Aug. 12 (Cont'd) Left the cattle yard on Bonanza Ck. at 8:25. Fairly flat box, bloodwood and iron- bark country for about 2 miles to the foot of the range, with the low scrubby spur (carrying a type of monsoon forest) on our right. At 9:25, at 1200 ft., we dropped into the valley of a branch of the Bonanza, and stopped to drink at a sandy pool in the bed of the creek. Open eucalyptus savanna forest, and off to the left, at about our level, several tall hoop pines (Araucaria Cunninghamii) towering high above the other trees. A low elevation for hoop pine. Elevation by aneroid on return journey, 1300 ft. At 9:55 we crossed another branch of the Bonanza at 1420 ft., with more hoop pines. At 10:40 reached a lookout on a 1750 ft. hill (1830 ft. on return trip), from which we looked down into Camp Oven Pocket, and across the nearly level top of the range to a high ridge, about 6 miles to the east, which Willie Alf said rises above the old Lakeland battery site on the Leo, on the eastern fall of the range. Travel across the range looked easy from our vantage point. Country near at hand a mixture of rainforest and savanna-forest, changing to solid rainforest about two miles to the east. Dropped down through a strip of cool rainforest to the bottom of Camp Oven Pocket; reached at 10:45 (alt. 1400 on way out, 1480 and 1500 on return). Small rocky creek of flowing water with a narrow fringe of rainforest and big hoop pines on its banks at the crossing. Here Willie Alf left us on a long ride to hunt for the lost pack- horse down on the plains, and pathfinding fell to me. About 11 o'clock we started on. Crossed 3 streams in rainforest and passed through several savanna-forest pockets in which red stringy bark (or Syncarpia?) was a prominent big tree. At 11:50, at the west edge of a patch of scrub, came to a tree marked "J.A." at 1760 ft. Turned back at 12:20, in a nearly level savanna forested pocket at 1780 ft. Lunched at the creek in Camp Oven Pocket. The ride from camp on Bonanza Ck. to our turning-back point took 4 hrs. 45 min. Estimated time for packhorses to that point, 5½ hours. Estimated packhorse time on to Lakeland's battery on the Leo, 2 to 3 hours (pretty much of a guess). Travel time for the packs will depend largely on the going through the big scrub on top of the range, which I think begins very close to our turning-back point. A small convoy of army tucks, making an astounding journey during the war, followed the old pack trail over the range, and cut a track wide enough for their vehicles to pass through the scrub. Trees have fallen since then and vines and young growth have partly closed the rain- forest trails in places. George and I made track as far as we went. I also blazed trees as I rode along through the savanna forest. On the way back to camp I decided to try to eliminate the big two to three mile detour on the first part of the route. Struck for camp from the last mountain ridge at about 1100-1200 ft., and soon broke through the thick vegetation. This morning George, Don and my Willie (on special loan because George cannot get much good out of his own boys), guided by Willie Alf, and with the three packhorses carrying 150 to 180 lb. loads, left at 9:10 to cross the range and establish camp on Leo Ck. or the best site offering. My Willie is not much of a horseman, as far as I know; which leaves Willie Alf the only man in the party able to take care of the pack outfit. After seeing the pack train away, I took Geoff and blackboy Roy and opened up the shortcut explored yesterday. This will mean a big saving in time and distance on the packing trips. The new track runs in a general direction of a little east of north and joins the old track in a mile or a bit more.