Overview
Tues. Nov. 4
Weather fine + bright. Up at 4.25am. After breakfast left on lady's bike at 5.15 - Hatuma at 5.45. The streams flowing into Hatuma Lake, unlike all of the others of this district, are not rejuvenated and this fact furnishes further proof that Hatuma Lake lies in an old course of the Tukituki abandoned before the rejuvenation took place. The highest right-bank high-level terraces of the Tukituki die out downstream just below the Hatuma-Marakeke Road junction. Reached Waipuk. at 6.25 Walked to top of end of gravel ridge which terminates in the centre of Waipuk., altitiude 540' - 106' above high level terrace at foot of hill which was evidented [sic?] truncated by the Tukituki when that river was on the high-level terrace. The reservoir that supplies Waipuk. is situated on the ridge top the water being pumped up from the Tukituki. 1/2 pl. photo (6) of Waipuk., Tukituki River showing bridge, Mt Vernon hills + homestead + c. + 1/2 pl. (7) looking down the Tukituki, both from the reservoir Mr Herd arrived to catch the train to Napier + gave me his bike in exchange for the lady's bike. Left rly. stn. at 7.5 + cycled along the Porangahau Road taking altitudes with the aneroid + sketching in the topography. At the bridge over the Puaangiangi Stm. the formulation is papa + this seems to be the substance of the low ridge ending at the Arlington Homestead. Turned off along
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the branch road running north-east. The road crosses a ridge of low rounded hills which divides the [Puaangiangi?] Stm from the Mangohara - saddle at 8.34 It then crosses a couple of tribs of the Mangohara, ^ 'one' of which flows in close meanders on a very notic[e]ably raised floodplain – tribs of this stream are thus forced to postpone their junctions. Crossed the Mangohara at 9.15. Then the road, which is unformed for a considerable distance, crosses the alluvial slopes of streams which flow, from the low hills dividing the Magohara + Tangitupura catchments, into the Ngatoro Swamp, or at least its former site since it is now partly drained. Turning east the road ascends the ridge which divides the Mangohara + Tangitupura. A well-worn road from Waipuk.[urau] comes in on the left. The upper western slopes of the hill-ridge are composed of thick masses of high-level gravels which have no relation to the present drainage. The gravels are reddish, contain lenticular seams of sand + clay, + are a medley of gravel + small boulders. They extend to within a few feet of the crest of the ridge, the summit + eastern slopes of which appear however to be composed of papa. Summit at 10.15 Took a 1/4 pl. photo (8) of the high-level gravels in a road-side pit.
From the summit the road wound down into + then across the valley of the Tangitupaura Stm. + it became evident that the
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road on which I was relying, one running down the left bank of the Tangitupura, was non-existant [sic]. On the east the Tangitupura valley is bounded by a ridge of very hummocky + fairly high hills of some white-coloured formation, ^'prob.[ably]' chalk marls or papa. Rolling foothills at the western foot of this ridge merge into a great sloping terrace sloping north-west + west to the Tangitupura floodplain of which it surmounts. The sloping terrace-top which is intersected by the trenches of the rejuvenated tributaries of the Tangitupura is probably an old mature valley-bottom + is probably a cut surface. The rejuvenated Tangitupura flows in wide meanders on a silty floodplain (still being raised by white silt) from 5 - 8 ch[ai]ns in width, + at this point 50' or 60' below the old valley bottom (the sloping terrace) 1/2pl photo (9) of the Tangitupura Valley looking down stm + showing some of above features. Turned back + took the road to Waipuk. which crosses the Mangatarata Stm. about a mile below the Ngatoro Swamp. The Mangatarata meanders on an alluvial flat with a wide soft terrace on each side. The whole valley is 3/8 or 1/2 mile wide where the road crosses it but appears to narrow down-stream. Beyond the Mangatarata the road skirts the end of a ^'single' ridge of high-level gravels + then runs over an almost imperceptible ridge (prob. of chalk marls) to Waipuk. Reached Waipuk. At
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11.53. Dined at "The Cafe". Persistant [sic] strong west wind. Started off along the road running down the right bank of Tukituki – stopped by heavy shower but went on later. Turned up the hill road which runs past Trig. 827' These hills, which are drained by streams with numerous branches, are composed of chalk marls + the topography is extremely hummocky, the sharp hummocks being separated by saddles in which the tributary streams take their rise. Left the road at its highest point + walked to Trig 827'. (1.50pm) More rain - returned to Waipuk. 2.18pm. Strong west wind continues so decided to go back by train - left at 3.30 alighting at Manakau + cycling thence to farm.