Steering our light craft, which seemed to quiver under the firm, steady stroke of her dark crew, so as to bring Mount Tarawera on our "port quarter," we entered Te Ariki, a wide inlet at the southern end of the lake, and when we had rounded the rocky headland known as Moura, the hills and valleys spread themselves out in a splendid amphitheatre of enchanting scenery, the trees and creeping vines mirrored themselves in the water, where they seemed to glide beneath us like a fairy forest as we swept along, while a cloud of steam rising in the distance told us that we were fast approaching the wonders of Rotomahana. We hauled up in front of a native village where there were one or two _whares_, and here old Rangihewa got out of the boat to wade ashore, and, wrapping his shawl about his neck, pulled up his shirt to prevent it from getting wet, but utterly regardless of consequences, and then bidding us farewell by a wave of his hand, and a tremendous grin which made his tattoo marks double up into a curious network over his face, he entered the door of a hut with a majestic gait, and with the _Te Korimako_ under his arm. Here we purchased a couple of _kits_ of _kouras_[32] from a native woman who waded into the water almost alfresco, with an india-rubber-looking baby on her back, and then we headed for the farther end of the bay, where a picturesque-looking Maori settlement added a pleasant charm to the beauties of the surrounding landscape. We landed at this point, and an attenuated, wiry old chief, as thin as a match, and with a very scant wardrobe, put off in a dilapidated canoe to bid us welcome, and to annex any stray bawbees or figs of tobacco that might fall in his way. Here the party was divided, the ladies embarking in the canoe to go up the Kaiwaka stream, and to join us at Rotomahana, while we, the sterner sex, walked a mile through the _manuka_ scrub, following the attractive red petticoat of Sophia. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 29: The New Zealand glowworm, called by the natives _Piritana_, is a small grub, inhabiting caves and damp places; it is surrounded by a slimy coating, through which radiates a brilliant phosphoric light.] [Footnote 30: _Haka_, a lewd dance, in which both men and women take part.] [Footnote 31: The _tiki_ is worn by Maori women as a kind of sacred charm.] [Footnote 32: _Koura_, a small cray-fish, common in the lakes, and much prized by the natives as an article of food.] CHAPTER VIII. THE TERRACES. Te Tarata--Beauty of the terrace--The formation--The crater--A sensational bath--Ngahapu--Waikanapanapa--A weird gorge--Te Aua Taipo--Kakariki--Te Whatapohu--Te Huka--Te Takapo--Lake Rotomahana--Te Whakataratara--Te Otukapurangi--The formation--The cauldron.