Keely hesitated. He asked a lot of questions. She wasn’t good at confiding in strangers. “Yes…Perth is just the starting point. I plan to head north from there.”

“South is better.”

“Is it?”

“We have everything in the south; great wine, fantastic beaches, surf, beautiful weather and a magical river. What else does one need?”

“Good morning everyone, and welcome aboard.”

Keely was saved from answering as the flight attendant began the safety instructions. Keely gave the attendant her full attention, but the woman on her left continued to work on the crossword, and the man, Euan, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Relieved that she would no longer have to make conversation, Keely watched the flight attendant closest to her, noting her nearest exit was a couple of rows in front. Had a domestic flight ever needed to use these emergency exits?

Keely shook her head to chase away the negative thoughts. She was worrying like her mother. She recalled the quiet send-off she’d just experienced. Her mum had teared up and her dad had given her an extra tight hug. They were behaving as if Keely was leaving Adelaide forever, instead of taking a three-month trip to Western Australia. “I’ll be home for Christmas,” she’d said. Her dad had flapped a hand and pulled her mum close while her two younger brothers had watched on with bemused looks. They’d complained when their mother insisted they come too. They’d lined up a tennis game with the girls next door and weren’t keen to make the trek to the airport.

“Goodness knows when you’ll see your sister again,” their mother had said. “We’re all going to give her a proper send-off on her big adventure.”

Keely shook her head. Big adventure! What a laugh. It wasn’t as if she was leaving the country. She had been saving to go overseas for a couple of years but her mum hadn’t wanted her to go alone. Keely’s friend Bec had agreed to go with her but when Bec had been offered a new job their plans had been put on hold till the year after. Keely had been desperate to get away for a break and opted for a West Aussie trek as an alternative until they could reschedule the overseas trip.

Broome and the Kimberley region had interested her since the time of her childhood holidays in Perth with her grandparents. Her grandfather had been an avid storyteller, keeping Keely and her younger brothers entertained with tales of his travels to the north-western areas of Australia. She’d decided on a ramble along Australia’s western coast. If she put the huge expanse of the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain between her and her nightmare, maybe she could shake it off.