TRUST REWARDED

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Goondiwindi, Narrabri, Coonabarabran, Parkes, Narrandera, Tatura ...the little red car did not miss a mechanical beat as we made our way down the Newell Highway toward home. The warning light which had caused the concern was not seen again however whilst exploring the very beautiful Warrumbungle National Park outside Coonabarabran a filter warning appeared. This added to tension, I was already feeling, as I was tailed by a particularly dusty Ute with hunting gun sights and spotties which chose not to pass me, along the relatively isolated bush roads to the lookout I was seeking.

I am not given to letting paranoia be my companion however when I pulled into a roadside bay, the entrance to a walk and the vehicle pulled in behind me, I skidded my (admittedly small) tyres and wheeled off in the direction I had come, furious at being intimidated, furious that retreat was the better part of valour and furious with the red f@#$%$#ing filter light for

continuing to impact my communing with my car and my surroundings.

A lux motel with bath, very fluffy towels, fabulously perfumed bath wash and an enormous bed went some way to salving my savage self however this incident highlighted to me the limitations of being a solo female traveller and called to mind the darker stories of danger in the Australian landscape.

My familiarity with the highway and the towns along the way, as well as the remarkable absence/ completion of the roadworks which had blighted my journey up the road, did however give me the opportunity to relax into the driving, consider the landscape, enjoy the ABC and muse on life the universe and everything.

The Kangaroo carnage continued unabated throughout New South Wales, and it was often necessary to swerve to avoid a huge animal recently struck. It became increasingly heart wrenching as the numbers built. And it all happened against a backdrop of a clear azure horizon meeting fields of bright yellow canola.

Filter lights, fear, and fauna damage not withstanding, it was a lovely drive home.