496 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



evident from the soil that granite begins to replace the " sandstone- 

 cement." 



In 2 miles, after crossing a large open plain (with a bush fire 

 raging on our right) we entered a belt of ENORMOUSLY TALL and close 

 STRINGYBARK AND BLOODWOOD FOREST. The white ants had 

 crusted more than half the trees, up to 20 or 30 feet from the 

 ground, with a red mortar. This and the subdued light which 

 penetrated the dense and lofty foliage gave a strange sort of sunset 

 effect even at midday. The trees are so closely grown together 

 that it must be very difficult to manoeuvre a dray among them. 

 The forest occupies the crown of a very gentle rise. The soil is 

 reddish, and apparently derived from the decomposition of a 

 ferruginous schist. The forest was 2 miles across. 



Another gentle rise, a mile across, is covered with open forest 

 of bloodwood and stringybark. At its north-west side we crossed 

 from the right to the left bank of a large third-magnitude creek with 

 a deep sandy bed (granitic sand). 



A quarter of a mile further on we came to a large second-magni- 

 tude creek. It had a broad sandy bed, partly choked up with tea- 

 trees. We ran the creek up for about half a mile (west) and crossed 

 to the left bank. 



After a mile and a half on a course of W. 26 N. (true) through 

 poor country (teatree and quinine tree bush), we caught sight of 

 some mountains the first we had seen for some days. They 

 subtended an angle of 72 degrees (from W. 36 S. to W. 36 N., 

 true). A mile and a half over gently undulating poor land timbered 

 with bloodwood and stringybark took us to a chain of water-holes, 

 on whose right bank we camped. (CAMP 34 : gum marked J. 6/9/79.) 

 [HANN crossed this, the ANNIE RIVER, in 1872, between his 35th and 

 36th camps. R. L. J.] 



A pheasant, bandicoot and iguana made up to-day's game list. 



This seems to have been a favourite camping-place. We 

 found trees marked "July 10, 1878"; " R.S., 1878"; and 

 " July 21, 1878, G.H. " Latitude 14 23' 21" S. 



September 7. On leaving Camp 34 we followed the track, 

 which bore away W. 36 N. (true) for one mile and W. 28$ N. (true) 

 for 2 miles, through open bloodwood and stringybark forest, when 

 we crossed in 2 miles a fourth-magnitude creek flowing freely 

 (over bars of recent gritty " cement "), with remains of old camps. 

 [Tributaries of BALCLUTHA CREEK. R. L. J.] Mountains were 

 now visible to the south. 



In i mile more, on the same course, a gentle ascent began, and 

 the " bedrock " became visible for the first time since we left the 

 sandstone ranges east of the Normanby a very peculiar reddish 

 granite, with tin-white mica and very little felspar. A change 

 in the timber commenced with the change in the soil, small iron- 

 barks being mixed with the usual stringybark and bloodwood trees. 



