We still had the main line of mountains on our right, or north of us:  and now, to the south, another line of low hills trended up towards them; and there is evidently a kind of gap between the two lines of ranges, about twenty-five miles off.  The country along the banks of Carmichael’s Creek was open and sandy, with plenty of old dry grass, and not much triodia; but to the south, the latter and mallee scrub approached somewhat near.  We saw several small ponds of water as we passed along, but none of any size.  In seven or eight miles it split into several channels, and eventually exhausted itself upon an open grassy swamp or plain.  The little plain looked bright and green.  I found some rain water, in clay pans, upon it.  A clay pan is a small area of ground, whose top soil has been washed or blown away, leaving the hard clay exposed; and upon this surface, one, two, three, or (scarcely) more inches of rain water may remain for some days after rain:  the longer it remains the thicker it gets, until at last it dries in cakes which shine like tiles; these at length crumble away, and the clay pan is swept by winds clean and ready for the next shower.  In the course of time it becomes enlarged and deepened.  They are very seldom deep enough for ducks.

The grass and herbage here were excellent.  There were numerous kangaroos and emus on the plain, but they preferred to leave us in undisturbed possession of it.  There were many evidences of native camping places about here; and no doubt the natives look upon this little circle as one of their happy hunting grounds.  To-day I noticed a tree in the mallee very like a Currajong tree.  This being the most agreeable and fertile little spot I had seen, we did not shift the camp, as the horses were in clover.  Our little plain is bounded on the north by peculiar mountains; it is also fringed with scrub nearly all round.  The appearance of the northern mountains is singular, grotesque, and very difficult to describe.  There appear to be still three distinct lines.  One ends in a bluff, to the east-north-east of the camp; another line ends in a bluff to the north-north-east; while the third continues along the northern horizon.  One point, higher than the rest in that line, bears north 26 degrees west from camp.  The middle tier of hills is the most strange-looking; it recedes in the distance eastwards, in almost regular steps or notches, each of them being itself a bluff, and all overlooking a valley.  The bluffs have a circular curve, are of a red colour, and in perspective appear like a gigantic flat stairway, only that they have an oblique tendency to the southward, caused, I presume, by the wash of ocean currents that, at perhaps no greatly distant geological period, must have swept over them from the north.  My eyes, however, were mostly bent upon the high peak in the northern line; and Mr. Carmichael and I decided to walk over to, and ascend it.  It was apparently no more than seven or eight miles away.