 Stocked with provisions that included two guns , 16 pounds ( 7 kg ) of tobacco , 112 pounds ( 51 kg ) of flour , salt and pepper , biscuits and tea , the party travelled by mules and canoe for the first two weeks until they reached Buller River . They then followed the path of the river down to the coast . The journey was difficult ; the party was constantly bothered by <unk> and rain and they had to ford the river several times . They settled into a routine of trekking for a week then camping for the same period to restock their provisions , living off freshwater fish and <unk> and fern @-@ tree roots . By May 1847 , they were at the final reaches of the Buller but food was becoming so scarce to find , they had to kill Brunner 's dog . He noted its flesh was " ... something between mutton and pork . It is too richly flavoured to eat by itself . " This incident led to him being nicknamed Kai Kuri ( dog eater ) . 
