Our horses have recruited themselves exceedingly within the last ten days, and being lightly laden, I have great hopes of being enabled to reach Bathurst before our provisions are altogether expended; we have now left but four pounds and a half of flour, and the same quantity of pork per man; our chief dependence must be on the success of our dogs for any additional supplies, and in such a country as the present, we have no fear of being in want of food.

We had scarcely laden our horses and began to proceed up the river, when the rain recommenced, and continuing without intermission, obliged us to halt after we had gone about six miles; which we did upon a reach of the river, that for magnitude and extent equals if not surpasses any in the Hawkesbury, and exceeds that much admired one on the Nepean River, winding round Emu Plains.  The country on both sides was of the greatest possible fertility, and beautifully diversified by hills and open valleys.  Timber is good, and in two places where the hills on this side nearly closed on the river, immense quantities of fine limestone were again found, the rocks being entirely composed of it.  The rapids were few and unimportant, and occasioned as usual by the river dividing into two channels forming small islets.  They did not appear to me to impede in any manner the navigation of the river; the open reaches had apparently depth to float the largest vessels, and there was certainly breadth sufficient for that purpose.  Nothing in fact can be imagined grander or more beautiful than we have hitherto found the river, and that too so near Bathurst that no reasonable expectation could have been formed of finding it such as we did.  Many good specimens of agate forming on granite were found on the hills, chiefly where the limestone appeared in the largest and most continued stratum.  We indulged ourselves in the probable speculation, that where limestone was found in such abundance as in this country, quarries of marble would also be discovered not far beneath the surface, as is usual in other countries most abounding in this useful stone.  Fish and emus were procured in great quantities in the course of the afternoon.

August 23—­The last allowance of our provisions was now distributed, and at half past eight o’clock we proceeded up the river, which this day might be said to come through a mountainous country.  Rocky points of hills frequently terminated on the river and occasionally opened into fine valleys and flats:  in every valley a watercourse conveyed the waters from the back country to the river.  I think the north bank was most frequently the lower:  several small runs of water also fell in on that side.  The hills, uniformly stony and rocky as they were, were covered with good grass to their summits.  The scenery on the river was beautifully picturesque, and more magnificent reaches cannot be found in any river; these were interrupted in their uniform course by rapids, which having a much greater fall than any we had seen lower down, would materially impede the navigation of the river by boats farther than this station, up to which point I conceive it navigable.  No falls had yet been seen that boats could not easily pass over; but in seasons of greater drought than the present, some difficulty might be experienced.