After touching at Brazil, which was almost obligatory as part of the sailing voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, he sailed on a direct course from South Africa to the west coast of Australia, which he reached at the place christened by himself Sharks Bay. The land everywhere appeared generally low, flat, and even, but with steep cliffs to the sea--a desolate coast, without trees, shrubs, or grass. After coming to an anchor in what is now called Dampier Bay he went on shore with his men, carrying pickaxes and shovels to dig for water, and axes to cut wood. They found no water, but the soil was less sterile than had seemed at a distance, a reddish sand in which grew grasses, plants, and shrubs. The grass grew in great tufts as big as a bushel basket, and intermixed with much heather. The low trees or shrubs were evidently some kind of Eucalyptus, with reddish timber and strong-scented leaves. In the brackish water of the coast lagoons there were quantities of water-fowl, pelicans, cormorants, ducks, curlews, various kinds of oyster-catcher and plover, and gulls. On the land were a few singing birds, some of them no bigger than wrens, all singing with a great variety of fine, shrill notes. Eagles soared in the blue heaven and apparently preyed on the few beasts and reptiles which were to be seen in the neighbourhood. Amongst these was a sort of racoon, "different from those of America in that it had very short forelegs but powerful hind limbs on which it jumped". This was probably one of the smaller species of kangaru. Then there was a lizard (described wrongly as an iguana) with a large and ugly head, and a very short, thick tail, which seemed another head at the other end of the animal, but without mouth or eyes. These were speckled black and yellow like toads, with scales and knobs on their backs similar to those of crocodiles. They were very slow in motion, but when a man came near them they would stand still and hiss, and not endeavour to get away.[60] [60] These were, perhaps, the Moloch lizards (_Moloch horridus_).