on the east and the Darran Mountains and Skipper's Range on the west; the drainage being effected between the two latter mountain groups through the Kakapo Lake. The shallows become more frequent and formidable above the junction of the two streams, and the valley is for a short distance narrowed by a range of low hills which project from the mountains on the south as if it were the remains of a barrier that had at one time closed the present outlet of the large valley. These hills, however, cause no obstruction, the river passing through them with an even channel, unbroken by falls or rocky ledges, and having flats or sloping banks on either side. At a distance, in a straight line, of 10 miles from the mouth of the river, where we arrived early on the second day, the channel was obstructed by the immense boulders of an ancient moraine, causing a violent rapid about half-a-mile in length, so that from this point I sent back the dingy. The Darran Mountains, which encircle the head of Milford Sound and form the west side of Kakapo Valley, have a striking appearance from this point, although from the profundity of the valley the higher peaks are completely shut out from view.
There is only one place where there is the slightest appearance of a gap in this range, but even there the saddle cannot be lower than 3000 feet. The high slopes above 5500 feet seem to be covered with perpetual snow, with glaciers of small size descending
- ↑ "Lake Alabaster" on the official maps.
