THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 29 



should be the outlet, but it is blocked by a great barrier of rocks, 

 of which we now had a good view, though the actual rocks are 

 concealed beneath an abundance of vegetation. At the other end 

 we could see the gully of a small creek (Nigothoruk) which enters 

 the lake, flowing down from the high plains above. Our photo- 

 graphers unpacked and secured the views, while Mr. Lucas made 

 his way round under the precipice. It was beautifully decorated 

 "with clumps of the blue Veronica per/oliata, while on the less steep 

 slopes below its white-flowered congener, V. derwentia, flourished 

 in company with Senecio laiotics. A number of small orchids, 

 •Caladenia carnea and Pterostylis curta, reminded us of the spring 

 we had had so much earlier near Melbourne. 



It looked an awkward job which lay before us, for we had to 

 take seven horses down to that lake, through rocks and scrub into 

 which even the wild cattle never venture. However, we 

 scrambled down somehow or other, leading the horses, and 

 making a track as best we could as we went along. A good bush 

 lire is wanted here to clear things up a little. Fortunately, we 

 reached the bottom without any serious mishap, though one of the 

 packers fell and rolled over a bit. On the way down, as he was 

 leading a horse with one hand, Dr. Dendy captured with the 

 other a lizard, rare in this colony {Amphiholurus angidifer). 

 Curiously enough, Dr. Dendy had obtained the same lizard 

 before at Walhalla. It is a pretty little creature, allied to the 

 Common Bloodsucker, of a general drab-brown colour, with a line 

 of bright brown diamond-shaped patches down the middle of the 

 back. 



Arrived at length at the bottom, we had next to push our way 

 through the scrub and boulders along the edge of the lake till we 

 •came to a patch of level ground where we could hobble the horses. 

 This patch, the delta of one branch of a now dry creek, was covered, 

 fortunately, with young and green wild raspberry shoots, which the 

 horses ate voraciously. Then we had a swim in the lake, and 

 found the water to be cold, clear, and deep. We pitched our 

 camp a little further on, close to the lake, below a great fallen log 

 in the other branch of the gully. Before this, however, Mr. 

 Howitt had to despatch a large Copperhead Snake which 

 occupied the ground we had set our minds on. The thick scrub 

 comes down on the mountain sides nearly to the water's edge, 

 leaving a narrow shelving, rocky beach, which is probably 

 covered with water when the snows on the mountain melt. 



The gully behind us was alive with birds, which we heard calling 

 in every direction. There were Bower Birds and Lyre Birds, Gang 

 Gang Cockatoos and Coachwhip Birds, and Pennant's Lorikeets, 

 and on the lake we saw several Divers. We had little time for 

 shooting, however, and the only victim was a Lorikeet, which we 

 never had time to skin. Along the shores of the lake, and in the 

 weeds at the edge were plenty of frogs (Hyla lesiceitriij, and 



