The rocks are of sandstone, in nearly horizontal strata, coated with a crust of crystallized quartz and coloured by a ferruginous oxide.

On their return to the tent they made preparations to pass the night; and as it was prudent, if possible, to keep the boat afloat, one of the men was stationed in her for that purpose; but, overpowered by fatigue, he fell asleep and the boat in a short time was left dry upon the mud; the party on shore were continually disturbed during the night by what was thought to be the rushing of alligators into the water beneath them, but the noise was probably occasioned by stones and lumps of mud falling into it as the tide ebbed; a splash, however, that they heard on the opposite side was very likely an alligator, for they had seen one swimming as they pulled up the river.  On hearing this Mr. Roe became very much alarmed on account of the boat-keeper, but no pains to apprize him of his danger had any effect:  the only reply that could be got from him was, “Damn the alligators,” and the next moment he was asleep again; fortunately for him no alligator came near enough to make him repent his foolhardy insensibility.

The width of the stream at low water, which was quite salt, was not more than twenty-five feet.  When the flood commenced it came in so rapidly that the water rose five feet in ten minutes:  altogether it rose twenty-four feet; but driftwood and dead branches of trees were noticed among the rocks at least fourteen feet above the ordinary high-water mark, indicating, at other seasons, the frequency of strong freshes or floods.  One of the pieces of driftwood had been cut by a sharp instrument.

Mr. Roe further says, “From the appearance of the country and the steep hills, generally about three hundred feet high, among which this river winds, there can be little doubt of its being, during the rainy season, a considerable fresh-water stream; and as I consider the length of its various windings to be twenty-six or twenty-seven miles, there is every prospect of its being navigable for our boat for at least half that distance farther.  Fish were plentiful, but principally of that sort which the sailors call cat fish; of these several were caught.  Small birds were numerous, together with white cockatoos, cuckoos, some birds with very hoarse discordant notes, and one whose note resembled the beating of a blacksmith’s hammer upon an anvil.  At daybreak they all exerted themselves in full chorus, and I should then have proceeded farther, but the tide was half out, and a soft mud-bank forty feet broad fronting the shore cut off our communication with the boat.”

As soon as the ebb-tide began to make Mr. Roe embarked on his return; and during his passage down saw as many as twelve alligators.  Two were fired at but the balls glanced off their tough coats of mail without hurting or scarcely frightening them.  A small trickling of water was noticed among the rocks, which they found to be fresh but in too small a quantity to be of any use.  The boat was six hours and a half pulling down although for the first five hours the tide was favourable.