Pippa couldn’t drive all night after all. By midnight she was almost asleep at the wheel. After skirting the large town of Wodonga she turned onto the Murray Valley Highway and looked for a secluded place to sleep. Pippa parked behind a stand of tall gum trees, got out of the car and explored the area with her torch to make sure she was alone.
Despite the darkness, Pippa sensed that she’d left the Mallee country behind. The air here was cool, and fragrant with wild mint and eucalyptus. A chorus of frog calls throbbed through the night. The dirt beneath her feet was black, not red. She picked some up and squeezed. It formed a loose, moist ball in her hand instead of running straight through her fingers. And the size of the trees! They towered so high above the car that her torch beam could
