GIPPSLAND WILDS 45 



places are the haunts of wildfowl. Peaks on the 

 Promontory include Mount Latrobe (2,434 feet), 

 Mount Wilson (2,350 feet), Mount Vereker (2,092 

 feet), and Mount Oberon (1,965 feet). Masses of 

 granite, huge boulders sculptured curiously by wind 

 and rain and decked with lichens, are conspicuous. 

 There is much barren country. Also there are fern 

 gullies, areas of heathy and grass land, Banksia groves 

 and forests. One might wander over the Promontory 

 for months without exhausting its interest. 



In Corner Inlet there are extensive mud flats, and 

 at low tide it is difficult for a boat to reach the landing 

 place. Spurious Mangroves [Avicenaria officinalis] 

 grow freely in this desolate region. There are 

 thousands of dead and living plants, and the mud is 

 studded with pneumataphores. These "breathing" 

 organs convey oxygen to the roots in the mud. Vast 

 numbers of crabs [Helcecius cordiformis] live among 

 the Mangroves. When camped near the flats one 

 night, my rest was disturbed by a loud noise, as of 

 heavy rain drops striking leaves. But the sky was 

 clear. Going down to the beach 1 saw, in the moon- 

 light, millions of Mangrove crabs patrolling the mud 

 flats; their movements had caused the strange sounds 

 that put my dreams to flight. They are difficult to 

 capture, these crabs; a step on the mud sends them 

 scuttling to cover down their burrows. The mud flats 

 are treacherous, and it is foolish to venture beyond 

 the sandy beach without long pieces of flat board 

 affixed to one's boots. With these "mud shoes," pro- 

 gress over the flats is comparatively safe and easy; 

 lacking them, one is likely to sink deeply into the 

 mud. 



The Vereker Range was partly explored during 

 an Easter excursion. The weather was abominable, 

 heavy rain falling most of the time. Our horses, 

 used to rough country and wild gallops after cattle 

 among the hills, carried us bravely from the coast to 



