April 28.—­After travelling along the beach for two miles we ascended behind the cliffs, which now came in bluff to the sea, and then keeping along their summits, nearly parallel with the coast, and passing through much scrub, low brushwood, and dwarf tea-tree growing upon the rocky surface, we made a stage of twenty miles; both ourselves and the horses greatly tired with walking through the matted scrub of tea-tree every where covering the ground.  The cliffs did not appear so high as those we had formerly passed along, and probably did not exceed from two to three hundred feet in elevation.  They appeared to be of the same geological formation; the upper crust an oolitic limestone, with many shells embedded, below that a coarse, hard, grey limestone, and then alternate streaks of white and yellow in horizontal strata, but which the steepness of the cliffs prevented my going down to examine.

Back from the sea, the country was rugged and stony, and every where covered with scrub or dwarf tea-tree.  There was very little grass for the horses, and that old and withered.  In the morning one of the natives shot a large wallabie, and this evening the three had it amongst them for supper; after which they took charge of the horses for the night, this being the first time they had ever watched them on the journey, myself and the overseer having exclusively performed this duty heretofore; but, as I was now expecting a longer and almost more arduous push than any we had yet made, and in order that we might be able to discharge efficiently the duties devolving upon us, and make those exertions which our exigences might require, I deemed it only right that we should sometimes be assisted by the two elder boys, in a task which we had before always found to be the most disagreeable and fagging of any, that of watching the horses at night, after a long and tiring day’s journey.

On the morning of the 29th we moved away very early, passing over a rocky level country, covered with low brush, and very fatiguing to both ourselves and our horses.  The morning was gloomy and close, and the day turned out intensely hot.  After travelling only fifteen miles we were compelled to halt until the greatest heat was passed.  Our stock of water and provisions only admitted of our making two meals in the day, breakfast and supper; but as I intended this evening to travel great part of the night, we each made our meal now instead of later in the day, that we might not be delayed when the cool of the evening set in.  We had been travelling along the summit of the cliffs parallel with the coast line, and had found the country level and uniform in its character; the cliffs still being from two to three hundred feet in elevation, and of the same formation as I noticed before.  There were patches of grass scattered among the scrub at intervals, but all were old and withered.