51

Wairau. The hills around Tarndale are generally grassy, the highest being bare-topped and shingly, especially on the south and west sides.

The valley itself averages a mile, or a mile and a-half broad, by eight or ten miles long, stretching nearly north and south, with an easterly inclination in the centre, and contains much rich cattle pasture.

It appears to have no timber, excepting some black birch on the mountain-side, at its N.W. extremity, near the Wairau gorge.

But the most remarkable feature of Tarndale is undoubtedly the little lakes, or "Tarns," from which I derived its name. They are or six or seven in number, not all visible at once, but lie scattered, amongst low undulations of land, at the north end of the valley. Two or three of the largest contain an area of about 80 acres, circled round by smooth banks, free from sedge or bulrush; their waters clear and pure, and reflecting the mountains around; their surface only broken by the evolutions of fleets of grey ducks, teal, and widgeon, that have their hitherto undisturbed abode. I had expected to have found the source of the Wairau in one of these pools, but it was not so; it rises in the hills west of the valley, just enters its north-west extremity, passes close to one of the pools, and, turning to the northward, cuts boldly through the heart of the mountains.

From the pools at the north-east corner of the valley (Tapuaenuku, bearing E.N.E.), a branch of the Acheron rises, and, after flowing for rather more than three miles E.N.E., through a narrow valley, and two more miles east in more open country, it receives a considerable branch from the rocky mountains from the N.W., and soon afterwards a branch from the S.W. (which, formed of two streams, one rising in a pool in the centre of Tarndale, and one in its S.W. extremity, join and flow out of it four or five miles south of the stream we had followed).

From the pools at the comparatively open country I have just mentioned, and which I believe to be the "Dashwood Plains" of Captain Mitchell's journal, at noon, on Saturday, March 31st, having spent the preceding day exploring and camping at the N.E. "Tarns."

We had observed a column of smoke, arising from a conical peak, in answer to our fires of last night, and we now met Mr. M'Cabe, who had reached the preconcerted camping-place on the Acheron the preceding day.

Traversing considerable flats, with isolated downs to our left and higher grassy hills to our right, we proceeded, first E.S.E., and then S.E., till we reached the main stream of the Acheron, a distance of about two and a-half miles (having on our left (N.), at the junction, a small isolated hill, whose grassy surface is broken by innumerable small points of volcanic rock), and followed its course to the camp, where we spent the next day (Sunday, April 1st).

I had now established the required communication between the "Top House" and the usual route to Canterbury, by a line of perfectly level country: nevertheless, the latter part of it deflected slightly to the eastward of the direct course, and as Tarndale was probably a few miles nearer to the Clarence than to the Acheron, I resolved to make the most of the fine weather with which I was favoured, by exploring the sources of that river.

In pursuance of this resolution, we proceeded down the Acheron.

Rather more than five miles (during which the horses crossed the river twice, and we passed one stream from the W.) brought us to the "Guide," below "Darefull," and we then followed the ordinary route to the junction of the Acheron with the Clarence (Waiautoa).

Here, Mr. A. Clifford and I spent a day chiefly in walking down the valley below the confluence.

The course of the river is from W. to E. for about 10 miles, when it appears to bend to the south, by some grassy hills, and then seems to sweep round to N.B. The valley, for eight or ten miles, is a mile or a mile and a-half wide, and flat, and well grassed. I should imagine a pass might be found thence to Tunkulka, which would open a communication with the Amuri country.

Beyond, the mountains appear to close in as the river penetrates the Kaikoras, which is confirmed by Messrs. Mitchell's and Dashwood's journals, and by observation from the seaward side.

Messrs. A. Clifford and Knight now left us on their return to Flaxbourne, and Mr. M'Cabe and myself rode on up the Clarence (Waiautoa).

We pursued the usual road to Jollie's Pass, the valley, with narrow grass flats on either side, differing in no material particular from that of the Acheron, excepting that, whilst the Acheron and its tributaries are quite destitute of timber, there are always numerous patches of black birch and often manuka on the Clarence.

We left part of our provisions opposite Jollie's Pass, and rode on for about five miles, course bearing about W.N.W.

The next day, leaving to the west the comparatively low hills and flats that lie between the Clarence and a branch of the Waiau-ua, and the east Lauderdale and the "Maori wares," with the old route from the Guide and Acheron about seven miles (N. or N. by W.), brought us to a point where the mountains reduce the valley to a breadth of less than half a mile, and the river bends slightly from the eastward. Above these narrows, which, about a mile in width, the valley again opens, and is about a mile in width, still flat and grassy, although, in the character of its vegetation, showing indications of a high level. We proceeded another four miles (course N. by E.), passing a tributary stream from the N.E., and encamped by the river for the night.

The following day I resolved to devote to exploring on foot, as I was now but a few miles from the head of the Clarence, and hoped to establish a communication with the source of the Wairau.

In this also I was completely successful; about a mile above our camp a branch of the Clarence joined it, rising from a pass or passes bearing N.N.E., and distant about two miles. We took the more easterly one, a saddle two or three hundred feet high, and of easy ascent, and found that it formed the only separation between a source of the Clarence and that of the East Wairau.

Standing on this saddle, the Wairau rose at our feet, and flowed through a small valley or mountain-hollow. A large round isolated mound, almost filling the head of the glen, marked its source.

After following the stream for rather more than mile N.N.E., it receives a branch from the west, and, turning to the east, runs in about two and a-half miles more into Tarndale. This last two or three miles is rather uneven travelling, as the spurs from the mountains run close down to the river. It is not, however, difficult.

As I have before mentioned, the Wairau enters Tarndale just opposite to the pass from it to the Acheron, and, turning from the valley, penetrates the mass of mountains to the northward.

After looking down into Tarndale, we returned late at night to our camp.