From this place we passed up a gully, bounded by lofty mountains, thinly-wooded, which brought us to the almost perpendicular ascent of an elevated mountain, which certainly gave me a few ideas of what Nature’s roads may have been in this colony before the formation of new ones came into fashion. This I was told, was _one road_ to the farm, and the shortest, but there was another for drays not so steep, but many miles further round; by that one we proposed returning as soon as the visit to the farm was concluded. We led our horses, or rather they scrambled up this steep acclivity, to the summit of a ridge of mountains, from which the view was magnificent; it seemed as if Nature had sported with her superfluities in the formation of this country; mountains over mountains heaped: some were thinly and others densely covered with timber; the _tout ensemble_ formed a splendid specimen of wild and romantic scenery. About the elevated ridges, the black-wattle acacias, in full bloom, were numerous, and their fresh and verdant foliage was well contrasted by the arid melancholy appearance of the _Eucalypti_ trees around. A descent more gradual than the ascent, with the soil covered by long thick grass, brought us to a well-watered flat through which the Murrumbidgee river, and large creek, flowed; and in this place (completely surrounded by the river and creek, and consequently rendered impassable during floods produced by the rains) the farm was situated. This place, secluded by lofty-wooded mountains, and in a situation of great romantic beauty, cannot be valuable except as a cattle run, for which, from the abundance of grass and excellent supply of water, a better selection could not be made, but for sheep the situation is too moist. After rather a laborious and fatiguing journey, we enjoyed, in a neat and clean hut, some fine river cod fish, tea, and delicious rich milk, and our horses had, in this fine valley, excellent grass. Among the feathered animals which abound here, is the _Dacelo gigantea_, Temm., better known to the colonists and strangers by the appellation of “Laughing or Feathered Jackass.”[83] Its peculiar gurgling laugh, commencing from a low, and gradually rising to a high and loud tone, is often heard by the traveller in all parts of the colony, sending forth its deafening noises whilst remaining perched upon the lofty branch of a tree watching for prey; it is respected by gardeners for destroying grubs, &c. The natives at Yas call the bird “Gogera,” or “Gogobera,” probably from its peculiar note, which has some resemblance to the sound of the word. It is said that one seldom laughs without being accompanied by a second, forming a very harmonious duet.