Jan., 1 



I<J20 J 



Nktiiercott: , GirJs' Cai)//-' (it Nn/inudl Pay!:. • 129 



t 



seen Lilly-pillies, Eugenia Siuithii, growing so freely l)efore. 

 The fallen trer-(runks, dso the stems of the tre.e-fcrns, were 

 festooned with eUnibing ferns, prinei[>ally Polypodinin pttstn- 

 laliiin, syn. P. scaiuiots. Mere also Blackwoods, Acacia mclan- 

 oxylon, Sassafras, AtJicrospcrma moschata, Hazel, Poniadarris 

 apetaJa, and Blanket-trees, Bcdfordia {Scnccio) Bcdfordi, 

 abounded. Rejoinmg the main traek, we continued on, crossing 

 the Tidal I^iver, with Bishop Rock on our left — an unusual 

 formation, the rocks appearing to have water running over 

 them— and formed our camp on the Titania Creek, at the foot 

 of the Telegraph saddle, amid fern-trees and other luxuriant 

 vegetation. 



The next day Sealers' Cove, seven miles distant, was visited. 

 Ascending the Telegraph saddle, a cleared track runs east along 

 the side of the range. Several rocks, forming an arch, were 

 early passed under. At one point a fine view, with portions of 

 the east and west coasts of the Promontory in sight at the 

 same time, was obtained. The track ran above and through 

 fine fern gullies — the principal tree-fern being the graceful 

 Cyathea Cunninghami, with its thin, black stems, sometimes 

 40 or 50 feet in height — finally picking up an old sawmill tram- 

 line, and crossing Sealers' Creek amid a wealth of Lilly-pillies 

 and other trees, ends at the beach, where some of the old saw- 

 mill jetty still remains. Shells were picked up on the beach, 

 among them a Paper Nautilus. Pockets were filled with tiny 

 pointed shells, which later, round the camp-fire, were threaded 

 in strings as mementoes. One of our party, Mrs. Hamilton, 

 had some twenty years before been on board a steamer bound 

 for Sydney which had been compelled by stress of weather 

 to take refuge in Sealers' Cove, and great was her delight at 

 revisiting the spot under much pleasanter circumstances. 



A tired but satisfied party reached Titania Creek camp that 

 evening, and turned in early. Next morning found us early 

 astir. The rolling of bedding and tents ready for the horse was 

 quickly accomplished, and soon we turned our backs on Titania 

 Creek and its fern glades for the last time. It was interesting 

 to note that many of the ferns here possessed tufted fronds. 

 The main object of the day was to reach the west coast and 

 follow it as far as possible in a northerly direction, then to pick 

 up the Darby track and so regain our original camp. Leaving 

 the track, we pushed through the tea-tree scrub, and, passing 

 Mount Oberon, reached the shore of Oberon Bay, with its north 

 and south headlands of solid granite. Winding over the 

 northern headland, a steep track lead's to Norman Bay, with 

 its fine, wide, sandy beach, at the northern end of which the 

 Tidal River enters the ocean. The sand here' was heavily 

 marked with tracks of emus, kangaroos, and wallabies, A 



