We gathered at the meeting point on time as the sun rose over Fossil Rock – setting the scene for the mornings drive.

Sven had scouted ahead for an opening through the fence to the deflation point so we quickly headed there as a convoy to recap on the plan for the morning and focus on development points.

Before starting up our engines, Marko took the opportunity to practice some radio communication skills and test everyone’s mental arithmetic; not an easy task at 6.30am!

With our brains now alert we set off into the desert in search of some new types of terrain for our trainees… bowls. The much anticipated lesson 4 is the first introduction to bowl driving and after some early apprehension and tentative steps, the convoy was quickly eating these formations for breakfast. Combined with some long, high-speed side slopes this was an adrenaline fuelled morning that will live long in the memory.

Even with a few self recoveries the convoy made good progress as we flowed from one challenge to the next and it before we knew it, it was time to head for the exit point with stunning views of fossil rock to enjoy along the way.

It’s clear to see the improvements made by these trainees week on week, and with the new skills learned today they are ready to take on next weeks challenge.