REPORT ON THE SOURCES OF THE WATAUUA, BULLER, AND GREY RIVERS.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 263, 27 April 1860, Page 3

REPORT ON THE SOURCES OF THE WATAUUA, BULLER, AND GREY RIVERS.

To the' Provincial Secretary, Nelson. . . Nelson, April 19, 1860. Sir —In accordance with your instructions 1 have

the honor to furnish you wit!* a report upon my journey to the sources of the Waiau-na, Buller, and ' Grey rivers. I started on the 21st of March in company with Mr. Maling, and reached the Top House on the 23rd, where we were joined by the Messrs. Monro, Oliver, and Orchard, bound to the Waiauua, which now goes by the name of the New Country. Mr. Handyside and assistant were also bound for the same distiict. The1! road from the Top House to Tarndale was in rather a dirty state, owing to the previous rain. The new track through the Gorge has received some injury from the sheep which were driven threw a few months ago, but not to such an extent as to make it dangerous for horses. I think

the line very well chosen and executed. By far the worst part of the road is between the Top ;; House and the Gorge, which is to be improved this season I understand by Mr. McGregor's party now at-work in the neighboiliood. From , Tarndale there is little difficulty till the road leaves Lake Tennyson, when the ascent to Maling's Pas^ begins, which is rather swampy in places, . which, however, with a little trouble, may be avoided. From the summit of the Waiau-ua River the descent is mote difficult owing to the thick growth of the wild Irishman, which hag lately been burnt. At the foot the ground falls . with a very slight gradient to the Waiau River I which is here about the size of the Waitau at the, Gorge. From the foot of the Pa6s to the junctidn ; of the Henry (which we reached on the 28th) the travelling is very good,'the only obstacle being tlie speargrass_, which is very thick in nearly all the .., district. Tlie .Waiau Valley, at the junction of the Henry, is aboutt.amiletand a-half wide, covered with high grass, and seeniingly very good soil,. At this point we parted company with Messrs. Oliver ■and Monro, who proceeded up the Henry, whilst we attempted to follow down the Waiau, hoping to fall in with Mr. Austin. After travelling about four miles we were surprised to see a fire behind ua. In sett-defence, we .lighted before us, and pushed on,i making for the ' river to escape the smoke. Iff the evening we were 'joined by Messrs. M'Rae and party, who had been exploring in the neighbourhood. Next morning they left for the Clarence' up a valley to the eastward, eight or ten miles below the Henry. Mr. Milling and myself endeavoured to get round 1 a gorge of the Waiauj but were called back by Stewart, who feared that the fire, which was still raging, would be down upon us whilst we were entangled in the scrub. On our return, finding; the alarm false, we ascended a high mountain, from which we saw the Waiau running nearly due 1 south towards Tekoa for about seven or eight miles, then turning a little westerly, and then apparently to the east, where .we suppose it ia joined by the Hope. The Waiau from "here seemed very rough and scrubby. The valley leading to the Clarence appeared to consist of grassy table lands and low hills: the Clarence, according to the report of Mr. M'Rae, being only Jour hours distant.

The next day, being very wet, wo returned to our camp at the Henry, where we met Messrs. Oliver and Monro. The former had beeii as far as the river Boyle,, but had decided oa returning to Jfelson* thfr weathe^;threatettit»Bf to. be bad.

•oßrvey at tffl gorge, whilst we'foitowect'up^flw' Henry to its junction with the Ann, and ascending^ m. wooded spurjto the westward we qatnped for the" ;.ii%ht;;-'^".' v^-";:"^(> • -'.-.' . -./..^..vj;^^.^.,,....-. ; -,-! .Proceeded next day-long ,the y grassy ridge. to Travera's Peak, whence'wedescended for two or three thousand feet down ugly slips and. thick scrub to the".supposed* Grey, which we here found running through a narrow-ugly gorge. On the following day we took a portion of our provisions and passed down the gorge, crossing the river upwards of forty times in about a mile and a half. The hill sides on either side of the river consist of immense slips, some of which are recent. The river r from the marks we saw, appears to rise eight or ten feet in afresh. The saddle called j Glen Stewart, leading from the Henry, is about a mile higher up \ and, owing to the difficulty of the gorge, I do not think will ever be useful as a road. We found the valley open as we proceeded, being grassy, with Irish scrub and patches of bush. About six miles down we came upon some hot sulphurous springs, close to the river, with a small stream running through them. The water was very hot in'one part, With a thick vapour rising from it. The general direction of the valley is westerly, with a gradual bend to the northward. After leaving the.springs we went on about seven miles and encamped, passing a singular and very pretty , part of the valley on our way. We have called it the Marnia Canal. The river, after running over a wide shingled bed, is joinel by another considerable stream from the eastward (which I have called the Alfred) at a point where the bush closes in on both sides, and suddenly contracts to a narrow channel, about ten yards wide and fifty or sixty long, through which it flows with a clear, deep, and silent stream, when it again spreads and recommences its eternal growl over the shingles. Next morning Mr. Mating and myself continued ottr way dowri the.valley for about three miles, wheife ..weffound^llr. Mackay's track by the marks he had left for Atr* Haast's guidance. The footmarks seeming rather fi-esh we were inclined to think that Mr. Haast had passed this spot. We soon came to Rohu stream, running to the northward and joining the Marnia. . The course of the mainstream was now about north by west. (I could not take the bearing exactly, owing to a dense white fog which filled all the valley below i us.) We were well assured that this river was the Marnia running into the Buller, and that the Gorge above, just passed through, was the Kopi o Kai Tanguta, or Cannibal's Gorge. I now reI gretted that we had not brought on all our provisions, so that we might have gone through Mackay s Pass, and returned by way of the Grey up to its source. Being obliged to return, we pushed on through the Gorge, and readied our camp just at dusk. Above the Gorge the river wends to the north eastward rising in the gorges of the Spenser mountains.

Next day, April sth, we ascended the Saddle (about 400 feet) to the stream running to the southward, the source of which we found to be swampy. It soon, however, became a very considerable river; and from the difficulty of making our way through the scrub, we were compelled generally to take to the stream. We went down about eight miles, the course being a little to east of south, wending to about south by west. As we could see but little, owing to the scrub and bush, we next day ascended a spur on the right bank of the river, hoping to be able to see the course of it better. We fortunately struck a good spur, but were two hours clearing the bush, and an hour and a half more reaching the summit. From about half-way up, a large hill, to the westward of which the river seemed to have its course, bore S. 16 W., and a large lump of mountain bore S.W., the river's course being, as we judged, to the northward of it. The mist hanging on the summits prevented my taking many bearings. We were pretty well satisfied that the river we descended yesterday is one of the head waters of the Grey. The summit we now reached must be of great altitude, as the elevation to the summit of "the Fairy Queen was only I°. We now followed a grassy range with a sharp rocky ridge running about north easterly, and in the evening descended a spur to the Boyle, about two miles below the Ann saddle, where we camped. From the summit Tekoa bore S. 23° E,, and we believe the Kaikoras N. 48° £~ an opening in the mountains S.S.W., .which we think may be a pass to the Ahaura. Before descending the spur, we saw a small open grass plain, about six or seven miles down the Boyle, lying east and west; but we could n6t judge which way the river ran. We therefore, the next day, followed the stream down, and found it, after passing through a level bit of bush, to turn round to'the westward, and about S. 60 W., which course it seemed to pursue for several miles. The grass plain appeared to communicate with the Waiau through an opening in the hills, with a saddle of very small elevation. The bush, a few miles below, appeared to close in to the river, and, I think, no doubt can exist that this is also a branch leading to the Grey. The hills in all this district are mostly bushed, with occasional openings from one quarter to two-thirda of their height, the summits being sometimes covered and sometimes patched with a strong thick short grass, the ridges mostly being rocky, but sometimes rounded. In the valleys the speargrass is very thick, but an abundance of long fine grass, of which bur horses were very fond, as they wore also of what is commonly called the cotton plant, which was in great abundance. As our provisions were getting too short for a very extensive exploration at this time of the year, we next day crossed the saddle to the Ann, - discovered "by Mr. Travers. We judged it to be about 800 feet, very steep on the Boyle side; bnt it may be made more accessible by burning the scrub, which we could not do, it being raining and the scrub very wet. The Ann side is bush about a mile, with a very moderate descent. The banks of the Ann being slaty, with quartz, we thought it indicated gold, but we had nothing with which we could wash. We now returned to our camp at the Henry, on the Bth, where we found Mr. Handyside, who had not completed what he proposed to do.

The next day, as we were a good deal-fatigued from having been so much in the water, we rested, and prepared for the home journey. On the 10th we camped at the foot of Maling's Pass. The next day, while Handyside completejl his survey, Stuart and myself ascended the hill to the north of the pass, from which I got bearings to Lake Tennyson, the Queen, Una, Tekoa, <fee, and saw a small lake just under the summit of the Princess, about fifteen chains long. Messrs. Travers and Mating had before suggested^ the probability of its;, being there from the appearance of the mountain from below;*

April 12th. Started for Nelson, camping out twice, and stopping at the Top House and Hooker's, reached Nelson on the evening of the 16th.

In allusion to the practicability of a bridle road, the one from the forks of the Henry will not be available from the impractibility of Cannibal's Gorge. That by the Ann would be easy; but it is yet'to be thoroughly proved whether the Boyle leads to the Grey.- The completion of Mr. Rochfort's traverse will, however, settle the question, and also that of the. practicability of a road down the lower part of the Grey. At present, in descending the Boyle, the stream would have mostly to be kept, but by burning and clearing, 1 think it could generally be avoided. I believe there is a very easy way from the Clarence down the valley which Mr. M'Rae ascendedj crossing the Waiau and entering the pass leading to the small grass plain alluded to as being at the turning of the Boyle to the westward.

The weather during our trip, with the exception of two or three days, was remarkably fine : warm sunshiny days, with cold rimy frosty nights. There was a heavy fall of snow the day we reached Hooker's. On our return Gordon's Nob was covered. An expedition for .a mouth or so at an earlier time of the year, talcing the route by the Ann Saddle, following down the "Boyle to the supposed Grey, and striking the Ahaura Pass, would I, think, solve -all the vexed questions, as to the* .course'of the.rivers, which cannot be ascertained with certainty unless, thay; are followed* I had

igrgqtten, tel mention that we fou&ct- some;frag--fon^e^ismes at .the junction of the Henry and Waiau; but I am not able to say what they belonged to, apparently too large for human; but very old. . » . , ;" . » I have, ■&c, . . H. LEWIS.

Coali Ships.—The brigantine Rebecca in coming down the bay on Monday last, got ashore on the Riwaka sand, about 10 o'clock at night; after blowing heavily a calm succeeded, and the tide then set her on the sand. Having thrown 4 tons of coal out of her and put 10 -tons on board a Motueka craft, she was got off with the loss of part of her false keel; in every other respect she is uninjured, there has not even been any necessity to pump her. -She brings 179. tons coal for the Inter-Colonial Mail Company. The Sea Nymph arrived on Wednesday with 267: tons for. the same company. TheZillah with timber from Auckland came alongside the new wharf yesterday.