August 26. - At eight o'clock we proceeded on our course towards
Bathurst. The country throughout the day's journey was extremely hilly,
with steep descents into fine valleys, in every one of which was a
running stream. It appeared to me, that we were pursuing a course which,
intersecting the streams near their sources, rendered our road much more
irregular and difficult than it would have been either a few miles
farther westward, or even on the immediate banks of the river, the line
of which we several times saw during the day. The country north-east of
the river was very elevated and broken. The tops and sides of even the
most mountainous parts were covered with grass, and thinly clothed with
wood.
Many of the valleys were composed of extremely rich soil: the hills were
also generally good land and covered with grass; though there were
occasionally barren stony summits, and ridges producing nothing but iron
and stringy bark trees of diminutive growth. These tracts were however
too inconsiderable in extent, to be considered other than what ought
naturally to be expected in such an irregular tract as that which we
travelled over.
Had not the appearance of the country round the Macquarie, where we
first reached it, fully accounted for its magnitude, the course we have
pursued since would satisfactorily have explained the cause; it is in
point of fact a country of running waters: on every hill we found a
spring, and in every valley a rivulet, either flowing directly
north-east to the river, or taking a course westerly to join the river
in Wellington Vale. Of the waters that may fall into it from the
north-east we were of course ignorant, but the appearances of the
country indicated that they were at least as numerous as from the
south-west.
After proceeding a few miles, we halted for the night in an extensive
valley, watered by a rivulet running through it directly to the river,
from which I think we were distant six or seven miles.
August 27. - Nothing could be more delightful than the climate and the
temperature of the season.
At eight o'clock we took our road through a very rugged and broken
country. The glens were enclosed on either side by almost perpendicular
rocks, mostly slate of fine quality, mixed with coarse granite. In these
glens or defiles were fine running streams. The declivity and steepness
of the road delayed our progress, in seeking for better paths for the
horses; and after riding a few miles we came to the edge of a very steep
glen or valley, at the point of junction of two large streams, the
largest coming from the south-west, the other from the north-west. Both
united formed a very powerful stream, rushing with great impetuosity
over a rocky bottom, with frequent falls or rapids.
