Andrew Starkey, Kokatha spokesperson and Defence Dept indigenous liaison officer escorted us into the prohibited zone.

Skeletons scattered, so many, dissolving into the desert sands. The sands topped with a flat, shattered crust of singing stones, multicoloured and faceted earth tones.

An emu glides smooth and speedy across the horizon, the kangaroo bounds through a gully below us.

Bomb tracking stations and observation tower debris and carcinogenic PCP's lie abandoned in the hot sun. Remnants of the testing for the war machine to make death bigger and better. A radiation hazard sign decaying faster than the hazard.

We must not let our camels eat the bushes, the food chain may be contaminated. They strain, pulling back on their leads. We scream "Ibna, ibna camels, Ibna Ibna" like broken records. They stubbornly follow on their senses strong to what is wrong.

The sweeping red dunes in which we camped 5km from the drill test site shone with vibrance and beauty. All is serene, the sparseness, stillness and silence gives rise to the lands spirituality. An aqua green bird with orange and red under wings swoops down in the early morning. A huge brown and yellow striped centipede crawls around. The earth is blooming with small yellow flowers and native daisies of yellow and white. Moisture is evident from the succulent green ground shrubs.

THE PROPOSED SITE

The Department of Industry,Science and Resources has shown particular interest in this site, it has been revisited and recorded more than any other of the sites on Defence land. For all its supposed remoteness this site is located just 30 km from Roxby Downs(pop 2000), 45km from Andamooka(pop ) and 45km from Woomera(pop1200) and only 3-4 km from the Woomera -Roxby highway. Closer still to neighbouring pastoral stations.

Beside the pole next to the hole with the blue tag we erect two painted up signs made from recycled bits and pieces found at the old tracking station site. Over the drill test hole fits perfectly a childrens potty. An interview with Andrew was conducted. He now has a Humps NOT Dumps sticker on his car. We made messages out of stones 'KNOW MORE' which Andrew and his two daughters put their handprints beside. Runes of protection and strength were placed around. We had a picnic, photoshoot and popped open a bottle of sparkling red burgundy donated especially for that moment by Friends of the Earth. We toasted to the official closure of the dump that never opened

The opportunity to cross this land feels precious, more so knowing that we may be some of the first to do so in a long time and some of the last to see it free from radioactive waste. From here we drop down a lush bush speckled escarpment down,down into a Mulga, Myall and Native Pine woodland of undulating sandhills. A myriad of scampering tracks and different shaped scats of birds, dogs, lizards, roos and emus. Marsupials have burrowed, big and small, shallow and deep into the soft red earth.

Beware 40 tonnes of explosives scheduled for testing. Scheduled to scramble the scene and blast the peace.

Birds flutter and play, red and burgundy black legged beetle breathes deep, a flock of Corellas sing in the still spring afternoon. Willy Wag Tail, the messenger, darts between us, our camels follow free. This is the most inhabited and vegetated country through which we have passed.

NO CATTLE, NOMAN, NO CARS, NO HUNTING, JUST BIG BOMBS EVERY NOW AND THEN