The Bay of Islands, called Kororarika by the natives, lies on the eastern coast : it is open to the north and north-east, and the entrance between Cape Pococke and Cape Brett is 11 miles wide. It extends south-west about 12 miles, and is studded with several islands, whence it has received its name. There is deep water close to the shore, and there are several good anchorages, even with northerly and north easterly winds, behind the rocky and elevated islands. It is one of the best harboura in New Zealand. Between the Bay of Islands and Hauraki Gulf, the shores of the sea are bounded by high precipitous cliffs, in which several small indentations occur ; but none of them will receive ships above the size of coasting-vessels, except Wangari Bay, which is formed by the mouth of the Wangari River. The harbour is about half a mile wide and 4 miles leua, and has good* anchorage in from 6 to 10 fathoms, and is completely sheltered from all winds. Hauraki Gulf, now called the Frith of the Thames, from its most northern point, Cape Rodney, to its most southern inlet, which termi nates at the mouth of the river Thames, is about 70 miles long. The entrance is•from the north, where it is 40 miles wide,' between Capo Rodney and Cape Colville. It preserves this width to half its extent, but farther south it grows rapidly narrower, and terminates with the restuariee of the Thames, or Waiho, and tho Piako, which empty themselves into it within a few miles of each other. Great Barrier Island, opposite Cape Colville, is nearly 80 miles in circumference, and has an excellent harbour, called Great Barrier Harbour, at its most north-western extremity. There are several islands in the wider portion of the gulf, of which those of Rangitoto and Waiheke require notice. Rangitoto ie a cone, rising gradually from the sea, and termi nating in three peaks, the middle one being the highest. This cone contains a very perfect crater, about 150 feet deep : the highest point of it rises 920 feet above the sea-leveL Between Rangitoto and tho mainland is the best channel into Waitemata Harbour, which leads to Auckland. Waiheke is about 30 miles in circumference, and has a harbour for small vessels, with anchorage for larger vessels in the channel which separates the island from tho mainland.
The peninsula which terminates with Capo Colville contains two harbours, called Coromandel or Waiho Harbour, and Mercury Bay and harbour. From Mercury Bay there is no good harbour till we reach that of Tauranga in the spacious Bay of Plenty. There is here a native village, whence a great number of pigs are exported; they are mostly brought from the valley of the river Waiho, to be shipped here. Between Tanranga and Katikati which lies about 20 miles north from it, the coast-line is formed by several large islands, which in structure and configuration exactly resemble the mainland, but are separated from it by narrow channels.
In the Bay of Plenty is the island of Tuhua, or Mayor's Island, which is of considerable extent, and consists of rugged basaltic rocks, with narrow but fertile valleys. The natives cultivate the land, and occasionally provide passing whalers with provisions. White Island, or Puhia-i-Wakari, is small and low ; it contains an active volcano, similar to Stromboli, and produces sulphur. Near Highland Bay, one of the indentations in the Bay of Plenty, is Mount Edgecombe, or Putawaki, which reaches a height of 10,000 feet. Other bays on this coast are Hicks Bay; Poverty Bay, where Captain Cook first landed in 1769; and Wairoa. Cape Kawakawa constitutes, with Cape Camp bell, the southern entrance of Cook Strait. West of tho cape is a wide bay, which on the west is sheltered by the high lauds terminating with Baring Head, or Cape Tourakira. It is open to all wiuds except
those from the north and east, and affords no safety nor good anchor age. It is appropriately called Uaeless Bay, also l'alliser Bay, and by the natives Wairapara. At the innermost recess of the bay is the mouth of a river, the Wairapara. West of this bay a headland projects into Cook Strait in a direction from south-west to north-east. It is traversed by two chains of mountains, which terminate at Baring Head and Cape Terawiti. Between these rocky capes Port Nicholson extends northward. It is surrounded by high and steep rocky hills, generally covered with wood, except opposite the entrance of the harbour, where a sandy beach occurs about 24 miles in length. This leads to the alluvial valley of the river Hutt, or Eritonga, which i9 surrounded by steep mountains, and extends 7 miles inland, where the hills approach each other and form the gorge of the river. This tract has great fertility. The bay extends about 8 miles, and that portion of it which is adjacent to the eastern hills is exposed to a !wary swell during southern winds. At its extremity Cape Terawiti bends eastward In the form of a hook, and thus it protects the western portiou of the bay against the swell and winds. Here is Lambton Harbour, on which the town of Wellington is built.
After rounding Cape Terawiti the coast turns nearly northward, and at the upper end of Cape Terawiti is the harbour of Porirua, not far from the head of the Hutt Valley. At Porirna is a barrack station. Pro ceeding north there are several harbours, formed by the mouths of the numerous short streams that descend from the western sides of tho neighbouring hills, and several settlements have been established on them. The most Important is Pctre, at the mouth of the Wanganui, which is also the most important river coming from the north, for a considerable distance. The coast then stretches away to the north west to Cape Egmont, near which is Mount Egmont or Taranaki, 8500 feet high. It then turns north-east, and about 30 miles from the cape is New Plymouth, at the mouth of the Hna. Part of the coast further north is cliffy, part has a low sandy beach, and part is lined by sand-hills, but on it are the following harboura—Mokau, near which coal is stated to have been found. Kawis, a large and safe harbour (near 38' S. lat.), one of the most important on the western coast of the island. It has a clear entrance about a mile and a quarter wide, with two fathoms at low water of spring-tides. The tide rises 12 feet. Aotia, a long and shallow restuary, with a bar at its mouth, admitting only vessels under 20 tons burden. Wangaroa, a long inlet, with a bar at the entrance, in which however there is a channel with 12 feet at low water. Smaller vessels find good anchorage and shelter in several coves on the north shore. From Wangaroa the coast trends to the north-west, and at a distance of about 20 miles is the harbour of Waikato, at the mouth of the river of the same name, the largest in the island, up which vessels of 30 tons burden can ascend for a distance of 100 miles in a south-easterly direction. The next harbour is that of Manukao, which forms part of the Auckland district, and its shores are colonised. It is, as already observed, separated from an inlet of Waitemata Harbour by a portage of less than and from that of Tamaki by another not exceeding a quarter of a mile. It is a fine basin, about 15 miles long, and 8 miles broad in the widest part. Several other harbours occur on the west coast. Some of them are commodious, but deficient in shelter.