Four of us went gold prospecting in outback Western Australia back in 1980 when I was 12yo - my Dad, his mate and his teenage son. We had two tents set up in a clearing next to a small hill, with small trees/bushes scattered around us - one tent was for food storage, the other was an open gazebo with fly net for windows to let the night breezes pass through as we slept inside on camper beds. We had dug a latrine about 50 metres from the site.

During the night I needed to get up to pee, but under the bright moonlit sky I noticed the dark outline of a tall, hulking figure ambling slowly away, towards the latrine. The figure resembled Geoff, who I thought was going to the toilet, so I decided to wait until he was back before I took my turn.

After a few minutes of waiting I was getting a bit desperate, and wished Geoff would hurry up. I rolled over to face the other beds but noticed they were all full. Geoff was fast asleep at the far end of the tent. I froze.

What did I just see outside the tent?

Somewhat terrified I lay there trying to reflect on what I’d just seen, but nothing I could think of made sense. It definitely seemed human, but we were 100kms from the nearest town. Then again, it’s unhurried gait seemed menacing and otherworldly. I shuddered anew.

Eventually I fell asleep, suddenly no longer needing to pee, and told nobody for many years.

I have no idea what I might have seen that night, but it could well have been this….