Sunday, February 22 (continued) Noticed much scratching and scrambling going on in the ceiling of the Schwartz living room, and was told the noise was made by a pair of possums that live there. Possums--they are said to be grey--are a nuisance to householders in Cooktown. No doubt they find the space under a house roof more comfortable than a hollow tree. Met a young American named Craig, from Rifle, Colorado, now tin mining on the Big Tableland, six miles by pack trail SE of Helenvale and about 2000 feet above sea level. Tableland flattish and covered with heavy rain-forest. Tin got by sluicing; water pumped by Diesel engine. Le Roy, Craig's partner, collects orchids for sale to Cairns fanciers. Transport to the Tableland is all by pack horse. Mining machinery was taken up on sleds. Craig told of finding a small rat-sized marsupial in the rain- forest of the Big Tableland one night. Dropped to the ground from a tree, with three young ones clinging to her back. Had big dark eyes placed close together on front of head, and a prehensile (wholly?) hairless tail. Monday, February 23 Was fortunate in making my trip to Shipton's Flat on Saturday. It has been raining practically all the time since then and the creeks are deep over the road. Rain coming from the SE, and word of a cyclone over the Gulf of Carpentaria. Flew from Cooktown to Cairns, again with Pilot Bonney in a Dragon Rapide. Bad weather delayed the plane six hours in Cairns, on her start for Cooktown, and it was one o'clock instead of seven when we took off from Cooktown. Mountains cloud-covered but I got glimpses of Mt. Finegan from the seaward side and made photos of it. Muddy brown water from flooded streams sharply defined from the clear pale blue water of the sea within the Barrier Reef. Flew over a big Brit- ish submarine which stranded on a reef in daylight yesterday, and was making for Cairns after sliding off with the tide. Was met at airport by Bates and Stevens of Dept. of Agriculture, who drove me to the sugar-growing area of the Barron River and Fresh- water Creek to see a new cover crop (cross between giant cowpea and Poona Rea) which is doing very well under conditions too wet for any other cover crop that has been tried to date. Learn from Dupain that the "Time", with our cargo, is still in Brisbane. She was due to leave last Thursday. Was delayed through shortage of crew then, when she had a full complement, a fireman fell overboard and was drowned. A hoodoo ship. Left N.S.W. for Cairns last November and is still on the way. Had a fire. An old, old ship on which conditions are so bad that there is perennial trouble with crew. A stack of letters waiting for me at the hotel, including seven from Marie. George writes that he has had to scrap all plans owing to the strike, and is working out of Townsville.