VISIT TO THE VOLCANO TONGARIRO.

Marlborough Express, Volume VI, Issue 295, 3 June 1871, Page 7

VISIT TO THE VOLCANO TONGARIRO.

(From the Hawke's Bay Herald.) On the 27th February, Mr Churchouse, accompanied by another gentleman, started for Torkano. After travelling for a day and a-half, and meeting with a few adventures which are incident to every journey of the kind, they reached their destination, where they were hospitably entertained by the natives, and had an opportunity of bathing in the puias and inspecting the boiling geysers, one of which was throwing up water at the time to a height of from five to seven feet.

On the morning of the 2nd ult. they started southward, along the left bank of

the Waikato, in the direction of Tongariro. “ Both banks,” says the writer, “ are fringed with trees and shrubs, and as the clear brawling waters leap and foam over the shingle and boulders in the river bed, the tout ensemble is both charming and picturesque.” Towards the evening of the same day they came to a whare, which, no doubt, was the same as that in which Mr Lambert and the writer of the present review stayed during their trip to the mountain in July last. Mr Churchouse and his companion did not, however, stay there, thinking that the ascent might be better made from a spot some three miles further on, where finally they pitched their camp about sundown.

Next morning they rode along a spur—leading them up to the elevated plateau that divides Ruapehu on the south from Tongariro on the north. Leaving their horses tied up on the plateau, they struck off northwards, and, after an hour or two’s walking, were at the foot of the cone, or rather Mr Churchouse was, as his companion, having his feet blistered, remained behind before reaching it. Mr Churchouse then climbed up the cone, along one of the ridges of boulders which skirt the gullies by which it is serrated. The ascent took exactly one hour and fifteen minutes to accomplish. It is described as being tedious, but not difficult. He found “ the upper*, half of the cone of tepid -warmth,” and saw the summit covered with “ cinders which were quite hot to the touch, and, from .their, fresh appearance and sharply cut edges,' without any appearance of the

action of tlie weather, had evidently not been thrown out many hours.” The inference to be drawn from this viz., that another shower of cinders was a possible contingency at any moment, was not calculated to raise the spirits, or to invite a protracted sojourn at that spot. In spite of this, however, Mr Churchouse remained some time there—long enough at any rate, to examine minutely, everything there that seemed worthy of notice. He estimates the width of the crater at 200 yards, and its depth at 200 feet. “ Its sides are rough and jagged, and the rocks at the bottom are covered with what appears to be sublimate of sulphur.” On the eastern side a descent into the crater could ap parently be effected without difficulty, as the inner wall of the crater slopes down with an incline not greater than the outer side of the cone. Mr Churchouse would have attempted it had he a rope and a companion with him. , The day was, no doubt, unusually bright and clear. “To the south-west could be seen the coast line running from Wellington to Taranaki, with Mount Egmont rearing its snow-capped head from a forest of verdure.”

The descent was effected in safety, though part ofit was “ by the run,” and the return journey was not attended with any worse mishap than the knocking up of one of the horses. Mr Churchouse brought some specimens with him from the lip of the crater, which have since been sent to Dr Hector in Wellington.