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Reflections: Sketches on the Wanganui River

Pipiriki

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Pipiriki

Mono-colour illustration of capital P (for Pipiriki) by Wilhelm Dittmer

At Pipiriki, the heart of Maoriland, the day's journey ends. As the steamer berths alongside the wharf she is greeted by a crowd of chattering Maoris, eagerly scanning the tourists with their cameras and colour cases, asking for news, and volunteering assistance. The accommodation house is situated on a commanding eminence, giving a view of the whole valley and the stream clear-winding through the matchless grandeur of the hills. The air is filled with the continuous rush of the rapids. On both sides of the river are scattered the whares and kaingas of the Maoris, who, crossing and re-crossing in their canoes, lend an added interest to the scene. Fires are lighted in the whares to cook the evening meal, while in front are merry groups of natives enjoying their pipes, their korero, and their news, their laughter ringing over the stream and reverberating among the everlasting hills while the sun goes down gilding the peaks and crags, and crowning them with haloes of golden light.

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