The Floor Of The Valley Was Of
Basaltic Rock, And Its Steep Slopes Were Covered With Boulders Of The
Same Formation.
The water ran in two distinct beds through the fissures,
hollows, and caves of the rock.
As our horses could not travel over the
sharp edges of the rock without injuring their feet, we ascended the
table land, and rode to the northward about four miles, and then came on
plains, in which we distinguished a meandering band of green verdure,
which proved to be the same brook we had left, or one of its head waters.
We followed it through a series of plains, from one of which a blue
mountain was visible to the north-west. I called it "Mount Lang," after
Dr. Lang, the distinguished historiographer of New South Wales. Smoke was
seen to the westward. At the right side of the brook, a stream of lava
bounded the plains, and was, as usual, covered with dense scrub. Box,
with occasional patches of narrow-leaved tea trees, grew along the
plains. The forest was very open, and principally consisted of
narrow-leaved Ironbark; the grass in the forest and on the plains, was of
the best description. Finer stations for the squatter cannot exist.
May 6. - Following the brook about four miles farther, I came to its
source at a gentle slope of basalt. Plains stretched along both sides of
its course, and even beyond it. Luxuriant reeds, Plothos, and several
deep green trees, crowded round its head.
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