In 1984, when he was about 25, he finally came into contact people from outside his family. When he saw a white man for the first time, Warlimpirrnga remembers, "I couldn't believe it. I thought he was a devil, a bad spirit. He was the colour of clouds at sunrise." He and his family were settled at Kiwirrkurra. News of this group living nomadically so far into the modern world made headlines internationally.