We set off from Batton Hill in great spirits and in anticipation of what the trip would bring. We had a minimum of 85 litres of water per vehicle and the knowledge that washing would be restricted to sparrow bathing. We also all carried a minimum of about 170 litres fuel. We had been told the track was indistinct…however at this stage that was definitely not the case as it was very clearly defined!!

The first 20 km or so of the track is well used (part of the bushtucker tour route) and can be driven at a reasonable pace. It was a typical sandy track. We seemed to be traveling at such a rate that we thought we had better slow things down as the entire Hay River track is only about 320km long. We had allowed 5 days for the trip and at this rate we were going to get to the end in 3 days if the track continued to be this good!! So we slowed it up and stopped to look at everything…including a pile of dead camel bones!!






A camel pelvis makes a good mask


We also stopped at a disused bore along the track which still had the Lister engine sitting there. Probably not too hard to get going either. Dropped a rock down the bore pipe and calculated about 30m deep. Along the way we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, marked by a crudely made sign on the track.





The Tropic of Capricorn



Here, we found the plaque left by Andrew Harper on his Capricorn Expedition in 1991 when he crossed the continent from west to east. (http://www.capricornexpedition.com/)






Andrew Harpers plaque placed in 1999



Then out to Lake Caroline. The trek notes are a bit out on distances which had us searching for the track out to the lake a little too soon. Not only us, judging by the wheel tracks and footprints all along this section of the riverbed!! Lake Caroline is a dry claypan most of the time, but there were puddles of water lying about. The track follows the creekbed which would make access impossible if there were water in the lake.






Along the Lake Caroline track


As usual some idiot has done doughnuts all over the lake bed!! It’s a lonely spot…



Lake Caroline

Here we saw a group of 4 camels and were able to get a close look at them. Also saw one of the few dingoes for the trip at this spot. All along the track we saw dingo prints and camel pads but rarely saw the animals that made them.

Camped for the night behind a sand dune just off the track and near an old fuel dump. The ground was covered with tiny burrs (Wonthagi Flea) that stuck to everything and ended up in our swags, our underwear, our socks particularly and caused misery for days after.