 Brunner was keen for further exploration and Fox persuaded him to scout along the West Coast to the mouth of the Buller River in the hope of finding suitable land for farming . Brunner , Kehu and Heaphy left Nelson on 17 March on what became a five @-@ month expedition tracing the western coast of South Island as far south as what is now known as Hokitika . Their journey began from Golden Bay , and they made their way to West Wanganui where Brunner hired a local Māori , Etau , as a porter for the party . The expedition hit a snag when the local chief barred their journey south but Brunner and Heaphy mollified him with some tobacco . They continued along the coast , climbing sometimes steep cliffs and fording rivers as they went . Their movements would be held up at times due to rain and high tides . At night , they would shelter in small caves augmented with a screen of Nikau palm leaves . They crossed the Karamea River on 20 April and reached the Buller River ten days later . This had to be crossed using an old canoe that was repaired by Kehu and Etau . After safely getting across , they stayed at the local pā ( village ) . In early May , they sighted the Southern Alps . At the Arahura River ( a tributary of the Grey River ) , the southernmost point of the expedition , they were hosted by the local Ngāi Tahu tribe at Taramakau Pā . Poor weather plagued their return trip back along the coast but they reached Nelson on 18 August . 
