FROM Manokwari in Dutch New Guinea there is only one recognized route to England, namely, by local steamer to Makassar, thence to Batavia, from which is regular steamer service with Europe. There is an alternative, though too unconventional to be even considered by officials: that is, to go east from Manokwari to Humboldt Bay, over the Dutch boundary into the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, by steamer from Wewak to Sydney and so to England. There is no regular communication of any kind between the two Territories. During the south-east monsoon one or two native praus may cross the boundary, and at very rare intervals, sometimes of several years, a white man may make that trip either by prau or partly on foot. When I reached Manokwari in December I938, after spending a year on two islands, Waigeu and Japen, I had already decided to take the longer route home because it gave me the opportunity of going to the very interesting Torricelli Range in the Mandated Territory. It is never possible to calculate beforehand exactly how much work can be undertaken on these collecting expeditions, but I had promised the Trustees of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide that, if it could be managed, I would collect insects for them in the Torricelli Mountains after finishing my work for the British Museum. So when the collections were duly packed and despatched, I caught a steamer going east. At Hollandia I hired carriers and walked over Djoea Bluff and Mount Oinake (Mount Bougainville) to Vanimo, the first government station in the Mandated Territory, then took the coastal road to Aitape. A native trade route crosses the plain south of Aitape and passes over the Torricelli Range into the interior. I encamped on this road at 2000 feet on Mount Lucreu, and worked on mountain slopes and in river beds and sago swamps for a month, with the intention of forming a camp on the highest mountain when the rainy season was over. But owing to official quibbles, I was obliged to leave the Torricelli Mountains and return to Dutch New Guinea. This change of plan proved to be rather fortunate as it happened, 12