A Nomad was our Guide

This is the story of the first motorized party to make the crossing from the western side of Australia to the Rawlinson Ranges in Central Australia, and of the return journey through the sand dunes of the Gibson Desert.

It's the story of our search for reported remains of the ill-fated 1848 expedition led by Ludwig Leichhardt. Above all, it is a story of the skill and dependability of our Aboriginal guide - Mitawalinya - and his people, the Wongi, into whose land we ventured.

For the sake of accuracy and because the circumstances of our meeting and subsequent dependance on Mitawalinya as our guide have to be seen against the background of that first motorized journey, the story is recounted from the diary of the actual expedition.