^l^l^'.'l Excursion to National Park. 167 



and partly submerged flat islands and mud-banks, lay before 

 us. backed by the Hoddlc Range and other hills behind Foster, 

 Toora, &c., on the mainland. On the east, and still from the 

 same point, the view extends over the extensive area of flat — 

 and in jilaces marshy — country to Mounts Roundback, Hunter, 

 and Singajwre and the ocean beyond, on the extreme north- 

 east point of the Park, with the low-lying Snake Island 

 api)earing as a faint line between Singapore and Port Welshpool. 



Reaching the site of our camp, where our dining tent had 

 already been erected, we were soon actively engaged with the 

 erection of the other tents and preparing for our comfort 

 during our stay, while the pack-horses returned for another 

 load. Unfortunately, in our anxiety to get our camping 

 material along by the first load no thought was given for our 

 next meal, and our provisions were, of course, left behind. 

 The long climb up the range with heavy loads did not encourage 

 the horses to hurry on their next trip, consequently what 

 should have formed our mid-day lunch arrived in time for 

 afternoon tea. The delay, however, only rendered our 

 appetites keener, and we had amjile time to afterwards exjilore 

 our more immediate surroundings. 



A little i^eyond and above our camp an enormous mass of 

 granite boulders forms the highest jwint of the range (1.O54 feet). 

 On both the eastern and western sloi)es great weathered masses 

 of rock are exposed, while isolated boulders, long since 

 detached from their beds, lie scattered along the base. Con- 

 tinuing along the well-worn timber track, we were soon among 

 the big timber. The range here is nearly cut through by two 

 densely overgrown, deep fern gullies, one draining into the 

 Hats on the western side, the other only separated by a com- 

 paratively narrow, low saddle, winding about through a 

 tangled mass of vegetation and huge boulders, and ultimately 

 finding its way to Barry's Creek, on the eastern side. In this 

 sheltered i)ortion of the range the excellent examples of the 

 White Mountain Ash, Encalypkis regnans, and Yellow Stringy- 

 bark, /:. Mucllcriana. were admired. It was here the heavy, 

 straight-grained posts used for the main fence were obtained. 



The gullies remind one of those in many parts of Gippsland. 

 Large tree-ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Ahophila anstyalis, 

 line the bottom of the gully, while a dense mass of tall brackiMi, 

 wire-grass, blanket-tree, &c., covering the fallen logs and 

 branches, makes it difficult to })enetrate into them. On the 

 sheltered slojies is a dense forest of tall saplings of hazel, musk, 

 blanket-tree, &c., beneath which are damp, decaying logs and 

 tree-fern butts clothed with masses of small seedling ferns — 

 Polypodium, Hymenophyllum, &c. 



