Thursday 4/9/53: SE wind more moderate today. Freshening tonight. Not a sprinkle of rain since we have been here. Spent five and three quarters waterless hours in the field, on a visit to the savannas on the tip of the peninsula. Followed the Govern- ment track to within sight of, and about a mile from, Nabubu village. Deduct- ing short halts the distance one hour to edge of the savanna, and I travelled about half hour beyond. Distance on the map about four miles to my farthest point. The 1-mile map very inaccurate. Shows only one of four or five cliffed limestone prominoties abutting on the sea; form line altitude can perhaps be doubled for the country I was on at the end of the peninsula. (Ken Wynn has my aneroid on Maneau). The savannas on limestone sloping gently to the east. Topography undulating. Surface rough and pitted. Hard to walk over, especially on unburned ground, where sharp jags of rock, left by solution, are hidden in the grass. Soil in the solution pits a chocolately red or brown and fertile-appearing. A dense cover of bunch grasses is dominated by Heter- onogon contortus, Themeda 21873 and Andropogon 21874, generally about waist high. Very little Imperata. Savannas dotted with small patches and mere clumps of inferior low timber growth of rain forest type. Scattered trees, where they occur, are of the same species, (See field catalogue). The savannas, or grasslands, are puzzling. Think they may be a secondary condition following cultivation long ago. No sign of former cultivation, such as stones piled into walls or heaps. Isaw no loose stone anyhow. The grassland flora is poor. Only six species of grasses seen. Few associated herbs. No true grassland shrubs. No grassland trees, unless Albizia procera can be regarded as such. Grasses beginning to ripen seeds. Heteropogon already shedding its"spears". Patches burned along the trail. Boys surprised two wallabies (brown, they said) sheltering in a forest clump. I heard them thump away through the grass. Many bandicoot rootings in the grass. Tonight Van still pinning out yesterday's bats which are b being kept as dried skins. A male spotted MUMM cuscus - the biggest and palest I have seen - shot by his boy David today. Tonight, David, accompanied by other boys, including the cook, shot pale brown and dark brown cuscus, and the female and a young male of the spotted species. The female, maculatus is a pale buffy yellow! Friday, 4/10/53: About nineoclock when I was busy with the preparation of yesterday's plants, and Van with his cuscus, the "Ruru" hove in sight from the direction of Cape Vogel, a day ahead of time. Fortunately, the SE wind moderated last night and the skipper agreed to anchor off the rest- house until the middle of the afternoon. This allowed me to botanise for a couple of hours in the rain forests of limestone ridges close behind camp. The most interesting plant Pandanus (21906) remarkable in that radiating long green leaves persist from the base to the apex of the single straight stem. Perhaps a new species. Have seen nothing like it before. Ken Wynn was on the "Ruru", having boarded her at Medino Village. He went right to the top of Mount Dayman in about 14 hours including spells. First day, Biniguni (130 m.) to 1450 m. in 7 hours. Second day to 2150 m. From No. 2 camp the summit ( 2785 m or 9137 ft.) was