Gabriel glanced at the small herd of horses that raced across the scrubby landscape, moving effortlessly through the beige spinifex grass, their elongated shadows rippling across earth as red as the sun that was sinking below the horizon. There wasn’t a lot to see in this area, mostly tall grass, small dry-looking shrubs, and acacia trees, but I found it oddly appealing.

“Brumbies,” he said.

“Pardon?”

“Wild horses here are called brumbies.”

“Ah.”

“I intended to bring you here eventually,” he said, jerking the wheel to avoid hitting a small brown animal. “Bilby.”

“Bilby to you, too,” I said brightly, feeling out of my depth.

Gabriel laughed and turned on the Land Rover’s lights. “That was a bilby, little bird. They’re endangered, and nocturnal by nature, so it’s rare to see one out in the open like this. They’re part of the reason why we’re out here.”

“Out in the boonies?” I peered through the grime-specked window, watching the collection of small buildings fade into the distance. The sky glowed reddish orange as the sun slipped downward, casting a lovely amber glow over everything. “There don’t seem to be a lot of people around. Is it because it’s so arid?”

“Partially. Lajamanu is a relatively new settlement. The white powers that be relocated the Warlpiri people here, my mother’s family included. There was some trouble, but eventually the people settled. It may not seem like a thriving community, but they’re holding their own.”

“I see.” We’d flown into a tiny airport on a plane that appeared to be held together by nothing but duct tape and hope. The town itself was very small, but I didn’t have time to do much but admire a local artist who was painting a vibrant canvas before Gabriel sent Maata and Tipene off in one direction, the two of us taking charge of a beat-up old Land Rover that had clearly seen better years.

“The Wulaign rangers in this area stay out in the bush and monitor wildlife, including those that are endangered or threatened.” We jounced over a couple of deep ruts and chugged our way up the side of the dried riverbed, avoiding a mammoth spiky rock formation as we headed for an area rich with trees. One last ray from the dying sun burst with glorious color at a spot between the trees. “That’s the river up there. We’ll likely have to spend the night.” He slid me a curious glance. “I never asked whether you liked roughing it. I suppose now would be a good time, eh?”