11th of June, but no time had really been lost,
as since the morning that the schooner arrived
from the Bluff the wind had remained steadily
from the westward, and therefore adverse to
our further progress through the Straits. The
few days since my return from the side trip to
the Manipori district were employed in
examining the structure of the Puripurikeeno
Valley and that of Howell’s Point, which is
the first promontory westward from Jacob’s
River. The Puripurikeeno is a branch of the
Aparima, which takes its rise in the Longwood
range of hills, and flows through rich rolling
country, bordered sometimes by grassy downs
and sometimes overhung by dense forests of
birch, rimu, miro, and other trees.

This stream is deep and seven miles from
its mouth it is thirty yards wide; above this
point it becomes blocked by fallen trees. A
short distance above its confluence with the
Aparima it is confined for three-quarters of a
mile to a rocky channel eighty yards in width,
through which the tide flows and ebbs with
great violence, as above this strait there is a
large expanse or tidal lake which is mainly
dry at low water. The rock at the Narrows
is a felstone and porphyritic conglomerate, the
former of which, in some places, is decomposed
into a soft yellow claystone. The soil derived
from these rocks supports a dense growth of
large sized manuka. The downs which skirt
the river higher up are composed of stiff blue
clay, sometimes a notable quantity of iron.
This clay deposit forms steep overhanging
cliffs 8 to 10 feet in height: just below the
series so characteristic of the boulder clay in
Scotland. This clay abounds in fossil marine
shells, which are, however, badly preserved.
They were principally—

Saxicava.

Pecten.

Tapes.

Pectuncules.

Also, fragments of fossilized leaves and carbo-
naceous matter. It is evidently a very recent
tertiary deposit.

These felspathic rocks extend to Howell’s
Point, where they are well displayed along
the sea coast. The ridge to the westward of
the Aponeno appears to be wholly composed
of this rock, and it is probably an outlier that
has survived denudation, of a formation that
occupied great extent of surface in pre-tertiary
times, and in its classification should be
perhaps grouped with the hornblendic gneiss
and granites of the Bluff.

As exposed along the coast, the formation
presents several marked varieties of rock.
There is a compact tabular greenstone, which
passes into a conglomerate made up of angular
fragments of brown or greenish porphyry,
cemented by a matrix of porphyritic green-
stone, which contains crystals of hornblende.
Also, a smooth-grained rock of a pea green
colour, with a porcelain-like fracture. There
are also both basic and highly silicious fel-
stones, but the prevailing rock is the fine
grained greenstone. The same formation was
met with at the Nuggets, to the South of the
Clutha. The woods along the coast from
Howell’s Point are infested by immense herds
of pigs, some of which are of enormous size;
but I am told their flesh is very unsavoury, as
they feed principally upon seaweed and offal
that is cast upon the shores. On the morning
of the 11th, we dropped down to the mouth of
the river, but finding that the bar was break-
ing too heavily for us to cross, we anchored
just within it. A large three-masted schooner,
the Pearl, was lying close to us a sorry plight;
jammed hard and fast upon the rocks and full
of water to the hatches. She is the first large
vessel that has entered the port, and she ac-
complished it safely, but after being at anchor
in the stream, got ashore when they were
trying to shift her position.

Riverton Harbor is not suitable for a vessel
of more than 100 tons, as the River is too
narrow to permit a large craft mooring with
the strong currents that set with both the ebb
and flood tide. That with the ebb, ordi-
narily runs at 4 knots per hour, and is greatly
increased during freshets. The best way to
make the Harbor available, would be to throw
a bridge or continue the present jetty across
to the opposite side, where there is a deep
pool with from 15 to 30 feet, close alongside
the rocks where a wharf might be built at
small expense, and besides which vessels
would lie sheltered from the current. At
9 a.m. on the 12th June we crossed the bar,
just at full tide, the depth of water being
7 feet. It was rather ticklish work, as we
had only a very light wind off shore and a
heavy swell dead against us.

On quitting the roadstead, which is that
portion of the bay sheltered from the west by
Howell’s Point, we found it blowing a stiff
breeze from the W.S.W. This wind suited us
very well, as my object was to reach Port
William or Stewart’s Island, there to await
the first easterly breeze we might have, having
arranged with the Maoris that they should
also seize the first chance of getting to Preser-
vation Inlet; and if first, to await the arrival
of the packet. As the tide was on the ebb,
the current was setting through the Straits
from the eastward, and against the wind,
causing a high and dangerous sea way for
a small vessel. The schooner, however, be-
haved admirably; several seas struck her with
great force, and broke over her with a crash
that seemed to stagger her, drenching all who
were on deck, but nothing gave way, and she
recovered at once. The wind being right
abeam, we made a good run, although close
reached for most of the way, reaching Saddle
Point—which is the N.W. point of Stewart’s
Island—at 2.40; having crossed Foveaux
Straits from Howell’s Point, a distance of
23 miles, in less than three hours.