Accompanied by Messrs. Burges and Walcott, I proceeded to examine the country to the eastward of our camp. Starting at 7.20 a.m., steered east over grassy hills, with granite bases and table summits of red sandstone, the latter rock forming but a poor soil with scanty feed and scrub; crossed several small gullies running into the Chapman. At 10.0 passed a large sandy hill, covered with short scrub, and halted at 11.0 in a grassy gully in the bottom of a wide scrubby valley; at 12.45 p.m. again resumed our journey, and ascending the sandy downs, at 1.15 gained the highest ridge. Before us lay the valley of the Greenough River; the white and red sandstone cliffs, which bound the valley on the south-east, were distorted by excessive refractions, which, as we crossed each sandy ridge, changed their appearance, sometimes assuming the appearance of islands with high rocky shores, then like reefs with heavy breakers, followed by high cliffs and grassy hills; but as we approached they assumed their true character of low rocky hills and cliffs, scarce exceeding 200 feet in height, and generally covered with dense thickets of acacia growing on an otherwise barren stony soil. At 3.30 came on the right bank of the Greenough River; the bed was quite dry, and had no appearance of having run since the winter of 1847. Following up the stream-bed to the north-east, passed some shallow pools of salt water; and at 4.45 observed the black coal shales at the bottom of a deep cliff, which formed the left bank of the river. At 5.0 halted for the night, obtaining fresh water by scraping in the sand by the side of a pool of salt water; we also found sufficient grass for our horses on the bank of the river. 26th October.