420 NEW SOUTH WALES. [CHAP. xix. 



above the sea. About a mile and a half from this place there is a 

 view exceedingly well worth visiting. Following down a little 

 valley and its tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly 

 opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of 

 pephaps 1500 feet. Walking on a few yards, one stands on the 

 brink of a vast precipice, and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for 

 I know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest. 

 The point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff 

 diverging on each side, and showing headland behind headland, as 

 on a bold sea-coast. These cliffs are composed of horizontal strata 

 of whitish sandstone ; and are so absolutely vertical, that in many 

 places a person standing on the edge and throwing down a stone, 

 can see it strike the trees in the abyss below. So unbroken is the line 

 of cliff, that in order to reach the foot of the waterfall, formed by 

 this little stream, it is said to be necessary to go sixteen miles 

 round. About five miles distant in front, another line of cliff ex- 

 tends, which thus appears completely to encircle the valley; and 

 hence the name of bay is justified, as applied to this grand amphi- 

 theatrical depression. If we imagine a winding harbour, with its 

 deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like shores, to be laid dry, and 

 a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom, we should then have the 

 appearance and structure here exhibited. This kind of view was 

 to me quite novel, and extremely magnificent. 



In the evening we reached the Blackheath. The sandstone 

 plateau has here attained the height of 3400 feet ; and is covered, 

 as before, with the same scrubby woods. From the road, there 

 were occasional glimpses into a profound valley, of the same 

 character as the one described ; but from the steepness and depth 

 of its sides, the bottom was scarcely ever to be seen. The Black- 

 heath is a very comfortable inn, kept by an old soldier; and it 

 reminded me of the small inns in North Wales. 



18th. Very early in the morning, I walked about three miles to 

 see Govett's Leap : a view of a similar character with that near the 

 Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in 

 the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although 

 destroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent 

 depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. 

 These valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to 

 the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the 

 interior, are most remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at 



