Captain John Lort Stokes in the Beagle spent the period between the 29th June and 4th August retracing Flinders route around the Gulf of Carpentaria in more detail. Between July 30th and August 6th Stokes ascended the Albert River for a distance of 50 river miles from the mouth in a long boat. Impressed with the pastoral potential of the level grassy savannah which stretched to the south, which he tagged the area The Plains of Promise.