Gurakor 44 Friday, May 8: Some rain late at night; misty and drizzly early today; bright sun about 9-2. Steady rain for an hour or so after 3 pm. Horrolt tells me that a little later in the SE season there will be must mist at this elevation and down the slopes of the valley to about Gurakor village, 2-3 hundred feet lower down. The preparation of dried specimens to go down to Lae with the CWD courier made me late getting into the field this morning. That is, after 9 o'clock. Results, however, were pleasing with 19 spp. and 105 herbarium sheets collected. Today, too, I obtained a further insight into the character of the forest of this elevation. A common canopy tree which I have been taking for an oak turns out to be Castanopsis. At least oje species of oak also is present and a major dominant. These two trees are the major dominants of the primary forest which I have seen here, and with them is associated, as an emergent larger tree, what appears to be the same species of Anisoptera that is being logged at Oomsis, 1500 feet lower on the slopes of the Hertzog Mts. My third (possibly 4th) species of Cyathea collected today. A very slender Freycinetia in addition to 2 spp. already collected occurs here. Have seen no Pandanus. Two species of Calamus have been noted in palms, a widespread Caryota, and today in a gully a young plant of what might be an Orania. Filmy ferns are turning up well and are surprisingly abundant in individuals and species for this very modest altitude. Nothing new to the mammal collection. After attempts for three evenings, 2 small Miniopterus were caught with bits of worn-out mist net stretched in forked sticks as hand nets. The skin of a 9-ft. olivine? python added to the herps collection. Mick Leahy drove down from Zenag again this afternoon. He has a more favorable report on John, who is in less pain today and eating a bit. The medico advises that he be off duty until Monday, an opinion I had already arrived at. This means a delay over the weekend at Gurakor. We still have no house to move into at Edie Creek. Jim Sinclair, ADO Wau, visited Zenag yesterday. He will contact Franklin of Wau and phone Joe Havel today on the results. Today I have agreed to young Richard Leahy, eldest son of Mick, visiting our camp at Edie Creek after the 16th. Richard is 17, has passed matriculation exams for the Queensland University. A strange, rough, heavy browed young fellow who seems unable to smile. Still, he has been helpful in sending specimens to Van and seems to have a real interest in zoology. He wanted badly to come with us to Mt. Wilhelm. I could not agree to this. Apart from other consider- ations, about a week of Richard's company would probably be enough for any of us. Saturday, May 9: Valley up to 2-300 feet below us filled with fog at dawn. Broken clouds until about noon, when light rain began and lasted an hour or so. Clear in late afternoon. The weather was coming in from the coast. Spent the morning in the oak-Castanopsis-Anisoptera forest up the creek above Pappy Duff's coffee patch. Went to near the top of a steep knob, probably at about 2600 feet, where the slopes were too abrupt for the development of good forest and a Calamus took advantage of the open canopy to make my travel difficult. A stilt-rooted, branched Pandanus with insect-eaten leaves grew in this environ- ment, and climbing on one tree was a great plant of what looked like Freycinetia pseudo-insignis. Collecting was poor, so I dropped down to the creek and followed