Departure from Ngatokorua--Okahakura Plains--Tongariro from the north--Source of the Whanganui--The hot springs--A marvellous sanatorium--Crater of Ketetahi--Te Perore--A strategic position--Kuwharua--Maori cakes--A grand region--Site for a public park 295 CHAPTER XXVI. WESTERN TAUPO. Supposed forest country--The western table-land--Soil and _flora_--Terania--Okarewa--Te Kaina Valley--Maoris on the track--Pouotepiki _pa_--A tangi--The natives--A friendly invitation--An old warrior--The women--Our quarters 304 CHAPTER XXVII. THE NORTHERN TABLE-LAND. The Whanganui stream--Oruapuraho Valley--Waihaha River--Kahakaharoa--The sweetbriar--The kiwi--The moa--A gigantic lizard--Waikomiko and Waihora Rivers--Te Tihoi Plains--Scenery--Mount Titiraupenga--Mangakowiriwiri River--Mangakino River--Swimming horses--Our camp--The Maoris as travellers--A Maori joke--Good horsemen--Their knowledge of the country--Their endurance--The Waipapa--Te Toto Ranges--The Waipari--Te Tauranga--The Upper Puniu--A fine specimen of tattooing--A night at Hengia 315 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE AUKATI LINE. Manga-o-rongo--Mangatutu River--The encampment--A sumptuous repast--The _kainga_--Surrounding scenery--Old warriors--The tribes--The Korero--Arrival of Te Kooti--His wife--His followers--A _tête-à-tête_--A song of welcome--A _haka_--Departure from Manga-o-rongo--Waipa River--Valley of the Waipa--Our last difficulty 328 APPENDIX. Potatau II. 345 Major Te Wheoro, M.H.R. 348 List of the New Zealand Tribes, with their localities 351 The Flora 352 The Fauna 360 The Maori language 366 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.