fire on the horizon on our doorstep,
licking at the tents. It mattered little,
we all fell into a deep sleep.
As the sun peaked above the near-
by hills, marking the start of day
three, we watched as the fire seemed
to remain in the same position as the
night before. It must surely be a con-
trolled burn. Probably the last we
would now see of it as we were about
to enter the Northern Territory.
The border crossing, although only
between states, seemed to mark the
passage between countries. Almost
immediately the road had improved,
surely, we were now on the ‘good
stuff’, as promised by a few people
back in civilisation.
Unfortunately, the further south-
east we travelled the worse the track
became. We were now entering an
area administered by large mining
companies, the track, while well
formed and wide, was constantly
hammered by mining trucks and ve-
hicles. The constant traffic, while
relatively few in numbers, soon turns
TRAVERSE 75