Royal Geographic Society of London

“ Two lakes occupy the bottom of the valley where the water turns, separated by a mossy flat; the water from the north-west, which is half a mile in extent, forming the Pass Creek, while that of the South Lake, which is 2 miles long and half a mile wide, forms the Greenstone River that flows to the Wakatipu Lake. From the top of the hill I obtained a view of a second and even deeper valley, which I suspect leads through to the Mavora Lakes and is the route which has been frequently traversed by the Maoris, between the Wakatipu, Kaduku, and Riverton. ”

“ The sea, in fact, now occupies a chasm that was in past ages ploughed by an immense glacier, and it is through the natural progress of events by which the mountain mass has been reduced in altitude that the ice-stream has been replaced by the waters of the ocean. The evidence of this change may be seen at a glance. The lateral valleys join the main one at various elevations, but are all sharply cut off by the precipitous wall of the Sound, the erosion of which was no doubt continued by a great central glacier long after the subordinate and tributary glaciers had ceased to exist. ”

“ The volume of water is very considerable, especially after heavy rains, forming a stream for 100 yards between the foot of the fall and the edge of the sea 40 feet in width, and, judging from the flood-mark, sometimes 18 to 20 feet in depth. The occasional flooding and the continued dashing of wind and spray from the falling water have prevented the growth of scrub on a small plot of about an acre in extent, which from a distance presents the pleasant, because unusual, sight on this coast, of a grassy knoll. ”

“ Above the boulder-rapid just mentioned, the fall of the stream is again comparatively slight for 10 or 12 miles, at which place the valley is crossed by a second moraine, but in this part of its course, besides the frequent occurrence of shallows, its channel is much obstructed by drift wood, which is frequently piled to a height of 10 feet by floods. In some parts of the valley the flat land, which is of good quality and above the highest floods, is nearly 2 miles in width. The forest which covers the flats is very open and free from underwood, and contains some fine timber-trees. ”

“ After landing on a gravelly point, where there was an old Maori hut and a camping-place where tents had been pitched very recently, I lost no time in examining and making a rough plan of the entrance of the river; and having sounded carefully, set up guidemarks by which to bring in the schooner at once with next morning's tide should she arrive in the offing during the night. ”

“ On the 10th August the weather promising well in the forenoon, I started on an exploratory journey up the valley of the Cleddau River; but in the afternoon it began to snow heavily, so that I had to return after getting about 5 miles from the mouth. The valley has a very rapid fall, but it is crossed by no ledges of rock or other obstacles than the large boulders derived from ancient moraines with which the valley is partially blocked up. ”

“ It is a mistake to estimate the size of glaciers generated from a mountain-range merely by its altitude, as it is truly the area which in the district is elevated above the snow-line that determines their extent. If this be the case, the area must always be diminishing rapidly from the eroding action of the descending ice, and therefore the extent of the glaciers must also dimmish. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Early on the morning of the 28th I proceeded up the river, accompanied by the skipper, to see how far up it would be advisable to take the yacht. We had the advantage of the flood-tide, which carried us rapidly up; and, after a distance of 4 miles, we were surprised and delighted to find that it flows out of a lake 1 to 2 miles in width, and extending in a southerly direction for 10 or 12 miles. ”

“ The high slopes above 5500 feet seem to be covered with perpetual snow, with glaciers of small size descending through steep ravines as low as 3000 feet above the sea-level, but from the extent of bare rock from their lower extremity and the position of their terminal moraines, I am inclined to think that in some seasons they must descend about 500 feet lower. ”

“ Caples appears to have kept on the mountain-ridges, and to have followed routes that were unnecessarily difficult, and never to have entertained the idea that an easily practicable one existed; he, however, displayed extraordinary energy and perseverance to accomplish what he did, and I take the liberty of referring to these circumstances, as I think that every credit is due to him, for being the first to give any account of this previously unknown district. ”

“ A constant current sets up this part of the coast to the northward, and is stated in the 'N. Z. Pilot' at from 1 to 11⁄4 mile per hour. This may be the case close in shore, but as our course lay 7 miles from land, we did not find it to exceed 1⁄4 mile per hour. When anchored in the channel within the bar at the Heads, the current was found to run at the rate of 21⁄4 knots per hour alternately with the ebb and flood tides, and the temperature of the ebbing wmters to be 1° Fahr. ”