Godly G-Nonna Aurora took command and proved very resourceful for a 14-year-old. She hot-wired a ute and displayed a tendency to approach sharp corners at high speed. She had an extensive cassette collection and drowned out the screaming of the engine with her current favourite bands, Dying Fetus and Aborted.

Her choice of accommodation was economical, preferring to break into abandoned buildings and sleep on cardboard boxes. It's hard to say whether Aurora's unique brand of midwifery had an influence, but Lexie claimed Mary almost joined the party several times on the way to Florence.

As the east coast of Italy came into view, we wept and gesticulated wildly. We'd done what no westerner had done before and would go down in history alongside our heroes, Burke and Wills. We'd mapped the first crossing of the Italian Wilderness.