Page:Overland Journey of the Governor of New Zealand.djvu/23

Rh you. Be sober and industrious, and all will be well with you.

After bathing in one of the hot-springs which abound in and near Tokano, and in which the cooking of the people is carried on, the party started on the 10th for Rotoaira, the beautiful lake at the foot of Tongariro, about ten miles south of Taupo. Nothing can be more romantic than the scenery of this part of the island. From under Ruapehu and Tongariro stretch away, east, west and south, rich and well-watered valleys lying between mountain ridges, covered with the luxuriant and semi-tropical foliage of the New Zealand forests. There is no sign of human habitation in this magnificent country, but the native chiefs are already in treaty to lease large portions of it to some of the great run-holders of the South Island; and, before many years have elapsed, it will probably be covered, like the plains of Australia, with vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. In 1869 and 1870 there was much fighting near Tokano and Rotoaira between the colonial forces and the loyal clans on one side, and, on the other, the rebels under Te Kooti. In the afternoon the Governor rode back to Tokano, where he was again the guest of the Maori chiefs, with whom he had another korero.

On the 11th the Governor started at 9 a.m. by the boat on his return to the north end of the Lake. A small river leads from the Lake to Tokano through the alluvial plain surrounding the village, on which the natives grow a large quantity of wheat, maize, potatoes. &c. This creek must not be confounded