A blissful lie in in the dark ger was curtailed by light bursting through the open door. Outside the temperature was already climbing and the sun was blisteringly hot, almost like we were in the middle of the desert...

We had pancakes containing pickled greens for breakfast, as well as sugary donut bread and tea before heading back to pack and prepare for our camel ride. We briefly watched only of the ladies 'grooming' a goat, which was tied down and obviously not enjoying the procedure but the end result looked significantly better suited to the hot environment and the neatly balled wool was a useful commodity.

We saw the camels being tacked up and as we approached it became very apparent just how big they were. Undaunted, we settled ourselves between the 2 shaggy humps and were hoisted into the air, impressed with how well controlled and relatively comfortable they were. We see-sawed as a train to the well to take on water as fast as it could be pumped from the borehole and then our shaggy ships of the desert took us on a long arc out into the wilderness.

We rode 5 abreast, all holding our neighbours reins which extended to a Y-shaped wooden peg in the nose of the obedient creatures. This arrangement meant that I rode alongside the bobbing head and beautiful big longlashed eyes of Bob's camel who did not appreciated my attempts to groom it. We accelerated into a lollopy trot whenever we crossed a dried up sandy river bed and as we approached home, dried bushes became irresistible tasty snacks but luckily no one was pulled from their seat.

I can't deny that my rump was pleased to dismount and we walked like Cowboys straight to the main ger for lunch. Victor had surpassed himself creating ratatouille and rice, with soy omelettes and even some cucumber and tomatoes for dressing! We licked the plates clean and after a up of tea and rehydrating we loaded into Olive and set off back towards the towering sand dunes as the wind began to whip the sand up.

Travelling with the wind left Olive's radiator a little hot and bothered, but after a brief rest break, head to wind, we continued sliding and lurching through the sandy foothills. 20km further on we assumed we were taking another engine break, but sadly Eegii had lost all power. With the front seats thrown into the swirling dustcloud and the engine cover removed the ever resourceful Eegii started singing and triumphantly produced a severed accelerator cable. His dulcet tones filled the cab as he went to work and masterfully had us back on the road within half an hour. It was s very smart reminder though of just how vulnerable we were as with no dwellings in sight, and in the middle of a sandstorm help arriving would have been a large stroke of luck.

We continued through the dunes, very hot and bothered as the only ventilation we had available also brought clouds of dust into Bob's lap. Fortunately we soon saw that we were heading towards a wind whipped huddle of gers situated right at the base of the imposing Khongoryn Els sand dunes.

There was nobody at home to welcome us except the cat who bore a striking resemblance to Sparky, so we took up positions in their ger and enjoyed a short siesta. It became very clear that the wind showed no intention of dropping so when everybody was well rested we set out to see the singing sand dunes which towered away from the ger. They looked perfectly sculpted and smoothed by the wind. Bob, Emilie and I ventured into the foothills and got well and truly sandblasted for our troubles, but appreciated the sheer enormity of them and also just how difficult it was to make forward progress up their face. We returned to the shelter of the van and returned to the ger via an oasis which supported several acres of greenery at the foot of the sand and was alive with birds and goats, all enjoying the small shallow lake. We were joined by a very un-mongolian dog, which was about the same size as Banter and unbelievably fluffy! He also had a very sweet nature and Bob, of course, was smitten!

The small furry skunk like bear dog followed us back to our ger, which was still abandoned, and provided much amusement as we settled in. There were proper beds but again no fire which considering the sweltering outside temperature was no bad thing. We played cards and Victor produced another excellent pasta supper, with tuna rather than mutton for a change. The sun set was masked by clouds but they could not mask just how isolated and remote we were from the rest of the world.