i6o Barnard, In the Western Lake District. [^"^De^^'" 



but doubtless the porous soil absorbed the water in the hollows, 

 and so gave no trouble to the shire engineer. Some of the 

 finest country mansions in Victoria are just about here, and, 

 like nearly everyone else in the district, connected by telephone 

 with the town. At a turn in the road Lake Coragulac is passed ; 

 but, being probably an extinct crater, situated in a deep hollow, 

 the water is invisible from the road. A little farther on Alvie 

 Church comes in view, and the hill behind is that known as 

 the " Red Rock." As it was yet early, I decided to go on 

 another mile with my friend and climb the highest hill of the 

 Warrions and return to the Red Rock, and pick him up in the 

 afternoon for the return drive to Colac. The road turned due 

 north, and soon I seemed to be able to make a good approach 

 to Mount Warrion, indicated by a pole on the summit of the 

 ridge. I was approaching it from the western side, and by a 

 little dodging about from ridge to ridge reached the top with 

 very little exertion. Several basaltic outcrops were visited on the 

 way, but nothing of note seen. The Tree-Violet, Hymenanthera 

 Banksii, was common, but in a very stunted form, and literally 

 covered with lichens — in fact, I have never seen a place where 

 lichens are more numerous than on the stones of the Warrion 

 Hills. 



Reaching the top just at noon, I spent an hour admiring 

 perhaps the greatest extent of landscape I had ever seen. No 

 less than twenty-seven lakes were in view at one time, of 

 varying sizes and forms, from the huge Corangamite, covering 

 57,700 acres, or about go square miles, of which I could see 

 the whole extent, down to sheets of water only a few acres in 

 extent. Several townships, such as Colac, Warrion, Beeac, and 

 Ondit, lay at my feet, and, with almost the whole country in 

 a high state of cultivation, the scene was one to be remembered. 

 To the east my view extended to the You Yangs (55 miles), 

 round to Buninyong, the Ballarat plateau, and Mount Cole, 

 at Beaufort, on the north. Another volcanic peak stood up a 

 little to the right of Buninyong, which most people say is 

 Warrenheip ; but, according to the maps, this cannot be, for 

 Warrenheip should be in a direct line behind Buninyong from 

 the Warrions. I take the mount to be Mount Egerton, near 

 Ballan, or perhaps the Blue Mountain, near Trentham. Un- 

 fortunately, a rain squall was working up from the south-west, 

 so that L could only just make out Mount Leura at Camper- 

 down ; but, had that side of the panorama been as clear as the 

 eastern, I would doubtless have seen Mount Noorat, near 

 Terang. The south-eastern face of the range is rather steep, 

 but I managed to work down through the bracken to the lower 

 levels, and then made my way towards the Little Warrion, 



