Overview
Sat. Aug. 17
Lovely clear day. Took Nancy for a walk to top of knob behind house before breakfast + found the Ruahines so clear that I took my 1/2 pl[ate] camera + walked to "Cave Hill" above the Rangaitoto - Waipuk[urau] - Connecting Road junction. Photo (1) of Ruahine Range, 20 miles distant, with the Umutoi - Te Hokinga group of peaks in centre of background, + Mr. Herd's farm in foreground + Ruataniwha Plain in middle distance. "Cave Hill" is on the Turiri Range - this range
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has a double crest, the more westerly being a ridge of limstone [sic], the strata dipping west rather steeply,and is very uniform in shape. It has comparatively gentle back-slope + a steeper front-slope, or strike scarp, surmounted by a cliff of truncated limestone strata. The back-slope of limestone ridge is always somewhat, + usually considerably less steep than the dip of the strata. At is [sic] southern end the double crest of the Turiri Range unites + forms a massive dome-like prominence, northward, one crest disappears + the other, the limestone, is continued alone to, + beyond, the gorge cut through it by Tukituki River. Photo (2) of the limestone ridge (northern extension of Turiri Range) from "Cave Hill" showing steep strike scarp surmounted by cliff, with Ruataniwha Plain beyond, + gap through which the runs on right of photo. At the road junction below "Cave hill", a small quarry exposes the inclined limestone strata + shows alterations of shell-rock + shell-sand, both fairly well cemented + coherent. Back to
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house to breakfast, after which I took a couple of 1/4 pl. photos (3) of group on steps of house + (4) general view of house + sheds from the road. At 10.25 Mr Herd + I set out on horse-back for a round trip - took the Rangaitoto - Waipuk. road - all the homesteads are similarly situated to Mr. Herd's on the side of hills plated with shelter trees. Passed Hatuma station + the Waiu Road (my route on cycling trip to Hawkes Bay) + on to the Tukituku [sic], a mile above Waipuk. At this point we turned west without going into Waipuk. On its right bank, the Tukituki is bordered by a series of broad low terraces + the river now meanders on a broad bed, in part bare shingle + in part scrub covered. The road runs west up the terraces + then over the end of the limestone ridge of the Turiri Range. The river cuts through the limestone ridge + occupies a very perfect example of a water-gap. The river is thus anticedent to the folding which raised the ridge, and the Ruataniwha Plain which lies above the gap
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appears to occupy a down-warped area which was aggraded with shingle from the Ruahines simultaneously with the cutting of the water-gap. Took a 1/2 pl. photo (5) of the Tukituku [sic] River looking down stream to Waipukurau. + a 1/4 pl. (6) of the water-gap cut by the Tukituki through the limestone ridge, with Ruataniwha Plain beyond. At one place on the hillslope on the south side of the water-gap, the topography strongly suggests slumping on a large scale, there being a protruding mass with a trench-like hollow without outlet on the inner side, but I had time to fully investigate. After crossing crest of ridge, the road descends a dry gully + comes out on the Plain a little above the junctions of the Makeretu, Tukino + Avoca, + Tukituki. All these rivers anastomose on wide shingly beds. A little further to road divides, one branch crossing the Maharakeke Stm [Stream] just above its confluence with the Makeretu + the other (which we took) skirting the foot of the back slope of the Turiri limestone ridge. Just here the foot of each of the backsloping spurs is
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truncated by river-action, when the rivers flowed on the surface of the Ruataniwha Plain, but southward the truncation disappears We passed the school at the corner of the Waiu Road, + crossed the railway by an overhead bridge near the Maharakeke rly stn [railway station]. Hereabouts the Plain is not of gravel, but has a planed limestone surface grading into the surface of the main gravel portion. This planed surface is due to minor stream action, so the Ruataniwha Plain is in part built (gravel disposed by the big rivers) + in part cut (planation of country rock by minor streams.) Passed a dairy-farm in which a water-wheel has been installed to drive the machines. Home at 1.10 pm, having covered 16 miles in 2 3/4 hours. After dinner rested awhile + then walked to the trig at west end of farm + took a 1/2 pl. photo (7) of the Oruawharo Range and the Rangaitoto Limestone Range from Rocksmith Trig, bridge over Maharakeke Stm in foreground. Shepherded the adjacent paddocks + collected some fossils on bank of Maharakeke tributary.In the small
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gully running back into the wheat-sown paddock there is an outcrop of dark grey loam or silt quite soft, plastic + micaceous. The soil of the wheat paddock + of the district in general is very dark, sometimes quite black + I was informed that the original growth was manuka + no heavy bush. This is borne out by the lack of stumps + logs, the [silty] soil + by the presence of small round patches of manuka left here + there to shelter stock. In the evening Maud, Olive, Gertie + I played "500" + later I had a talk with Mr Herd.
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[High resolution image of whole page is available by scrolling through images attached to George Leslie Adkin personal diary, May 1917-February 1919