^f'*l Excursion to Marysville-. 161 



Sunday was spent quietly, most of the party attending the 

 morning service at the local church. In the afternoon some 

 went to " Michael Dene," a nice fern gully not far from the 

 township ; others renewed their acquaintance with the 

 Steavenson Falls. 



For Monday a visit to the Cumberland Falls, distant about 

 eleven miles along the Wood's Point road, was decided on. 

 Three of the party, considering the trip would tax their 

 walking powers too severely, arranged to join some visitors 

 at the hotel who were driving thither. The others, starting at 

 6 a.m., breakfasted at a spring on the road about five miles 

 out, and by noon had completed the first half of their journey. 

 The driving party arrived about one, and all had lunch together. 

 The road rises quickly after crossing the Steavenson River, 

 and traverses a part of Mount Grant known as Robley's Spur. 

 At first the densely-timbered valley of the Steavenson River 

 on the right is overlooked, with Mount Bismarck forming a 

 background to the picture. A little further on the road 

 crosses to the other side of the ridge, and the view is now down 

 the valley of the Taggerty, with Mount Margaret beyond. An 

 elevation of 3,000 feet or more is attained, and the road then 

 becomes comparatively level. The views from Nicholls's 

 Look-out and other spots were much admired. Shortly after 

 passing Tommy's Bend, a celebrated beauty spot in former 

 days, the road crosses the divide into the southern (Yarra) 

 watershed. About here some fine beeches were showing the 

 beautiful coppery tints of their young foliage. Halting at the 

 Bellell Creek, or O'Shannassy River, so that the travellers might 

 refresh themselves at the stream, some interesting insect larvae 

 were noticed in the water on the stones, probably the larvae 

 of one of the Ephemerids. The road, as it ascended the divide 

 near Mount Arnold, attained about 3,600 feet, and was 

 bordered with flowering shrubs, the white flowers of Olearia 

 {Aster) stellulata, var. lyrata, and 0. myrsinoides, and Cassinia 

 aculeata being prominent, with here and there a bush of Prostan- 

 thera mcllissifolia in full bloom, bearing delicate lavender flowers. 

 Several stems of Dianella tasmanica, with its beautiful blue 

 flowers, occurred here also. As we descended the slope towards 

 the Corra Linn and Cumberland Creeks many magnificent 

 specimens of the Mountain Ash Gum, Eucalyptus regnans, grew 

 alongside the road, and at a spot about half a mile from the 

 road, to which a track has been blazed, is the giant tree known as 

 " King Edward VII.," which has a girth of 8y feet. A photo- 

 graph of this huge trunk is one of the adornments of the hotel 

 vestibule. One of the features of the road was the fine growth 

 of Lomaria fluviatilis, which occurred everywhere on the 

 shady side, while L. lanceolata was absent. The only snake 

 of the outing was seen here, but escaped capture. After lunch 



