Nov.,! Daley, Alpine Gippsland. lOi 



I do not think the kangaroos can do much harm. I passed one 

 lot of seven browsing in a valley below the track. A pretty 

 mountain stream is the Castleburn, which, skirting the ranges, 

 flows into the Mitchell. There are several farms on the flats 

 through which it flows. Pardalotes were in great numbers 

 along this creek. 



Approaching Waterford, past rocky hills, one sees the 

 Mitchell River for the first time, wattles and willows along its 

 stony course. On the flat, amid the scrub of thistle, bracken, 

 and blackberry, were hundreds of rabbits of all colours and 

 shades, in greater numbers than I have ever seen them. They, 

 and not the native fauna, are the farmer's worst enemy. A 

 fine bridge crosses the Mitchell at Waterford. From the river 

 there is a gradual rise up the track until one comes to The Gap, 

 then a long, winding course into Dargo Flat, evidences of old 

 mining operations being seen along the road. 



Dargo is a picturesque town surrounded on every side by 

 mountains, its elevation being only 400 feet above sea-level. 

 Here, again, granite and Ordovician are in contact, the former 

 outcropping here and there. The Dargo is a clear mountain 

 stream, with wattle and willow along its banks, fields of maize, 

 potatoes, millet, &c., along the river flats. Staying at the Dargo 

 Hotel, I got every attention and comfort. During the day 

 spent there I made a short excursion along the road to Omeo 

 in one direction, and to the granite hills in another. 



Next morning, with promise of a beautiful day, the wunder- 

 lust again seized me ; and, leaving pleasant, peaceful Dargo, 

 I shouldered my pack and set out for Grant, in the mountains, 

 16 miles distant. Following the river for some distance, I found 

 the track soon rose rapidly and circuitously with the winding 

 of the Dargo River, on which I saw the Water Lizard, 

 Physignathtts howittii, a frequent denizen of the water-courses. 

 It has the appearance of the Lace Lizard, but always keeps 

 near or in the water. The view from the ascending track was 

 a splendid one, especially up the Dargo River, with its fern 

 gullies and heavily-timbered adjacent slopes. This track, 

 fifty years ago, was very busy with prospectors, but now is 

 seldom used. His Majesty's mail, in the person of two horse- 

 men, overtook me ; one was going to the Crooked River, and 

 the other to the Dargo High Plains. They kept me company 

 for a little while, then passed on, kindly carrying my pack 

 with them to Grant. I found the ascent difficult, as in the 

 sixteen miles there is a rise of 3,600 feet. Woollybutt and 

 Snow Gums were the chief eucalypts, the contrast between these 

 trees being very pleasant as the sun shone through the close 

 verdure on the greens and greys. 



Passing the Dargo High Plains ro^d on the right, I reached 



