Today we finally turned off the highway north towards the Savannah Way. Yesterday we got our first taste of the conditions ahead, dodging cattle, roos and wild horses as we peered into the sunset.

This leg is only 260km but will be our first dirt and our first water crossings. Already the country is changing from wide, flat grassland to scrub. Wedge-tailed eagles are circling our convoy looking for an easy meal, though whether it’s small rodents spooked by our cars or the boys in the Beemer burning oil at the back remains to be seen.