LAJAMANU, Australia — Halfway into a 400-mile journey through a dusty stretch of the Australian desert, the team’s minibus ran into trouble.
The players, Warlpiri Australians from one of the country’s most isolated towns, were headed to a carnival, a celebration of sport and culture that brings together far-flung Indigenous communities from across the Central Desert.
Much of the drive to the site of the event, in Yuendumu, from their home in Lajamanu, Northern Territory, was a straight shot along the infamous and empty Tanami Road, a bone-rattling dirt track that stretches 650 miles.
But the trip was just a short jaunt for the players, who have traveled up to 1,000 miles to play their favorite game, a sport called “bush footy.