During the morning we had passed along an extensive dried-up salt swamp behind the coast ridge, which was soft for the horses in some places, but free from that high brush which fatigued them so much, and which now appeared to come close in to the sea, forming upon the high sandy ridges a dense scrub.  The level bank of the higher ground, or continuation of the cliffs of the Bight, which had heretofore been distinctly visible at a distance of ten or twelve miles inland, could no longer be seen:  it had either merged in the scrubby and sandy elevations around us, or was hid by them from our view.

March 27.—­During the night we travelled slowly over densely scrubby and sandy ridges, occasionally crossing large sheets of oolitic limestone, in which were deep holes that would most likely retain water after rains, but which were now quite dry.  As the daylight dawned the dreadful nature of the scrub drove us to the sea beach; fortunately it was low water, and we obtained a firm hard sand to travel over, though occasionally obstructed by enormous masses of sea-weed, thrown into heaps of very many feet in thickness and several hundreds of yards in length, looking exactly like hay cut and pressed ready for packing.

To-day we overtook the natives, whose tracks we had seen so frequently on our route.  There was a large party of them, all busily engaged in eating the red berries which grew behind the coast ridge in such vast quantities; they did not appear so much afraid of us as of our horses, at which they were dreadfully alarmed, so that all our efforts to communicate with them were fruitless; they would not come near us, nor would they give us the opportunity of getting near them, but ran away whenever I advanced towards them, though alone and unarmed.  During the route I frequently ascended high scrubby ridges to reconnoitre the country inland, but never could obtain a view of any extent, the whole region around appeared one mass of dense impenetrable scrub running down to the very borders of the ocean.

After travelling twenty miles I found that our horses needed rest, and halted for an hour or two during the heat of the day, though without grass, save the coarse wiry vegetation that binds the loose sands together, and without even bushes to afford them shade from the heat, for had we gone into the scrub for shelter we should have lost even the wretched kind of grass we had.

At half past two we again moved onwards, keeping along the beach, but frequently forced by the masses of sea-weed to travel above high water mark in the heavy loose sand.  After advancing ten miles the tide became too high for us to continue on the shore, and the scrub prevented our travelling to the back, we were compelled therefore to halt for the night with hardly a blade of grass for our horses.  I considered we were now one hundred and two miles from the last water, and expected we had about fifty more to go to the next; the poor animals were almost exhausted, but as the dew was heavy they were disposed to eat had there been grass of any kind for them.  The overseer and I as usual watched them alternately, each taking the duty for four hours and sleeping the other four; to me this was the first sleep I had had for the last three nights.