dunes not over .
Rain overnight threatened track conditions , a decision made to have everyone return to the French Line and continue east .
Knolls Track , eighty-seven kilometres further east , a challenge to most , a chance to relish the climb as the dunes increased in height . With a half day of riding many took the chance to explore , finding vast salt pans and untouched wilderness . Signs of life abundant , Australia ’ s ‘ native ’ dog , the dingo plentiful evidenced by the many tracks . Two toed , soft padded prints suggesting a similar abundance of camels .
The rain had cleared and with a camp set the talk of the day ensued . Good natured banter , the male laughs bettered by the women on the ride . A camaraderie only found on rides like this . Beer and steak , everyone well looked after . Jokes of four wheeled machines bogged for hours , left for dead , rescued by those passing by .
The following day , a final push to reach Birdsville . Dunes increasing in height , the landscape changing . Crossing ‘ Nemesis ’, said by many to be the toughest of dunes , at the peak a vast , flat plain watched over by the largest and most iconic of the dunes , Big Red . At over 40 metres in height , it presents a challenge to all that cross the Simpson Desert . One must reach that peak .
TRAVERSE 19