Coote leaves Marree for Oodnadatta arriving there in the teeth of a howling gale, and wires Alice Springs for news, Carrington sighs, he had hoped to see the last of Coote, but the Gov Res. can't tell the pilot much, no one has yet returned from Illbilla.

Meanwhile Colson continues his mongrel trip to Alice Springs and makes it to the Hamilton dam for the night, things improving slightly now that he is driving on a relatively beaten track.

Lasseter and Johns arrive on the northern slopes of Mount Oliphant and find water and camel feed scarce. The camels are feeling quite ill used, it seems to be their lot to be beaten every step of the journey.

At Mount Liebig Taylor reviews the situation, it is definitely one of the top ten dirtiest jobs he has ever tackled.