Chapter 35
Nina sniffed the wind and smiled. She loved the scent of rain on dry earth and, even after days of wet weather, the sweet smell lingered down here by the river.
Rain had catapulted the stagnating Bunyip into wild good health. All the grief and disappointments of recent weeks could not detract from Nina’s joy in the rising river. And there was more to come. They said the Hopeton Dam was breached. This was no curse; it was a blessing. Those who thought floods were just water going to waste didn’t understand how this country worked. How many years since there’d been a decent overflow at Red Gums? The river had already overtaken that last peak, bursting free of its banks, and was still building. In her hat and Drizabone, Nina stood hypnotised by the spectacle. Occasionally she ran
