28 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



north-western part of the district, looking away over the valleys of 

 the Big River and the Brodribb, witli Mount Ellery in the centre, 

 and the coast range far away in the distance, with the high peaks 

 of Goon Murk to the east and Mount Bowen to the west. It is 

 perfectly clear, and the scene, with the deep gorge at our feet, 

 and the hills all shades of purple and blue, with the shadows of 

 the clouds passing slowly across them, is most beautiful. Mount 

 Ellery, especially, has such a lovely purple-blue tint that we 

 almost forgive it for the useless trouble it had given us yesterday. 

 The track, still skirting the ridge, turns slightly to the south and 

 begins to fall. In the scrub are great masses of the beautiful blue 

 berries of Dianella. After descending for two miles we cross the St. 

 Patrick River, and find the relics of an old camp on the east 

 bank, where is a small flat. Here we pitch the tents close by 

 the stream (13). We are in a baSin, surrounded by densely wooded 

 hills. The St. Patrick flows down from Mounts Tanglefoot and 

 Jack in a valley formed by two ranges of hills, which run roughly 

 parallel to one another, and then lead up to Tanglefoot. In the 

 valley, and close to our camp, the waratah flourishes. 



Thursday, lyxH January. — Early in the morning one of our 

 party, who has been much troubled with an injured hai\d, leaves, 

 taking one of our horses to travel on ahead to Orbost, and thence 

 as soon as possible to Sale. Crawford sets off to bring back the 

 stores which we had left in a tent where the mining track, by the 

 side of which we are camped, joins Bruce's. The rest of us make 

 ready for a day's search in the neighbourhood of the camp. As 

 we set out, however, the rain comes on in torrents, and as the 

 scrub is thick with swordgrass, climbing grass. Clematis, and 

 Smilax, we give up the attempt, and are forced to spend the day 

 in camp. Some distance up the river are falls, which are said by 

 the one party which has seen them to be very fine, but the sight 

 of these we must leave for another trip. There seem to be more 

 birds in the scrub around this part than elsewhere. Amongst 

 others are the king lory, the Gang Gang, the sulphur-crested, and 

 black cockatoos, and Pennant's parrakeet ; the orange-winged 

 sitella, the bell and coach-whip birds, the black-throated and New 

 Holland honey-eaters, the red-eyebrowed and fire-tailed finch, the 

 blue and long-tailed wrens, fantails, robins, and many others, and 

 at night the wonga pigeon is heard. 



Friday, i8th January. — We leave camp, cross the St. 

 Patrick, and go back along the mining track. Instead of turning 

 north on our old track towards Mt. Ellery, we continue eastwards, 

 passing along the ridge running from the M'CuUoch Range to the 

 Brodribb. The track leads at first along a hillside, on which the 

 vegetation is, perhaps, more tropical-like in its luxuriance than 

 anywhere else, and the scene is made still more beautiful by the 

 glimpses which we get of the blue peaks of the M'CuUoch hills. 



