The Dingo did it

No native animal of the Australian bush has gained more notoriety than the Australian dingo. From the Lindy Chamberlan to Frazer Island, the dingo has gained a much maligned reputation.
We were camped in a bush camp on a cattle station camp situated on the Gibb River Road. The evening meal finished, Mary and I prepared to retire for the evening. Immediately before climbing the three step ladder to bed, Mary noticed a solitary boot sitting at the base of the ladder and reminded me to get the other and put them up out of reach of the dingos.
Too late, the missing boot had been carefully placed with it's mate but was now missing. I knew in an instant that a dingo had taken it even though we were eating dinner just a few meters away.
I took the lantern and following an animal track leading from the camp and there it was, my  Blundstone, lying by the track, discarded by the disinterested dingo. Later that evening I lay in the camp bed and enjoyed the mournful howling serenade of a lone dingo.

A few nights later in another roadside bush camp, after finishing tea, we were sitting in our camp chairs soaking up the wonder of the southern sky. Millions of stars were emerging from their daylight slumber to light up the moonless night sky. What a wonderful experience it is to just sit with friends in the silent stillness of the Australian bush and just wonder ..
Then it happened, just like it often does, a lone dingo howled in the distance. I recalled answering them some years back at Sams Creek with my own attempt. Why not give it a try here in remote north WA. A few moments and the dingo answered, I called again and once more the dingo called back. The calling continued for a few minutes, and then we were joined by another to the south. The three of us continued our serenade and were joined by more dingoes. The hairs on the back of our necks began to stand up as the howls came closer. The girls had had enough and retreated to the security of the vans leaving Stan and myself to await their arrival, and then as suddenly as they commenced the serenade, they stopped never to be heard again that evening. What a privileged experience it was, interacting with the cleverest and  and most cunningly shy native of our desert bushland.
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