We had no idea where we were when the lights failed in the Ute. We HOPED we were heading back towards the highway, but who knew? The 'track' was just faint tyre marks. No one had driven down it for a long time. Fortunately we had a torch so I got out and walked in front searching for tyre prints while Terry followed behind in first gear. Then the torch died too. I heard Terry scrabbling around in the bottom of the Ute and then a tiny flame appeared. He'd found a cigarette lighter! So now I'm walking in front of the Ute with only a cigarette lighter to guide us. I remember my thumb blistering as the flint got hotter. The flame got smaller and smaller and then finally, it died too. We were completely in the dark with no radio and no way of knowing where we were. I will never forget the relief when I saw a little red light through the canopy. Not aliens but the beacon on top of the telecommunications tower, the one you could see from the roadhouse...
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