Glenarvan. During the night the rain had ceased. The sky was veiled with light gray clouds, w

better to make for a point thirty miles off, at the confluence of the Waikato and the Waipa, at the village of Ngarnavahia. The "overland track" passes that point, and is rather a path than a road, practicable for the ve

s they did not allow themselves to straggle, and by instinct they kept a look-out over the undulating plains to the eastwa

of small bushes bearing little white flowers, mixed with those innumerable tall ferns with which the lands of New Zealand abound. They had to cut a path across the plain, through these woody stems, and this was a ma

ion for the night. His companions and he, well armed, were to watch in turns, two and two, till daybreak. No fires were lighted. Barriers of fire are a potent preservation from wild beasts

sand-flies, called by the natives, "ngamu," and the visit of the a

yet appeared, and these ferocious cannibals had not molested him even in his dreams. "I begin to think that our little journey will end favorably. Th

lenarvan, "to the confluenc

just about what

ed if this interminable scrub c

s of the Waipa, and then we shall have no obs

van, seeing the ladies re

rs passed, so that their Australian vehicle was but slightly regretted. Until practicable wagon roads are cut through these forests of scrub, Ne

which the Hakarihoata Ranges rise. But before noon they reached the

some snipe and partridge under the low shrubs of the plain.

ty as a naturalist overcame his hunger as a traveler. He called to mind the peculiarities of the "tui" of the natives, sometimes called the moc

ill, and prevents him from flying. Then he tears his breast with his beak, to relieve

n't believe a word of

cats and dogs, has fled toward the unoccupied country, and is fast disappearing from the fauna of New Zealand. Robert, searching like a ferret, came upon a nest made of interwoven roots, and in it a pair of bi

to very few of the zoological collections of Europe. Its graceless shape and comical motions have always attracted the notice of travelers, and during the great exploration of the Astrolabe and the Zelee,

h the intention of presenting them to the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris. "Presented by M. Jacques Paganel

losed the eastern end of the valley. With their grotesque shapes, and their outlines lost in a deceptive haze, they brought to mind giant animals, worthy of antediluvian times. They might have been a herd of enormous whales, suddenly turned to stone. These disrupted masses proclaimed their essentially volcanic character. Ne

ought to be reached about five miles further on, and there the night halt could be made. Two or three days would then suffice for the fifty miles which lay between th

"we shall be obliged to cam

el, "but I hope f

, for it is very trying for

Mangles. "But I think I heard you mention

s, marked on Johnston's map. It is Nga

y Helena and Miss Grant would not grudge two mile

an inn, not a tavern! This village will be a mere cluster of huts, and s

, Paganel!" ret

may not be going on with full vigor. Modesty apart, people like us would be a prize, and I must say, I would rather forego a taste of Maori hospitality. I think it certainly more prudent to avoid this village of Ng

e open air, and not to expose her companions to danger. Neither Mary Gra

horizon, darted some bright rays through an opening in the clouds. The distant eastern summits were empur

nd how quickly the night follows it. They were very anxious to reach the confluence of the two rivers before

icated that the confluence was at hand. At eight o'clock the little troop arrived at the

Paganel, "and the road to Auck

ems to me that that dark shadow is that of a little clump of trees grow

t and dried meat. We have reached this spot incognito, let us try and

The cold supper was eaten without a sound, and presently a profound sleep over