17-Jul-2013 -- A few washaways on this short stretch of the WAPET until we reached the Koop Hills Road. Here the road has been widened and improved no end as there is obviously some mineral and gas exploration going on at Gwenneth Lakes. We made great time across a wide flat expanse of plains. Most appears to have been burnt in the last 12 months and the new Spinifex shoots were a brilliant light green making every inch of it appear to be a verdant green field. Absolutely amazing. At the 60 km mark we saw a group of five camels silhouetted against the green as they made their way towards the track. It was surreal, the contrast. They almost looked two dimensional as if they’d been cut out and pasted on a green background.

We got to our intersecting lines and had to take a short trip south down the 124 longitude meridian. A short drive, a 200 metre walk and once again, the confluence shuffle was undertaken to great effect. The country is flat and elevated consisting largely of laterite plains with spinifex and acacia shrubs. We decided to head the 14 km further north to the Koop Hills to camp. We expected some rocky outcrops but were somewhat disappointed to find only an old airstrip on a high area of rolling Spinifex and sand dunes.