But a quick check of the news on her phone told her something weird was going on. Sightings of strange lights in the sky from the northern coast down through Western Australia and into the Northern Territory – and now somebody on the road to Yulara, the tourist town twelve kilometres north of Uluru itself, had reported something coming down in the desert. The airport had seen nothing on radar, but the caller was adamant.

So now Rosie was scouring the outback for signs of a plane crash. She stopped the off-roader at the top of a rise and got out. Ignoring the bugs swarming around the spotlights, she surveyed the plains ahead. The distant lights of Yulara were off to her left, a lone vehicle on the empty desert road further north. But there was nothing else in sight . . .

She started to turn back to the truck – then glimpsed something. As she looked directly at it, though, it vanished. She frowned, then reached into the Toyota and closed her eyes before switching off its lights.

The spots’ intense glare vanished. She opened her eyes again, letting them adjust to the darkness. It didn’t take long. It was a clear night, and the sky was bright with stars, the glowing band of the Milky Way cutting across it. She looked back at the desert.

There: a softly shimmering bluish light. Chemical glowsticks? There was a shape that she at first took to be a tent, before realising it would be a really big one – it was well over a kilometre distant.

There was definitely someone there, though – and she had a good idea what they were doing. She got back into the Land Cruiser and picked up the radio handset. ‘Hey, Sandra, are you there? It’s Rosie.’

‘I’m here,’ came the reply. ‘Have you found anything?’

‘Yeah, but it’s no UFO – no plane crash, either. I think we’ve got some illegal campers.’

‘You sure? The bloke who called was sure he saw something come down from the sky.’

‘I’m going to have a look. Pretty sure it’s just some penny-pinchers who don’t want to pay for a hotel room, though. I’ll call back soon.’

‘Okey-dokey. You need any help, Barney and I can get out to you.’

‘I’ll let you know.’ She restarted the engine. Camping inside Uluru national park was prohibited, and there was no shortage of signs to make that clear. Bloody tourists! She set off again.

The terrain was tricky, but she was an expert off-road driver. She travelled over a kilometre before halting at a dry riverbed. Its sides were too steep even for the Toyota to traverse, but she was not far from her goal. She switched off the engine and lights, then collected a torch and set out on foot.

The journey to her final destination did not take long. She climbed another rise – and stopped in surprise.