In the Aorangi Region.

The Provincial Geologist's next scene of exploration was the head-waters of the Waitaki and the glaciated Tasman country. In this duty, which occupied four months in 1862, the late Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson (then a youthful cadet surveyor) was Haast's assistant in the topographical work. It was the first exploration and mapping of a country that is now a famous pleasure-ground for tourists, “the very centre of the Southern Alps, which,” Haast wrote, “in grandeur and beauty are worthy rivals of their European namesakes.” The excellent descriptions in the geologist's report are the first ever written of the Aorangi region. Haast named the chief peaks and glaciers and rivers of the region, and measured the terminals of the Great Tasman and other iceflows, and with his assistant set down a vast amount of data about this glorious centre of Alpland. He examined the lakes, traced the courses of the rivers, noted the vast eroding powers of the glaciers; pioneered the way for the surveyors and route-makers and squatter-station owners of far-out.