fpjjjj GrrHNS, Victorias Cnlhc'ine Riter 



.VIosc of the ridges in rh-e area are extremely dry and rocky, the 

 dry condition being probably due to the f*ct thai "most of the rain 

 falls on the somrhftm slopes of the Great Divide and comparatively 

 luile readies this region. An interesting fcatute. on the ridges was 

 ihat v,-]ld bovvers .such as Parrot-Pea (Di/kcyma (jlaberrinw ) tyh\ 

 Piitk-Ji\e. (Tctrothfca pllo-so) \vore in bloom whereas in other 

 districts such a.s Creswiek, they arc amount the curliest to flower 

 in spring,. Another point worthy of note was the presence 01 die 

 dancing mounds of lyrebirds on top of llie ridges. These mounds, 

 which were fairly exposed and filled with stones, were very ditferetu 

 from those often found in other districts where they are. usually 

 sheltered under tree ferns and ntade up of moist earth mixed uiih 

 rolling leaves and slicks. 



The ndges were covered mainly with very stunted and poorly- 

 formovi peppermints {■$£• dhvs) which were riddled almost rhrongh- 

 but hy termites. The owner of Catherine Station told u-» thai hi: 

 lias *>rcat difficulty m obtaining timber even for fence post:- iJefcauSC 

 of the cxU'iil of the damage done hy lhe.se pests. The .stiles of some 

 of the: ridges with southerly or easterly aspects, whii h die sun 

 reaches only between 1 1 o'clock u*\ the morning and 3 o'clock m the 

 afternoon, were almost completely covered with Common Maiden- 

 hair (.jfiitmtltiity; neflnopicit/ii). This is a most beautiful fHgflj, 

 especially when ihe first rays of sunlight make the dew drops 

 glisien on their fronds. 



The bird life around the camp was dominated hy (he presence of 

 a .small colony of what we thought at the time to he Helmet cd 

 Honeyeater.s. Since then, however, we have consulted Mr. J\~. A 

 Wakefield on the subject, and it was decided that, in view of the 

 locality, the birds were most likely Yellow-tufted Honcyeaicrs. 

 Another bird which we also observed for the firfct time was the 

 Yellow -ended Black Cockatoo, d pair of which visited our camp 

 for a shon period one morning. 



On The last day of camp a ctcitefl foy blanketed the valley giving 

 promise- 01 another glorious day. One of our )ast clo.-se-up views of 

 the mountains was a very beautiful one, of Mount Buffalo from 

 Dandongada-c. The splendour of this sight was heightened by a 

 pair of Wedgetailed lilies circling over the mount. How w# 

 envied them their freedom and wished that \vi?, loo, could have 

 shared their glorious view of that formidable range, the Barry 

 Mountains, 



BIRTH OF A LIZARD 



About Ch'c&Uritf WH a frigid w«s fls|tu*8 at Colmua and picked u\> a 

 Hoard's <?gg on the b;mU of the cr^efc. H* |>ut it ifl 3. match box which, when 

 lie returned home on January 6, 1951, he put on a shelf in his garage This 

 he forgot until M*y 22, when he ODCtJed it to fiixi a lizard about 1$ italic 

 long, alive unci quite active. 



— A. Latham 



