TRAVERSE Issue 03 - December 2017 | Page 80

four-wheel drives and even a truck showered us with fist sized stones. It did take us a while to get through this and once on the other side the track was very hit and miss, some places were great while others treacherous. Continuing, passing numerous salt pans, we reached Lake Eyre South, providing some indication as to how vast this mostly dry salt lake is – in fact it’s said to be the size of Belgium. Here we met an old German fellow who was on his third solo trek of the Australian outback. He’d made his first about 10 years earlier when he had retired and loved it so much he bought an old 70 series Toyota Land- cruiser which he picks up every time he comes back to Australia. His sto- ries were very interesting and a great inspiration. Amazingly, he was in greater awe of us riding bikes. Our last stop would now be Mar- ree, end of the Oodnadatta Track, that is until we came over a hill and saw a giant dingo on the side of the road. Then in the distance a couple TRAVERSE 80 of single engine aircraft sticking out of the ground, as well as a giant ro- bot thing with a huge male member. It was also carrying a baby, I’m not sure if it was excited by the bikes or was some weird representation of St Christopher. I laughed as I remem- ber a story once told by the great co- median, Billy Connolly.