that the mountains were completely covered with snow, to make an effort to get across them to Port Cooper, intending to return to Nelson by one of the steamers.

We accordingly devoted the morning of Monday, the 16th (which was very fine and sunshiny), to preparing food for four days, so that no future delay need occur from the necessity of cooking provisions.

We resumed our journey at 10, a.m., and followed our previous course along the Rangitahi plain, down which we proceeded south-east for about five and a-half miles, when we passed a small river flowing across the plain in a north-easterly direction, to the foot of a block of hills called by me the Alma Heights.

Here it is joined by another small river, flowing from the N.E., and the course of both then becomes about S.S.W., curving gradually more to the west at the base of a range of high grassy hills.

We camped about two miles beyond the point at which we passed the river, at the foot of a long spur of the Inkerman Range, distinguished by a very peculiar square block of rock on the summit of the first point of the ascent.

Next morning, following the guidance of Napera, to which I implicitly submitted, according to His Honor’s restrictions, but against my own judgment, which inclined me to follow the course of the river, we ascended the Inkerman Range (by the spur above alluded to) until we reached a height computed by me at 6,000 to 6,400 feet.

This point we reached about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and then, for the first time, Napera thought proper to inform me that, as the mountains were so entirely covered with snow, he could not find his way.

Seeing the impossibility (from the quantity of snow) of proceeding across the mountains, and finding the weather still very uncertain, I at once determined on returning to Nelson.

I was the more fixed in this determination by the supposition that Messrs. Weld and Clifford had already followed down the course of the river above mentioned, and that it would be useless expenditure of time and money to go over any more of the ground which they had already traversed.

In accordance with this determination, we at once retraced our steps, and reached Mr. David Kerr’s, on Thursday evening, the 19th, about 6 o’clock, p.m. Thus, leaving the summit of the Inkerman Range at 3 o’clock, we reached our Saturday night’s camp at half-past 5, from whence we walked to Mr. D. Kerr’s (a distance of not less than 39 miles), without fatigue, in two days, although it had taken us, when accompanied by the natives, four days and a-half to travel over the same ground.

Having thus given you an outline of our journey, I now beg to offer some remarks on the ground we went over.

The river Wairau, from the entrance of the bush above the Top House flat to its junction with the Kopiowenuku, at the base of Turk Mountain, has level banks on both sides, extending in some places upwards of a quarter of a mile to the foot of the mountain ranges through which it flows. These banks are old boulder bars, above the reach of floods, and afford very good travelling. They are mostly covered with grass, wild Irishman, and scrub, although in some few places they are swampy, and in others the bush extends to the very edge of the river.

In one place, on the right bank, about nine miles up, the river flows at the foot of a very steep hill covered with wood, but the opposite bank is perfectly level, and for the most part open.

At a point about 14 miles up, the river falls with great rapidity for about 600 yards through immense boulders of rock, and the bush extends to the very margin of the banks.

But I see nothing to prevent a perfectly easy road, either bridle or dray, from being made from the entrance of the bush to Turk Mountain at a very trifling outlay, the principal work necessary being to clear scrub and to cut a few drains.

From the banks at the foot of the northern slope of Turk Mountain, the river flows through a rocky canon between Turk and Mangerton for about three-quarters of a mile, where some small amount of quarrying and blasting would be necessary, but nothing which would entail very heavy cost.

Beyond the eastern end of the canon to the Rangitahi plain, the banks of the river are perfectly open, and the expense of making a road would be trifling, although perhaps for three or four miles it would exceed the expense of a road below Turk Mountain.

Over the Rangitahi plain and the lateral valleys a horse might be galloped.

From the summit of the Inkerman range, a very extensive view is obtained.

The country to the south-east appears to consist of parallel chains of grassy mountains, attaining an elevation of 1,800 to 2,000 feet above the level of the plain, and curving gradually from north-west round to south-west.

To the north-east, at a distance of about 18 miles, a river was seen, flowing through a valley surrounded on all sides, except the north-west, with grassy hills, some parts of which were very little above the level of the valley.