I had intended to make a short stage to-day to a spring, situated in the midst of a swamp, in latitude 33 degrees 46 minutes 35 seconds S., but having kept rather too far away from the coast, I missed it, and had to push on for twenty-three miles to a rich and very pretty valley, under a grassy range, lightly wooded with casuarinae.  The soil was somewhat sandy, but clothed with vegetation; in holes in the rocks we procured abundance of water from a little valley near our camp, and in a swamp about a mile and a half north-east was a spring.  Our stage was a long one, and the day being excessively hot, our horses, sheep, and dogs were nearly all knocked up.  Of the latter two were unfortunately missing when we arrived at our halting ground; one came up afterwards, but the other could nowhere be found, though both had been seen not two miles away.  The missing dog [Note 16 at end of para.], was the best of the two which I had purchased of Mr. White, and I felt sorry for a loss which it would be impossible for me to replace.  Many native fires were seen to-day, and especially in the direction of a high bare-looking detached range to the north-east, named by me from its shape, Mount Wedge; none of these people were, however, seen, but a fire still burning was found where we encamped for the night.

[Note 16:  Upon returning to Adelaide in 1841, I learnt that the dog had gone back all the way to Mr. White’s station, and as Mr. White wished to keep the animal, he returned the money he had received at his sale.]

On the 30th we remained stationary to rest the horses, and to try and recover the lost dog, but after a long and fruitless search, we were obliged to give up the attempt.

On the 31st, after crossing a ridge under which we were encamped, we passed through a very pretty grassy and park-like country, and what was very unusual, not stony on the surface.  There were in places a great many wombat holes, but these were now all occupied by their tenants, and the whole aspect of the country was more encouraging and cheerful; the extent of good country was, however, very limited.  Towards the coast was a low scrubby-looking region with salt lakes, and to the east it was bounded by a dense brush, beyond which were extensive plains of a barren and scrubby appearance.  In the midst of these plains were large fields of a coarse wiry-kind of grass, growing in enormous tufts, five or six feet high, and indicating the places where swamps exist in wet seasons; these were now quite dry, but we had always found the same coarse-tufted grass growing around the margins of the salt lakes, and in those places also where we had found water.  This description of country seemed to extend to the base of Wedge Hill, which I intended to have ascended, but the weather was too cloudy to obtain a view from it.  The character of the country to the north and north-east was equally low and unpromising, with the exception of two peaks seen at considerable distances apart.