Sat. June 26: Sorting gear and stores, and packing, with an apprehensive eye on the weather, which has thickened and become showery. Barry Fisher is to move us to Tozer Gap in the morning and the road through the rainforest will become slippery and even dangerous for a 2-wheel drive vehicle if any considerable amount of rain falls. Iron Range has fallen short of expectations for plants, with only 296 numbers for three weeks of work. Sheets or sets of specimens number 1729. Apart from roadside weeds, which I have not touched, but which might include new introductions to the country, made during the war, I have collected practically every plant of the rainforests and savanna forests which I have found fertile. Two exceptions, which I might have collected today but for the rain, are a very large Nauclea ("Leichhardt-tree") of the floodplain rainforests and the common black palm (Ceryota). Will probably get these at the next camp. Mammals for the camp number 250 plus, bringing the total for the trip to 699. The camp turned out much better for mammals than any of us expected during the first few days. As in plants, numbers are not large, but they include very good things. We were about to start dinner when Malcolm Holmes, the miner who lives in the other end of the hut, came in bloodsmeared and woebegone. Out pig hunting a mile down the road, he had fired his .303 through long grass and shot one of his dogs through the neck. The bullet missed everything vital, but tore out a four inch hole where it came through, and almost carried away the dog's right ear. For the first time, our surgical supplies came into use, by George, with my assistance in finding them, and sundry help in opening ampoules of novocaine and sutures, and the usual plentitude of advice from onlookers. Sunday, June 27: Was wakened well before daylight by the noise of wind and rain, and Joe's blasphemy out at the stove in the outhouse. The rain was but a shower. By eight o'clock we were all packed up and sitting around waiting for the noise of Barry's approaching truck. About eleven we heard an engine, but from the direction opposite Portland Roads, and Leo Ferris, from the aerodrome, came along in his bright yellow blitz buggy, with a prospector guest from the Wenlock, one Scotty Ross, sitting beside him. (Leo usually has a guest or two from the country back over the ranges). More waiting. Joe boiled the billy. Then Leo said he was going back to the drome to fill up with gas to take us out to the Gap. He was back in half an hour with news that Ned Pinwell would be along in his jeep to help with the move. With a blitz buggy of 1 ton weight carrying capacity, driven by a self-styled "worst driver in the world", it was necessary to make two trips with our gear and personnel of none men. With the cook and the boys on the blitz, and George and Van in the Jeep with me, we started off at 12:40 and arrived at the Gap about an hour later. The blitz passengers had a terrible ride with Leo who fumbled gears, stalled, ran backwards down steep grodes and almost went over the side of one of the bridges. A camp site chosen on a well-drained savanna-forest ridge between two running gullies in the eastern part of the Gap, we unloaded and set about getting tent poles while Ned returned to Iron Range to give Leo a little moral support on the second trip with the rest of the gear, Geoff and Don Vernon. Thanks to the rallying-around of Leo and Ned and a very good display of efficiency by our own party, we had all tents and flys rigged and were comfortably under cover before dark. Besides, 40 traps are out. A strong southeaster blowing, but no rain. We are on the right side of the rainforest if rain should come. A truck which arrived from Portland Roads before our second load left Iron Range brought no information as to the reason for Barry Fisher failing to appear.