We are running pretty ahead of schedule, even without rushing. The roads were good today. Many more dunes but also some large clay pans which were pretty cool to see.
One of the many barrels that litter the road side. It's disappointing that people just dump these when they are empty rather than carry them out
There was some evidence of rain, with some simple water crossings and muddy sections.
I love how soft these flowers look
We climbed Slate Ridge and Helen Hill. Both provided gorgeous views of the country. The climbs involved scaling a little bit of loose stone but otherwise a fairly easy climb.
There's a few little hills like this that scatter the landscape in this section.
While on Helen Hill we put out some calls on CB 40 and found a party roughly a day behind us (Well 26) and one party a day in front of us (Thring Rock)
We eventually settled on Mamunara (Well 28) as our stop today. We are fairly ahead of schedule and even discussed the possibility of a Simpson Desert crossing if we end up with time.
Sunrise over Lake Disappointment was certainly worth waking up for. I thought the lake would make for a good running track compared to the sand and rocks I’ve been running on last week but unfortunately it’s very variable and easy to break through the crust, my 5k run turned into a 3k run which turned into a 3k run/walk.
Savoury Creek crossing
Savoury Creek was a lovely change. Seeing running water for the first time in a long while. The crossing was simple for us as there had been no rain lately. Though it was a little unpleasant smelling.
Well 22 with Blåhaj
Past Well 21 the scenery changes were amazing! I’m no botanist but the best I can describe is fantasy computer game. Long tall spinifex, with purple flowers with tall skinny trees. Really loved these areas.
Diebil Hills was our first destination. Recently reopened to visitors however it seems we were the first in a fairly long time. It took a long time to push through the scrub. The path runs into a river bed for a bit and we missed the turn off out of it, causing confusion for some time and a few unnecessary kilometers.
Diebil Hills
The track became more and more overgrown and at one point we lost and damaged one of our side mirrors on a thicker than expected tree.
The area was stunning though. Very rocky and green, though we didn’t see any water there at the time. The hills and rock faces were just something out of a movie.
Flowers along the way
Yet another burnt down vehicle.
We topped up water at Wanykuju (Well 18) and moved on to Lake Disappointment. I can understand why you’d be disappointed if you were looking for water but damn is this lake a stunning artefact. I’ve never seen a salt pan so perfectly covered, as if it had snowed. It just goes on and on.
Lake disappointment: We ate dinner out about 100m on the lake
