We went fishing yesterday…our first serious fishing attempt. Just a few hundred meters up the Rose river from the gulf and threw in the lines. I reckon we waited no more than 2 minutes before our first bite and from then on we were pulling in our lines every couple of minutes.

We came home with about 12 snapper, 2 cod and 2 kite fish. Anneliese and I took 3 of the snapper, gave the 2 cod and the 2 kite fish to some locals and the guy that owned the boat took the rest (he was going to give away most of his fish as well).

I tell you what, there is nothing like fresh fish with mango salad….ohhhh man!

One of the projects I have been running with is getting the area revegetated. Im talking with the local people about various bush food and bush medicine trees that we can plant, as well as trees to get the area growing again (the sand dunes have been slowly taking over the town and we plan to reverse this).

So Ive been getting a horticulturist in to help me, he knows a lot about local vegetation and works well with the local lads. He also just happens to manage a mango plantation. We had decided that it would be great to get a whole bunch of mango trees growing around the town, so the kids and people can get a feed from them now and again (we also have a bunch of cashew trees and a whole heap of other types).

The best way to grow mango trees is from seed. Its a very interesting process actually, you eat the mango (the best part of the whole procedure) then dry out the seed, which is actually a husk. You then cut this husk away to get the seed, which is wrapped in a tanin coat, soak the seed and coat for a day in water, peel the coating off and then plant the seed. I reckon Ive got about 2 to 300 mango trees growing in our back yard at the moment.

To help this process along, the horticulturist brought a plane load of mangos down for us to eat. we gave some away (with the promise of returning the seed) but still had heaps left over, so we froze a bunch of it and have been eating mangos almost non stop since….mmmmmmm love em. We have even had mango crumble, hehe. Anyone want a mango? Just come over.

Coincidence?

If it wasnt for Dan’s comment we would have left it longer most likely.

We worked in Adelaide for a few months and then headed North to work in Arnhem land. Another community called Numbulwar, which is on the mainland, just below Groote Eylandt. The township is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria on one side and the Rose River on the other side (you can see it on google maps, or check the map on our website).

Numbulwar is a beautiful community, but its been ill maintained for quite some time and so there is a lot of work to be done there. Anneliese is working as a Registered Nurse for the Health Clinic here and I am running the CDEP for the community (CDEP is similar to work for the dole, but its a lot more proactive. Its designed to provide working projects that better the community and hopefully get participants into full time work).

Both jobs are keeping us very busy, there is a great deal of work involved and to be honest its something we hadnt expected to be doing. But we are constantly surprising ourselves these days.

We have visited Katherine Gorge while here at Numbulwar and gone on a helicopter flight. We have seen the beautiful Nhulunbuy community (right at the tip of the gulf) and we have taken a boat up the Rose river and seen some HUGE crocodiles in thier natural element.

Its a very interesting journey we are having at the moment and at this stage we are not sure how long we will stay or what we will do next.

One thing I will say though. These communities are normally quite desperate for workers. It can be a pretty rewarding experience and while the pay may not always be the most you will get, there are usually many benefits that offset the cost of living. You will see and take part in many things you would never have expected. If you are in the city, looking for something more, wanting to make a difference….or be part of a change, then give some of this remote work a try.

Hola folks! Ill push myself to get some pictures organised and onto the website shortly.

We only spent a couple of days in Whyalla this time and then onto Adelaide.

We picked the kids up at Alice Springs airport. The kids had kept in touch with me over thier journey from Canberra via Liams phone. The QANTAS staff that looked after them the whole way were excellent. Anneliese and I have both seen this system in action before and have found Qantas to be very good in thier dealings with the kids. This trip was no exception, the kids had a great time and were delivered safe and sound.

We stayed the night at Alice Springs - Macdonald Ranges Caravan Park. They werent bad there, part of the Big4 network that we have found to be really nice parks. A little dearer, but if you need to stay in a caravan park then these are worth the money….we feel.

First thing in the morning we left towards Uluru (Ayres Rock), we decided to spend the night at Curtin Springs for 2 nights and visit Ayres Rock and The Olgas from there. Its a free camp and is well known (being right on the main road). So dont expect much for your money. Basically its a dustbowl with a few trees. But the main thing for us is that they had firepits, so we made a fire for dinner, cooked up a damper and had a great time.

We visited Mt Conner, took some pics, but couldnt get too close since some farmer had decided to fence off all the fences around the area (we didnt try real hard though, since we were walking).

We stopped at Ayers Rock, hoping to climb it. But found the gate locked. Apparently if its too windy or conditions are not good, the gate is locked. So we did a bit of walking around the base, looking at some of the other sites around the rock. Then around lunch we headed to the visitors center. The plan was to have lunch, have a drive around the rock and then head back to our camp.

As we drove around the rock we noticed that the gate was open and they were allowing climbers. Now they do ask that you dont climb, but you are welcome to if you wish…so we climbed. The girls made it to the start of the rope and then stopped. Liam was almost running up the rock, so I tried my best to follow him. I tell you…that bloody rock is steeper than you think. but we made it to the top. We didnt get to the book, I stopped Liam because it was hot, i was tired, and we didnt bring water (I didnt expect to climb up the bloody thing). But at least he got to the top of the rock (I stopped at the end of the rope).

The Olgas were pretty good too, but the day was wearing on so we didnt hang around there much. Both Anneliese and I were disappointed with both places now. We both saw Ayers Rock and The Olgas a long time ago and there wasnt the amount of tourists, walking paths, roped off areas that there are now. The mysticism of the places have gone for us and so we didnt feel the need to stay for too long. I think the kids had had about enough by now as well. So we headed back to camp.

Next day we headed to Kings Canyon. Went camel riding at Kings Creek station and considered staying there the night, but decided to get a room at Kings Canyon Resort instead. Phew! The prices there are steep! We paid $165 for a room (just an open room in a cinderblock dormitory) with 4 beds a small table, telly and fridge. Shared amenities were nearby and a camp kitchen for cooking. Laundry facilities were across the park at the campsite (of course). Very disappointing and if we were to do it again, we would certainly stay at Kings Creek Station instead. It may not be cheap either, but it seemed like a much nicer environment.

We didnt spend long at Kings Canyon. Liam really wasnt keen and we were all feeling a little tired and grumpy. So the next day we had a quick look at the canyon and left….Anneliese and I were also a little put off by our views on the day before and were getting sick of seeing these iconic places being ruined by walking paths and viewing platforms.

We followed the Larapinta/Mereenie Loop out of Kings Canyon to Gosses Bluff. A pretty eerie place. Then onto Glen Helen resort for GoldenBurgers (hamburgers that cost $15 each!!!! yeah you heard that right, thats why I called them goldenburgers).

Then onto waterholes Ormiston Gorge and Ellery Big Hole. Had a swim at Ellery Big Hole, it was bloody freezing, but still nice.

Back to Alice, we visited the Reptile park which had a good show and let the kids (and us) handle some of the snakes. Certaily worth a visit. But the Desert Park was wonderful. Well worth going to (catch the bird show!). Ensure you have a full day there though, we gave ourselves an afternoon and pretty much had to run everywhere to catch the shows and then didnt get to see the whole park.

The next day we saw the kids off…again, kudos to Qantas, they are always so professional and great with the kids (no, we do not hold Qantas shares and are not affiliated with them in anyway). They had a pretty uneventful trip home, good for us, not so good for the kids :)

Thats our week in a nutshell, lol

On the way back to Alice Springs we decided we didnt want to stay in any paid accomodation or camp sites, so we looked for a nice place to pull off the road and camp for the night. We had already decided to get breakfast at Cadney Park, because the food there really is good. So we wanted to stop before there.

In the end we found a great spot, about 50kms from Cadney Park, just off the main road. For a few kms along the highway they have run offs from the road that have tyre marks on them. We followed one of these and it headed into a fairly good copse of trees about 2 to 300meters from the road. Plenty of nice spots around there to park the car and plenty of wood for a fire.

We set up, got a fire going and spent the evening watching rain clouds come in from down south, took a few pictures of them and got a little sprinkling of rain. But the rain didnt last and we had a nice evening by the fire before retiring to bed ready for the next day.

Brekky at Cadney park was lovely and we found out what IWCYODDTRFDSTFOWTM (or something like that) means. Its over the bar at the roadhouse…let me know if you figure it out.

Onto Alice with the kids :)

We were intending to stay the night at Maree (on the Stuart Hwy) and pulled in there at about 8pm that evening after a big day of driving. But fortunately we were politely informed that there was no accomodation there at all, we were too late.

After a brief chat with the kind lady at the service station we got a number for a roadhouse at Cadney Park - 80kms down the road. We called them and had a room arranged, we would head straight there.

The room was nice enough, they have a hotel, some lawn for tents and caravans and some cabins. All very nice. The owner is trying to drum up business a bit as most people tend to head for Maree. Well, DONT! Next time you are heading up the Stuart Hwy to or from Alice Springs, consider stopping at Cadney Park as the accomodation is great, reasonably priced and the food from the roadhouse is lovely.

We made a point of stopping there again on our way back to Alice, but Ill get to that later.

All up, we made it to Whyalla no problems :)

More to follow…

This being the closest wateringhole to Lajamanu (110kms up the Lajamanu road) we decided that we needed to investigate this place before we left and that it would be fitting to share the moment with a few friends before we left Lajamanu.

A couple of others in Laj happened to be leaving at around the same time, so by the time it was organised we had a bit of a party.

7 of us squeezed into Chris’ mighty Pajero and bounced up the road, singing, laughing and sharing the shit along the way.

At Kalkarindji we were a little apprehensive when we reached the bar. It was fully fenced off and we werent sure of the reception we would recieve. But, of course, we were ushered in and immediately felt at home in the place.

After a few beers and a getting my arse kicked at pool a few times, we decided to take some pictures. Here is one of the group of us, settling in for our first beers

Here is me with one of the local pool sharks :) and if you have keen eyesight you may see one of the other pool sharks hiding between the two of us….isnt that right Bradley, hehe

We also met a couple of the Kalkaridji elders. This gentleman in picture below kept us amused with stories of the area and ensured we felt welcome at thier social club. He was very keen for us to return and bring our friends…which Im sure the other Lajamanu folk would be happy to do.

All up we had a wonderful time and all to soon the bar was closing and people were ushering us out. Between Kalkarindji and Dugeragu (5 minutes from Kalkarindji) is a nice swimming hole, so we decided to cool off there before heading back to Lajamanu.

What we found was a beautiful river with plenty of rocks to laze about on. I got busy swimming and encouraging Anneliese to jump in. See the slideshow pics. We really liked that spot and at the end of the day we had to agree that as far as send offs go, that had to be one of the best. In only a few days we would be on the road to Whyalla, likely never to return to Lajamanu.