On the 19th of November I visited the farm at “Gudarigby,” the property of W. H. Dutton, Esq., in company with his brother, Mr. F. Dutton, and Mr. Manton. We remained the first night in the bark hut erected on Mr. Manton’s farm. Snakes of the black and brown species were numerous at this place, no doubt arising from the location being close to the Murrumbidgee river. We had sufficient proof of the existence of these reptiles, from seeing several which had recently been destroyed by the men on the farm; one had dropped from the back shed upon a man’s bed during the night, and occasioned him to quit, and leave the reptile in undisturbed possession for the remainder of the night: in the morning, search was made, the reptile discovered among the blankets, and killed: it was a “black snake,” and measured full three feet in length. The warm valley in which the farm is situated, as well as its being near the river, must make it an agreeable retreat to the reptiles. We, however, slept through the night without experiencing any visits from them, although we often expected to feel their cold bodies gliding over and awakening us, from pleasant dreams to disagreeable realities. The following morning we proceeded on the journey to “Gudarigby,” over a hilly and broken, but still romantic and beautiful country; with a variety of flowering plants spread over the luxuriant, verdant declivities and flats, casting different hues over the soil; among them the delicate and beautiful orchideous plant called “fringed violet” by the colonists, the _Thysanotus junceus_ of botanists, was particularly abundant: its elegant lilac-coloured flowers, in clusters of from three to six upon the same stalk were very conspicuous. The “native hyacinth,” and others of the _Orchideæ_ family, with white, dark red, yellow, and pink flowers, were abundant. After proceeding full six miles over a rich but broken country, fertile flats, and limestone hills, the declivities rich in herbage, but the summits arid, rocky, and bare of verdure,—we arrived at “Narrángullen,” a fine flat, abounding in excellent pasturage, with thickly wooded hills. This was formerly a sheep station, but deserted from the great losses sustained by the sheep devouring their lambs.[82]