Really in the desert-Expedition Dust day 28

There was no ice when I climbed out of the tent this morning. Dylan was up before me and he had got the fire going again! I heated the water for a radix, while I waited for it to rehydrate I got stuck into the pack up routine. First is always the sleeping bag and liner followed by the roll mat and then the tent. It was still a dewy morning so the longer I can leave the tent up the more dry it is when it goes back in the bag and behind my seat.

I like to camp about 300m off the main road to avoid being seen by anyone after dark. After we left we had to zig zag our way through the trees back to the road. We started riding fast, as the day goes on we usually slow down to a more manageable pace. About an hour after we started I looked down at Dylans trailer and realised the screw that we got to hold the trailer to the bike was loose. If it had come off it would not have been good! We were lucky, we just stoped and tightened it up before continuing along. The road that we are currently on must have been graded quite recently because it was sooo smooth.

Just before we stoped for lunch I spotted an ATV in the bushes dragging somthing. It went quiet for a moment before hearing whoever it was speak into there radio and say “ you’re not going to believe it mate there’s two bikers out here!” A few moments later a friendly couple emerged from the bush with metal detectors, they were outback gold hunters! Not only that, they were good ones. The lady showed us a 6 ounce nugget of gold she had found the day before. I don't think I have looked at the red dirt the same since, now everything looks like gold.

Lunch was dates and peanut butter for me and Dylan had peanut butter in wraps. We left our lunch spot after 30 min and continued riding into the hottest part of the day. I was scanning the road for movement and and I spotted a camel crossing the road! I couldn’t belleve it I just saw my first camel! This was the moment I realised we are really in the desert. After watching them do theor thing for a bit we pushed on to hit our target of 70km finishing at 1630 hours.

We set up camp while there was still plenty of light. The moon is a day away from being full, I can’t wait for full moon in the desert.

We sat around the fire watching it rise as the sun set, it was spectacular. dinner for me was a Radix mexican beef, to make it different, after cooking it I poured it onto corn chips and sprinkled cheese on top that quickly melted. Brandos bush nachos!

Overall it was a nice day. my knees have started getting a little sore again but as long as I look after them in the evening and rub them with balm they are always good to go the next day!