Through South Westland : A journey to the Haast and Mount Aspiring New Zealand . f CaptainCooks arrival! It was excessively hot, and every hundred feetseemed to increase our difficulties. We tried aspur, which seemed to lead to the top of the firstledge, but it was broken by a deep gully cutting itacross ; so we took to a dry water-course and madesome progress, but were stopped by a straight wallof rock. Transome was below, and I called to himI would try to the right. There was a nasty loosebit to be got over, running nearly sheer dowTi tothe lower part of the gully. I got across and peeredrou
Through South Westland : A journey to the Haast and Mount Aspiring New Zealand . f CaptainCooks arrival! It was excessively hot, and every hundred feetseemed to increase our difficulties. We tried aspur, which seemed to lead to the top of the firstledge, but it was broken by a deep gully cutting itacross ; so we took to a dry water-course and madesome progress, but were stopped by a straight wallof rock. Transome was below, and I called to himI would try to the right. There was a nasty loosebit to be got over, running nearly sheer dowTi tothe lower part of the gully. I got across and peeredround the buttress of rock. It fell away uncom-promisingly, a drop of several hundred feet. Noroad that way. I started to get back : the stoneskept flying down so, I had to wait till Transomecould climb to the other side of the gully belowme. When he gave the signal I tried to cross, butit was much harder to get back than it had beento get round the buttress, and before I knew I wasshooting down in a shower of stones to the bottom—fortunately feet foremost. I grasped a tuft of. A KEA. [184 ON THE MATUKITUKI. 185 broom, then a flax plant, as I shot down—butthey tore from my grasp, and I found myself at thebottom beside Transome, who was holding a hand-kerchief to his neck which was cut from a fallingstone. However, we found that neither of us wasreally anything the worse. It was too late to startclimbing by another route, so, hot and tired,we came down, and had a batiie, first in the icyriver, then in warm, sliallow pools in the may here add, we never tried this part of themountain again. Next morning it was still very hot, and wedecided a day off would be pleasant. I had aregular clean-up, and washed our clothes in thecreek ; and after lunch we rode slowly up the flat tovisit the old saw-mills. The mill itself was gone,but the house was standing, despoiled of every-thing except a stool, a battered basin, and twobunks. Large enclosures had been fenced in, andthe grass, s
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