Camp 20.  Heavy dew last night; sky completely overcast with very heavy rainy-looking clouds.  We have now on hand dried meat sufficient for about five and a half days, at the rate of one pound three ounces per day without salt or anything else, which is not very heavy diet.  I never saw a country where less game was to be obtained; what euro and wallaby are here are so very wild there is no getting near them.  Just here the hills are not so high or so rough as some distance further down; I hope they may continue so, that the animals won’t be distressed more than possible.  Not a breath of wind this morning.  Our course as seen from a hill close by last night will be about east-south-east for some distance this morning.  Started at 8.10 a.m.; at three and a quarter miles came to a barrier right across from range to range, and after considerable detention succeeded in finding a road on our left round the range that the barriers form from; at four miles came to where one branch (the largest) comes from the south with plenty of water in its bed in the stone and rocks; the other branch is considerably to the east so will try it, although it does not at all look a watery branch but is much more in the direction I want to go.  About the same course, over much more open country, hilly and thinly clad with small ironbark timber, and is chiefly of slate formation and well-grassed, but no water in its bed as far as we went, say about five and a half miles further where we fortunately got sufficient at the junction of a small side creek with the main watercourse to suit our immediate wants.  It is perfectly surprising to see such a broad channel with such ranges close by and no water.  One other of our best horses obliged to be left behind today; he has been ailing for some short time and all at once refused to proceed.  A few kangaroo seen today.  I trust we will fall in with plenty of water tomorrow, our horses never do so well as when they can go to water themselves instead of watering out of buckets.  For some distance the creek bears to north of east; in fact the next bend, about a mile long, is from north or so, when it appears to turn to south and east.  We managed occasionally during today to get upon the slopes from the hills on either side of the creek, which was much better travelling than in the soft sandy bed of the creek, which I have called Stuart’s Creek after Mr. McDouall Stuart, the indefatigable explorer of South Australia.  This part would make a good sound sheep country if water at all times was obtainable.  A number of oaks all along this branch, and more just here on our left side of the creek where the water is, and we are encamped.

Saturday, June 21.