Robyn Davidson

The decision to act was in itself the beginning of the journey.

Some nomads are at home everywhere. Others are at home nowhere, and I was one of those.

The trip wasn't conceived as an adventure, in the sense of something to be proved or conquered. And when people ask me why I'm doing it, my usual answer is "Why not?"

I'd always been drawn to the purity of the desert, its hot wind and wide, open spaces. But mainly I was bored of life in the city, with its repetitions, my half-finished, half-hearted attempts at jobs and various studies. And I was sick of carrying around the self-indulgent negativity that was so much the malaise of my generation, my sex and my class.

I believe when you've been stuck too long in one spot, it's best to throw a grenade where you're standing, and jump... and pray.