Travels in New Zealand with contributions to the geography, geology, botany, and natural history of that country, Vol. I

Ernst Dieffenbach (1811 - 1855)

“Let the reader imagine a deep lake of a blue colour, surrounded by verdant hills; in the lake several islets, some showing the bare rock, others covered with shrubs, while on all of them steam issued from a hundred openings between the green foliage without impairing its freshness: on the opposite side a flight of broad steps of the colour of white marble with a rosy tint, and a cascade of boiling water falling over them into the lake!”

Such is Ernest Dieffenbach’s description of his first glance of the White Terraces in Lake Rotomahana, see cover image.

Johann Karl Ernst Dieffenbach (aka Ernest) traveled to New Zealand between 1839 and 1841 employed by the New Zealand Company as naturalist. He traveled in the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island and extensively throughout the North Island at an early time in European settlement. In Volume I of “Travels in New Zealand” he describes his travels, integrating his observations of the natural world with the progress of colonisation, and a humane account of the Māori people that he met and their culture, settlements and inter-tribal politics. He made an important contribution to the early knowledge of the New Zealand flora and fauna, with his collections eventually being lodged in the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Note: Māori words have been pronounced as spelled in the text, which is occasionally different to modern spelling and pronunciation.
(summary by Gail Timmerman-Vaughan)

Genre(s): Nature, Travel & Geography, Exploration

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 01 - Preface and CHAPTER I Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:31:54
Play 02 02 - CHAPTER II, Part 1 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:23:26
Play 03 03 - CHAPTER II, Part 2 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:21:29
Play 04 04 - CHAPTER II, Part 3 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:20:46
Play 05 05 - CHAPTER III, Part 1 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:20:51
Play 06 06 - CHAPTER III, Part 2 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:19:27
Play 07 07 - CHAPTER III, Part 3 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:17:04
Play 08 08 - CHAPTER IV Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:10:18
Play 09 09 - CHAPTER V Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:14:12
Play 10 10 - CHAPTER VI Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:10:01
Play 11 11 - CHAPTER VII, Part 1 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:14:13
Play 12 12 - CHAPTER VII, Part 2 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:16:32
Play 13 13 - CHAPTER VII, Part 3 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:20:28
Play 14 14 - CHAPTER VIII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:08:26
Play 15 15 - CHAPTER IX Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:26:28
Play 16 16 - CHAPTER X Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:07:55
Play 17 17 - CHAPTER XI Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:08:56
Play 18 18 - CHAPTER XII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:18:50
Play 19 19 - CHAPTER XIII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:16:46
Play 20 20 - CHAPTER XIV Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:17:52
Play 21 21 - CHAPTER XV Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:04:48
Play 22 22 - CHAPTER XVI Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:04:30
Play 23 23 - CHAPTER XVII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:17:41
Play 24 24 - CHAPTER XVIII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:04:24
Play 25 25 - CHAPTER XIX Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:16:00
Play 26 26 - CHAPTER XX, Part 1 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:13:10
Play 27 27 - CHAPTER XX, Part 2 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:17:28
Play 28 28 - CHAPTER XXI Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:14:45
Play 29 29 - CHAPTER XXII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:22:15
Play 30 30 - CHAPTER XXIII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:23:14
Play 31 31 - CHAPTER XXIV, Part 1 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:11:37
Play 32 32 - CHAPTER XXIV, Part 2 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:24:47
Play 33 33 - CHAPTER XXIV, Part 3 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:11:27
Play 34 34 - CHAPTER XXIV, Part 4 Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:13:47
Play 35 35 - CHAPTER XXV Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:16:35
Play 36 36 - CHAPTER XXVI Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:16:31
Play 37 37 - CHAPTER XXVII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:14:11
Play 38 38 - CHAPTER XXVIII Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:13:22
Play 39 39 - CHAPTER XXIX Gail Timmerman Vaughan
00:26:22