DR. HAAST'S EXPEDITION.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1887, 27 June 1863, Page 3

DR. HAAST'S EXPEDITION.

When our readers last beard of Dr Haast aDd bis pavty they were at Makarora Busb, having just'eturned from anarduuusbuthighiy successful jauvuey of discovery to the West Coast, It will be remembered that Dr Haast had succeeced in discovering a comparatively easy roue to the sea through the central chain by a pas little over 1600 feet above its level. We wil continue ibe narrative of Dr Haast's jdurne'from this poiut whence the party proceeded to jake Wanaka to refit. laving recruited their strength they returned to.be head of the lake and ascended the Matoora to examine the river and its tributaries ft gold, and to couiioue the geological and tpographical survey. Thence the party proceded to the sources of the Wilkin, a distance '.< about thirty miles, through an exceedingly i >ugh country, covered <with dense forest, [ere they experienced one of the heaviest raintils ever'yet met with, by which the level of *ake Wanaka was raised no less thau four feet ji less than twenty-four hours. Iv both rivers iold exists, ahd there is little doubt that when rorisions can be obtained at the head of the ike, a payable gold field will be discovered, j JthoHgb the rough alpine nature of the country Hll, as in Nelson, render its discovery both ifficult and uncertain. It was ascertained by actual prospecting that old exists in these rivers— the " coloi' being mad in the alluvial flats as weli as in the mailer tributaries. Returning again to Mr filkin's station, the party proceeded to Lake lawea, where they found a boat waiting them, hich had been brought overland from Lake kanaka by the kindness of Mr Wilkin's maua!<»r. The Eiver Hunter, which forms Lake tawea, was explored in its sources which lie i the cluster of mountains belonging to the mtral chain, named, last year, by Dr Haast, [oiint Ward. The river has three main mrces, all issuing from glaciers, and the valiy itself through which the main stream runs i covered with dense forest ou both sides, pre mting some magnificent scenery. the oftes were necessarily left behind, the

party had to carry their own provisions and stores, each taking his sha,re, we might more justly say, f dividing; the burden according to the physical capabilities of the explorers, without regard to persons. No auriferous rocks were found in the Hunter, the geological features of the valley being simi- , lar to those of the other valleys of the Alps, examined and described by Mr Haast, previously, viz: sandstones and slates of great variety following each other in endless succession. These strata form here an anticlinal axis standing nearly on their edges. Having again experienced a great deal of very wet weather, the party returned, towards the middle of April, to Mr Wilkin's station, where, as at all the other stations in Otapo they met with a very hospitable reception. Crossing the Lindis Pass Dr Haast ascended to the sources of the river Ahmiri, the south western branch of the Waitaki, which has its origin in glaciers of the second order Here the geological structure of the mountains is similar to that of the Huuter. One of the most interesting features of this locality is to be found in the remains of a large lake now nearly dry, through which the river winds its sluggish course. Surrounded by old moraines this lake bed exhibits all those peculiarities foretold by Dr Haast as likely to occur, within a com paralively short geological period, with some of the other alpiue lakes. Encamped about 3200 feet above the level of the sea the party here experienced a heavy snow storm which lasted two days, in spite of which the survey work was completed. Returning from this point Dr Haast crossed over iut© the Mackenzie country on his way homeward, examining on bis journey some of the geological features of the country, aod arrived in Cbristchurch on the 12 tb of May.