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Tracks by Robyn Davidson (1980)

Crossing the Australian Outback With Camels

Jan 22, 2009 Andrea Beca

Tracks, written by Robyn Davidson in the late 70s and published in 1980, follows the author's journey across 1,700 miles of Australian outback with her camels.

It all starts out on a train platform in Australia. Robyn Davidson shivers in the cool breeze, clutching her canine sidekick, Diggity, wondering why she made the decision to go out into the desert, learn to train camels, and then take three of them across over one thousand miles of Australian outback. This is how Tracks opens, but if you're expecting an epic, 250-page journey, you may be slightly disappointed.

This Epic Journey is Slow to Start

The problem with Tracks is that it markets itself as something that it isn't, at least not entirely. You start reading on the assumption that the author is about to embark upon this massive trek, obviously brave and ready to face the world. What you get, though, is approximately 120 pages (almost half of the entire book) of trip preparation, followed by a very condensed 1,700-mile cross-country trip.

Questioning the Bias of the Narrator

In addition to this lop-sided structure, Davidson states openly that she didn't take any notes or keep journals while on her travels, unlike most travel writers. With this in mind, you can't help but wonder about the story's construction, and about how much of it may be more-than-slightly dramatized.

It is difficult not to think these things, as even during moments during which Davidson claims she was losing her mind, so to speak, she maintains an extreme sense of clarity and works through her problems with such great ease. You cannot help but feel somewhat let down over the fact that you don't get to feel any of those intense emotions, as they are already a thing of the past.

The most touching parts of Tracks occur when Davidson talks about her camels, with whom she does fall madly in love. Each of them become a separate and distinct character within the narrative, and soon you stop to think of them as camels and start to see them instead almost as people, as strong and likeable personalities.

Tracks Reads More Like a Memoir Than a Travel Narrative

Unfortunately, Robyn Davidson focuses a little bit too much on herself and not nearly enough on her actual journey. One of the most impressive elements of the trip - the fact that she actually rarely rode the camels, but led them while walking - is merely mentioned in passing and never brought up again. It's marginally interesting as a personal memoir, but questions of construction and the author's development of a very specific persona for this particular audience diminish even that. Tracks is worth a try if you're studying travel literature and want to experience various types of the genre, but it's not exactly an exciting leisurely read.

Tracks by Robyn Davidson

Picador UK, 1998

ISBN: 0330368613

The copyright of the article Tracks by Robyn Davidson (1980) in Travel Books is owned by Andrea Beca. Permission to republish Tracks by Robyn Davidson (1980) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.