INTRODUCTION. 



I was particular'ly anxious to obtain, if possible, photographs of Mount ()l;;a 

 and Ayors Rock, whicli lia\o been regariled as two of the most striking natural 

 foaturcs in tlie central region. As thes<^ lie far out in the desert country to the 

 soutii of Lak(^ Ainad<'us, it was impossible for the whole Jiarty to \isit them ; bul 

 under the leadership of Mounted Trooper E. C. Cowle, to whom my thaid-ts are due 

 for the assistance; which he rendered to us, a small party was enabled to pay a 

 Hying visit to them, and rcjjroductious of photographs of these striking features, 

 taken by Piofessor Hpencer, appear in the Narrative. 



In the very centre of the C(jntinent, and within the limits of the lireujian 

 region, there exists an elevated tract of countiy, known as tiie McDonnell llanges. 

 Tliese mountains, Ijarren and rugged in the exti'cme, rise to an altitude of nearly 

 5,000 feet above sea-level, while the country surrounding them has an elevation of 

 aljout 2,000 feet abo\'e seadevel ; it slopes away on every side towards the coast, 

 distant 1,000 miles. The mountains are at the head of tlu! Uiver Finke, and for 

 this region, including the valley of the Finke, we have adopted the name of Lara- 

 )iintine, from the native name of the Fiid^e, "Larapinta," and it was over this area 

 that most of our explorations were conducted. The existence of these mountains 

 has to a great extent redeemed this portion of the continent from becoming an 

 alisolute desert, as the mountains attract the tropical clouds, and during the 

 occasional heavy downpours of rain a vast amount of storm water rushes down 

 tlieir ba-iren rcjcky sides into the channel of the Finke Uiver and its tributaries, 

 and overllowing the banks inundates a great deal of the surrounding country, 

 particulai'ly in the south. The consequence of such inundation is that over tiie 

 Hooded portion of the country, and also other lowlands on whicii tiie rain has 

 fallen, there is a lapid and luxuiiant growth of vegetation. The ground being 

 warm the rapidity of the vegetable growth is ahnost marvellous. 1 have .seen 

 portions of this Eremian region which have been reduced liy drought to the 

 condition of a moving mass of sand, and yet within a month of a heavy fall of 

 rain, the country was covered with a most luxurinnt vegetation and capable of 

 carrying an enoiinous amount of stock. These rapid changes have, howevei", led to 

 ruinous losses among the pastoralists, as people with a meagre knowledge of the 

 climate, and who have seen this country for the first time after one of those 

 tropical downpours, imagine it to be its normal condition, and are induced to send 

 out large numbers of stock to graze ; and when the inevitable drought occurs and 

 the country is again reduced to the desert condition, they lind their stock dying by 

 hundreds of thousands for want of water. 



The climate of the McDonnells in winter is simply perfect, with warm clear 

 days and bright cold nights. Day succeeds day witiiout a cloud. In the afternoon 



