August 10.—­Proceeded on our journey:  our course for the first six or seven miles being to the north-north-east, and afterwards north-east half east, which latter course I intended to steer for some time.  It was the best day’s travelling we had experienced since quitting the Macquarie River, being generally over low strong ridges, the sides and summits of some of which were very thick brush of cypress trees, and small shrubs, particularly the last two miles.  We stopped for the evening in an extensive low valley north of Mount Exmouth, and running under its base, bounded on the north-east by low forest hills.  To the south the hills were rocky, abrupt, and precipitous.  On the whole we accomplished eleven miles.

August 11.—­Our route lay over low valleys of considerable extent of open forest ground, but so soft and boggy, that it was with difficulty we made any progress:  it would seem that much rain had fallen here lately, and completely saturated the soil, which is a light, sandy mould.  In these valleys there are small streams of water, having their origin in the surrounding hills; they all terminate northerly.  We could accomplish but seven miles on a north-east by east course.  In the evening we had an awful storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied with torrents of rain.  The reverberation of sound among the hills was astonishing.  The natives continue in our vicinity unheeded, and unheeding:  even the noise of their mogo upon the trees is a relief from the otherwise utter loneliness of feeling we cannot help experiencing in these desolate wilds.

August 12.—­We found that we could not maintain our direct course, as the low ground was so boggy, that the horses were altogether unable to move on it.  Keeping therefore the banks of the little stream where the ground was firmer, we reached the chain of hills bounding the valley to the southward:  we wound along the base of the hills on a variety of courses, not being able to quit them twenty yards without being bogged.  Finding that the hills trended too much to the south-west, we kept down the bed of a small stream for two or three miles, and halted on a fine apple tree flat of rich land, watered by a very fine small stream, which was joined by the one we came down.  The main strewn ran to the northward.  The apple tree flats are uniformly of firm hard ground, while the soil on which grow the iron-bark, pine, and box, is as invariably a loose sand, rendered by the rain a perfect quicksand.  These bogs are the more provoking, as without such impediments the country is clear and open, and as favourable for travelling over as could be wished:  we have had any thing but a dry season, and it is to the heavy rain which might naturally be expected to fall near high mountains, that our present difficulties must be ascribed.  We travelled between nine and ten miles, but our course made good was nearly south-east only five miles.  A few new plants were found:  the hills were a mere bed of iron ore.