Wind south-south-east, temperature at sunrise 77 degrees; sky completely overcast.  Start out eastward to examine the country with two camels, five horses, and sufficient food for one and a half weeks, taking with me Middleton, Poole, Frank (a native), and a native of this place.  My main object in going out now is firstly to ascertain if there is a likelihood of a flood down Cooper’s Creek this season, after all the rain that has fallen along the eastern side of the continent some months back, and which I thought possible might have fallen as well on and to west of coast range, so to secure to us an open retreat in the event of our being able to make some considerable advance northward, and being detained some time.  And secondly to ascertain if anyone was as yet stationed on Cooper’s Creek, to intimate to them my intentions of proceeding northward for some distance, and the almost certainty of crossing any track of either of the search parties from the northern coast could possibly make en route to Cooper’s Creek or even Eyre’s Creek.  Started at 9.15 a.m., and passed through nothing but sandhill and flooded flat country till 3 p.m., and arrived at Tac Wilten Creek, containing little water but drinkable.  For the first few miles the sandhills were further apart with, in the interval, salt-bush and grassy flats.  Watered the horses and camels; crossed the creek, passed up the south side; crossed a sandhill; crossed the creek, went a short distance to north side of creek; recrossed it and went up south side to water.  This is a long narrow strip of water, not deep and drying up fast.  A number of natives here.  Crossed creek again and went to Aunrinnie; arrived at north-east end of water and crossed creek at 4.30 p.m.  Distance about twenty-five miles.  The water here although enough is quite unfit for use, the horses and camels refusing it; but there is good green feed in the flat.

Tuesday, December 3.

Started at 8 a.m.; passed over sandhills till 8.43 and made large lake, dry, Cullamun by name, destitute of vegetation and no margin of trees; passed over sandhills and flooded flat to a creek very broad, deep, and well defined by timber, and trending northward; not much water at present, good here but unfit for use above and below, like that of last night; creek called Agaboogana.  Distance about eight miles.  I went there rather out of my course to water the camels, being the nearest in going anything like the course I wished; passed sandhills through south end of large dry lake at 11.22, and again sandhills; then through large flooded swamp, Narrogoonnoo Mooku, with no marginal trees; southern end a good deal of cane grass; then again sandhills till 12.46; then large cracked flooded plain, Wandrabrinnannie, till arrived at a creek with no water; crossed and rode up creek on south side to east of north to Barka Water, no feed; got down into the bed of the creek and rode up about three-quarters of a mile to a water called Moollaney, pretty good; no great quantity and but little feed.  Total distance about twenty-five miles.  A lot of stones of a fruit found here, of a very ornamental little tree from six to fifteen feet high, which I have secured.