Lake Ada.

We are not in a hypercritical mood, but we certainly do not like the appearance of the boat; however, the Seven of us manage to squeeze into her. The sandiflies are a caution—worse than we have yet known them, and that is saying a good deal. Mr B. takes the oars Ross acts as pilot, and I undertake the task of baling. Until we get well into the lake, the unfortunate rower has a lively time of it, for he cannot use his hand to wresk [unclear: ve igeanoe] on the sandflies; but someone undertakes the task of waving a small branch before his face, and we make fair progress, considering the dangerous navigation. The lake is full of submerged snags, many of them only covered with a few inches of water, and Ross has his work cut out in giving directions for avoiding these dangerous obstructions. The explanation Ross gives of the snags being there in such numbers is that the lake is really the site of so old beech fniest. In days long gone a huge landship slip must have occurred, blocking the river at a point where the lower end of the lake is now situated. The [unclear: wa'er] thus dammed back covered a large extent of the surrounding land, and in course of time killed the beech forest, the trees snapping off during times of storm and flood, and leaving their rooted stumps to be a constant menace and danger to the traveller of a future day. Beech is noted for its lasting properties while submerged, and all these stumps are likely to remain a source of anxiety and danger for many years unless the Government give instructions for the removal of those which occupy the most dangerous positions. We get down the lake all right, however, although I have been compelled to bale steadily from start to finish Landing at the lower end of the lake, we have a walk of about two miles and a half over a pleasant little track through the bush, in the course of which we come across a dead kakapo, which probably some dog has killed We have neither seen nor heard the kakapo, and learn that they never are seen unless a dog happens to bring one out of the bush. We have passed a valley on the western side of the river up which Ross tells us the