[page 58]

[1802 Aug: Saturday - 14th. Boat excursions for the
examina]tion of the rivers of Keppel Bay

vines by which they are bound together, rendered impracticable. At high water, the tide flows in at the back of this hill and makes several small islands mostly covered with mangroves: at other times the seperations are muddy swamps. By a fatiguing walk amongst this kind of land, I gained a very little knowledge of the continuation of the middle arm, and suppose that it communicates with the next arm to the westward. These two and the western arm, ramify out into the land on the south side of the bay, and it is probable that some of them join and form islands. The task of pursuing these to minuteness and precision would have taken much more time than could be spared from the many more principal objects of the voyage and therefore I determined to leave Keppel Bay with the knowledge I had already gained. ( on next page
   The general remarks made during these last excursions are few.- No inhabitants were seen. The country seems to be divided into hills which are stony, and low land which consists either of muddy salt-water swamps, or is covered with impenitrable mangroves: there are very few places in the whole of the arms visited, where it is possible to land without walking some distance in soft mud and cutting through mangrove