them.  It was some time before we got rid of the main stream, and we then found ourselves on a narrow terrace of land which was bounded on the left by rocky cliffs, and on the right by a large tributary of the stream we had just crossed.  This tributary was not fordable here so we were compelled to travel up the terrace where our way was much impeded by the luxuriant vegetation and by fallen trees of great magnitude; indeed of a size which those alone who have traversed tropical virgin forests can conceive.

That we could not get off this terrace was the more provoking from seeing, immediately on the other side of the stream, one of those wide open basaltic valleys which I have so often mentioned.  We at length reached the point where the stream issued from the high land and, having here forded it, entered the large valley, but in its centre we found another impassable stream and, in order to turn this, were obliged to travel round the valley; but before we could gain the head of it we had to cross two streams which ran into it on the eastern side.  These however gave us but little trouble.

NATIVE HUT.

On the tongue of land between them we found a native hut which differed from any before seen, in having a sloping roof.  After passing this hut we began to wind up a rocky ascent, and just at sunset reached the watershed, which threw off streams to the north and south:  the valley which lay immediately to the south of us appearing as fertile as that which we had been travelling through for the whole day.

March 28.

The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream.  It was clothed with the richest grass, abounded in kangaroos, and was marked at its southern extremity by a very remarkable precipitous hill.  The heights to the westward were all composed of basalt, whilst those to the eastward were sandstone.  On passing the ridge of hills which bounded this valley to the south we entered on a sandstone district, although the hills to the westward were still basaltic.

NATURAL GRAPERY.  GRAPE-LIKE FRUIT.

I here halted the party for breakfast by the side of a stream and, on casting my eyes upwards, I found that I was in a sort of natural grapery, for the tree under which I lay was covered with a plant which bears a sort of grape and I believe is a species of cissus.

We met altogether with three varieties of this plant, all of which were creepers but differing from each other in their habits and in the size of their fruit.  Two of them generally ran along the ground or amongst low shrubs and the third climbed high trees; this latter kind bore the finest fruit, and it was a plant of this description which I today found.  Its fruit in size, appearance, and flavour resembled a small black grape, but the stones were different, being larger, and shaped like a coffee berry.  All three produced their fruit in bunches, like the vine, and, the day being very sultry, I do not know that we could have fallen upon anything more acceptable than this fruit was to us.