It was almost 9am and I’d been on the road for two hours. I’d expected a procession of trucks driving north on the Brand Highway but I hadn’t seen another vehicle in 15 minutes. Had I missed the turn-off to Badgingarra?

I slowed around a sweeping bend and noticed a faded truck, parked on the shoulder of a gravel track. I veered off the highway and crunched to a stop in front of it.

Painted across the bonnet was the slogan: “Alcatraz, the Bird Man.” Up close, the pale morning shadows conspired to suggest the truck was deserted but then a gruff voice came from behind the cabin: “Morning!