In sailing along the coast, these anthills may be distinctly seen from the distance of two or three miles.
The rock in the immediate neighbourhood of Cape York is a porphyry with soft felspathic base, containing numerous moderately-sized crystals of amber-coloured quartz, and a few larger ones of flesh-coloured felspar.
It often appears in large tabular masses split horizontally and vertically into blocks of all sizes.

At times when the vertical fissures predominate and run chiefly in one direction, the porphyry assumes a slaty character, and large thin masses may be detached.
One of the most interesting features in the botany of Cape York, is the occurrence of a palm, not hitherto mentioned as Australian.

It is the Caryota urens (found also in India and the Indian archipelago) one of the noblest of the family, combining the foliage of the tree-fern with a trunk a foot in diameter, and sixty in height.

It is found in the dense brushes along with three other palms, Seaforthia, Corypha, and Calamus.
Another very striking tree, not found elsewhere by us, is the fine Wormia alata, abundant on the margin of the brushes, where it is very conspicuous from its large yellow blossoms, handsome dark-green foliage, and ragged, papery bark of a red colour.
One day I explored some caves in the sandstone cliffs at Port Albany in quest of bats, and was fortunate enough to get quite a new Rhinolophus or horseshoe bat.

In one of the caves, which only admitted of entry on the hands and knees, these bats were so numerous, and in such large clusters, that I secured no less than eleven at one time, by using both hands.
Small kangaroos appeared to be plentiful enough, but we were not so fortunate as to shoot one.