My two-day Kangaroo Island tour was all about fun with the natural world. There was hiking, combing beaches, climbing dramatic boulders perched at the sea’s edge, barreling down sand dunes on boards greased with furniture polish, watching sleepy sea lions & cavorting fur seals, & checking out excellent local products like aromatic eucalyptus oil & delectable honey. It was a fast, fun frolic – too fast, actually, because I would have enjoyed adventure caving and other activities that can be had on KI during longer visits – and I wanted a journal entry that reflected that.

When I first heard the winds' hollow roar as I approached the summit at Kata Tjuta's Valley of the Winds in the Northern Territory, I was startled. They seemed to come out of nowhere, and I immediately stopped to listen. Which was a good thing, and not just because I was nearing the edge of a cliff. As our guide Derek, or D as he liked to be called, told us, the Pitjantjatjara people who have inhabited Australia's Central Desert for some 22,000 years believe the winds will blow out anything bad in your life.