MOON, MAN AND MISSILE

This is a twin-engined, 400kph motorcycle, photographed during a 2006 world land speed record attempt on Lake Gairdner (South Australia). Gairdner is Australia's second largest salt lake, in the middle of a desertified national park, and a very weird place. Transparent scorpions live under the salt. Birds drop dead from thirst in the centre because they’re disoriented and can’t find their way out. In summer it’s regularly 50 degrees C and even by Australian standards that’s quite warm.

But for all that and more, it’s a perfect place for land speed record attempts because the lake is huge, exceedingly flat, it’s dry, and the only thing you can hit if you crash is a spectator. I went there to write about the speed machines but ended up more interested in the lake. Despite being staged in a desert, racing was postponed because rain fell five kilometres away and wind pushed it on to the course. Funny world, eh?

5D, 17-40 at 20 mil, ISO100, 1/60sec at f16.