- Brown accompanied me on my usual errand, to find, if possible, a
larger supply of water, on which we might fall back, if the creek did not
soon change its character. The scrub came close to the banks of the
creek, but was occasionally interrupted by basaltic ridges with open
forest, stretching to the westward. These ridges were on all sides
surrounded with scrub, which did not flourish where the basaltic
formation prevailed. Broad but shallow channels, deepening from time to
time into large water-holes, follow in a parallel direction the many
windings of the creek, with which they have occasionally a small
communication. They seem to be the receptacles of the water falling
within the scrub during the rainy season: their banks are sometimes very
high and broken, and the bed is of a stiff clay, like that of the scrub,
and is scattered over with pebbles of quartz and conglomerate. Whilst
these Melaleuca channels keep at a distance varying from one to three
miles from the creek, winding between the slight elevations of a
generally flat country - long shallow hollows and a series of lagoons
exist near the creek, from which they are separated by a berg, and are
bounded on the other side by a slight rise of the ground. The hollows are
generally without trees, but are covered with a stiff stargrass; and they
frequently spread out into melon flats, covered with true Box. It is
difficult to travel along the creek, especially with pack bullocks, as
the scrub frequently comes close up to its banks; but the hollows, during
the dry season, are like roads. In the channels within the scrub I found
a large supply of water, in holes surrounded by sedges and a broad-leaved
Polygonum, amongst which grew a species of Abutilon; the neighbouring dry
channel was one beautiful carpet of verdure. In the scrub I found a plant
belonging to the Amaryllideae (Calostemma luteum?) with a cluster of fine
yellow blossoms. Flights of ducks were on the water, and scores of little
birds were fluttering through the grasses and sedges, or hopping over the
moist mud in pursuit of worms and insects. The water-holes were about six
miles from our camp. I continued my ride about four miles farther along
the creek, where I found the scrub had retired, and was replaced by an
open silver-leaved Ironbark forest, in which the rich green feed relieved
our eyes from the monotonous grey of the scrub, and quickened the steps
of our horses. Here also basaltic ridges approached the creek, and even
entered into its bed; among them were several fine water-holes. In our
return to the camp we found abundance of water in the lagoons near the
river, corresponding to the water-holes within the scrub. This local
occurrence of water depends either upon thunder-storms favouring some
tracts more than others, or upon the country here being rather more
hilly, which allows the rainwater to collect in deep holes at the foot of
the slopes.
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