Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Davidson completes her job with Sallay Mahomet and is given two camels in return. She chooses an older female named Kate and a younger female named Zeleika. At the same time, her friends at Basso’s farm move away and leave their house for Davidson to live in until it is sold. She gets the camels to Basso’s but is troubled to find that both have infected wounds.

Although Davidson feels slightly adrift without her old bosses around for help, she also feels liberated to be living on her own with the camels. She appreciates the beauty of the desert and realizes that she has never before had a home of her very own. She walks through the farmhouse, admiring each feature even though it is in ruins in places. Davidson reflects that she had always assumed that being alone meant being lonely, but that now she sees how she might be happy on her own.

Davidson’s closest neighbor at Basso’s farm is a fun-loving Aboriginal woman named Ada Baxter. Davidson enjoys Ada’s company and finds that she fills the role of a surrogate mother. Davidson begins to think more about Aboriginal rights and reflects that although she likes the young people she meets who are involved in Aboriginal rights, she’s not sure whether she wants to get more involved in local social life and jeopardize her solitude. However, two of these young people, Jenny and Toly, win her over and become her close friends.

Over the next few months, Davidson finds herself becoming less happy, despite her enjoyment of living alone. She attempts to remain friends with Gladdy and so sees Kurt as well, who continues to treat her with animosity. Gladdy plans to leave Kurt but does not do so right away. Additionally, Davidson befriends a couple of children from a nearby Aboriginal camp and through their lives she learns more about what she calls the “incredibly complex problems” that Aboriginal people face. She describes the poor living conditions, discrimination, and health risks that the communities around Alice Springs are subject to.

Davidson is especially troubled by how unequipped the local schools are to educate Aboriginal children, and also notes how Australian assimilation laws have led to ruthless practices of stripping land from Aboriginal communities. She describes the particular case of an eleven-year-old Aboriginal boy she meets named Clivie, who is intelligent and friendly but prone to stealing. Davidson enjoys getting to know Clivie but hears later that he runs away after stealing weapons and is eventually caught and sent to a school for delinquent boys.

Over time, Davidson feels that she is beginning to grow more and more miserable. She feels like she is procrastinating starting her true journey and does not fully believe that she will ever leave for the desert. Though uneasy, she distracts herself by continuing to care for her camels. Zeleika is too thin, while Kate is traumatized from her abusive past and hates humans. Kate also has a serious infection in the flesh of her chest, which the vet teaches Davidson how to treat.

Kate’s condition continues to worsen, and Davidson spends several months devoted mostly to caring for her and training Zeleika for riding. The two camels are closely bonded to each other and Davidson slowly learns how to work with them effectively. She also describes the various traumas that both animals have endured and, after discovering that the wooden nose-peg that she uses to control Zeleika has splintered and injured her, she reflects: “How animals forgive us for what we do to them, I will never understand.”

Sallay comes to visit Davidson and informs her that Zeleika seems to be pregnant. He tells her that having a baby camel on the trip will be helpful, since Davidson can tie up the baby and Zeleika will never wander away from it. At the same time, it becomes clear that Kate has blood poisoning and will not be able to recover. With support from her friend Jenny, Davidson steels herself and shoots Kate to put her out of her misery. Without Kate, Davidson feels like a murderer and thinks despairingly that she has wasted the past 18 months and will never successfully start her trip.