Juliette had been counting the sleeps until the arrival of her “fairy godmother” Urda, and crazy Aunty Lizzy. These are both my really dear friends with whom we have shared many a great holiday over the years, including an unforgettable road trip to Broken Hill and Lake Mungo last year. We packed all the camping gear and headed to Kununurra to meet their plane and begin a 2 week Kimberley Odyssey.

We were staying the first night at the mango farm with Damian and Lyn. We knew that they would get on fabulously with our guests and Lizzy and Urda were blown away by their open hearted hospitality. We had a great camp fire and dinner under the big old tree (the same one that a few weeks ago the taipan had escaped up). Lots of Damian’s home brew was consumed and after an hour it felt like we had all known each other a lifetime. The girls were surprised that complete strangers made them so welcome. As we explained, up here in the Kimberley everyone is away from their near and dear and so that is just what you do. You become very close very quickly to people you meet.

Damian and Lyn also had Damian’s niece Kim staying with them. She had left Bunbury about a year and a half ago after she finished school, (she says to put off making a decision about what she wanted to do with her life) and had been on the road ever since. She drives a van and is a little thing with dreadlocks. I admired her courage and envied her experience. She lives very simply and works when she needs to. The life experience she has gathered will be with her forever. I hope when it comes time I have the will to encourage Juliette to do the same.

It was the last day of term today and I can certainly say we were all happy. Absolutely exhausted is the only way to describe how we all felt. We had an assembly to celebrate the last day. This was great fun with some fantasic performances. We had a volunteer music teacher, Judy Hill from Hamilton in Victoria come and work with the students for the last 2 weeks. She had small groups and so the students had a chance to play instruments such as the violin, recorder, guitar and various percussion.  Juliette’s class presented a musical item and the smile on her face was enormous, she was just so proud.

At the end of the assembly they give out awards for kids who have high attendance.  Juliette won the highest award, for 100% attendance. I suppose the poor kid has no chance with Mike and I there. The last 2 weeks she has been absolutely exhausted as she gives 110% to everything she does. She had cried in the mornings that she did not want to go. She was so excited with the award as she got a book, doll and bubble blowing potion. I was so proud of her as she already had a copy of the book and so gave it to her best friend Erin. It was beautiful to watch them sit in assembly together, their arms around each other.

Today we had parent/teacher interviews. To encourage more parents to come they put on a sausage sizzle. Unfortunately, a large number of our parents were absent due to attendance at a camp following the Drug and Alcohol seminars. They were out at Osmond Valley participating in numerous cultural, health and counseling experiences. The children were also with them and so our numbers for the last week of term were very low.

I had written 10 reports and four carers turned up to receive them. It is a little difficult to know which parents can read or not and so you go carefully through the report to make sure they understand what it says. Only 1 student had their actual parent turn up.  A grandmother, auntie and older sister (this girl is only seventeen herself and has been left to care for numerous younger children) were the others who collected the report. This just reflects not only the extended nature of kinship in this community, but also the level of dysfunction. Many parents are absent due to imprisonment, alcohol abuse, death or having now taken up with different partners.

Conducting the interviews was challenging as the women have the care of the children and so would sit down with about 5 smaller children in tow, none of whom were able to sit still very long. Mostly I sent the eldest sibling outside with the kids to give the carer some uninterrupted time with the student. This minimized the distractions.

When I think of all the hours I had put into writing these reports, it was disappointing that more were not collected. I will have to hand deliver these next term. I always remind myself that the chaos in the lives of these people is such that attending interviews comes well down on the list of priorities.

One of our sleeping beauties waking up.

Sleeping in a swag under a sky full of stars is such a beautiful experience that I found it hard to sleep. I watched the satellites as they orbited across the sky and enjoyed the absolute silence. Unless you have been a long way from roads, houses and any form of civilization, you never have experienced true silence. Not a single hum of an air conditioner, the whir of a water tank or drone of a passing truck. Quiet is something that so many of us long for but never get. I savoured every moment.

The other problem I have is that my brain seems to put my bladder into overdrive. The more difficult it is to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, the more often I have to go. In such silence, the sound of the zip undoing a swag seemed to reverberate off the hill side. I was so conscious of waking our sleeping beauties up. It was a good trudge up the sand bank to find a suitable place to go and although I took my head torch, I was a little fearful of what animal delights may have been lurking about.

I am a morning person and so as the dawn was breaking I was up to enjoy the experience in solitude. I took myself down to the river and bathed in the cool water. Mind you, on my own I was not going out too far as I didn’t feel like being croc brekky. It was so great to wash the dirt and exertion off from the day before, I am not a person who can camp and not wash. I love camping but I can make a cup of water do what is necessary to clean myself if water is limited. While in the water I was reminded of the people who had walked this land for thousands of years and had probably done the same. The indigenous women in particular talk about the cleansing properties of water- not only physical, but they also sit in the river when they are troubled. It helps them think more clearly. Here, water is such a life giving force as rain only falls for a very brief time, then everything bursts into life with renewed vigour, knowing that just around the corner is the unforgiving dry.

The girls began to stir and immediately they were back in the river, swimming and fishing. We had a camp brekky and began packing away all the bedding as the sun was beginning to become very hot, even at 8am and we did not fancy trudging up and down the bank in the hot sand any later. I took a collection of students under a tree for a session of painting. The older girls helped the younger ones with traditional art works. We had a great selection of different coloured ochres and they painted some interesting images, many already using the style of the traditional Warmun art.

We then headed home, the bigger girls walking up to the trailer along the river bank again, but luckily this time Rose the aboriginal teacher’s aide volunteered to walk with them. I was still really worn out from my exertions yesterday. We had to reload and repack at the trailer and it was very hot by this time. We wanted to get back to school early enough so the students could help us unpack , wash both vehicles, do all the washing of dishes and sleeping bags. Also, one of our water containers had leaked and as the day was so hot, we did not want to be caught out with limited water. The girls could drink the river water as they would be used to it, but it would be problematic for us and it would take a long time waiting for it to cool down enough to drink after boiling.

We spent about 2 hours doing the chores back at school and the kids were a great help. We had to wash some of the sleeping bags and air the others. We fed the girls the left over stew and gave them marshmallows as a reward for helping. It was important that they understood things do not just happen by magic. The welfare system gives them this idea and it is very hard to overcome. It was a good camp but Deb and I were absolutely exhausted and vowed, we would not do one like that again that involved packing and unpacking the cars so many times. The girls just laughed and said we just take too much. They are right, but we lack their bush skills.

Sorry I am so far behind but we have just had a fantastic holiday exploring the many delights of the Kimberley. I will endeavour to catch up soon.

Today we were heading off on our first class bush camp together.  It is a completely different experience rounding up indigenous kids for their school camp. No letters from mothers telling us all about Mary’s allergies and checking that we have the epi-pens in our first aid kits. First we go around to the homes and remind them that camp is today.  Most of my girls had arrived at school but we were joining Deb’s Year 1 and 2 class whose regular numbers were around 25, though 38 were listed on the roll. After an hour of driving she only managed to round up 8 girls, none of the boys came. Either they were not allowed or they did not want to. The fear of the dark is very strong among these kids, as from the cradle they are warned of a mythical (I think) big hairy man that lurks just beyond the shadows.

The other different thing about taking these girls away is that we were hair straightener and make up free. I don’t think any girl even took so much as a spare change of clothes. They swim in their clothes or just underpants so it gets washed. They walked out from home with either a single blanket under their arm or nothing at all. Survival in the bush is so second nature to these girls that they laugh at us and say we “gardiya” (white fellas) just take too much with us.

Luckily John Sparks, the retired teacher who was volunteering with us for 2 terms was coming with us as neither Deb nor I had ever towed a trailer before, let alone with a troupie packed with students. Because of report writing and how busy things had been, neither Deb nor I had been out to Crocodile Hole.  We had no idea how difficult the road would be. It had been the venue suggested to us as the easiest.

We eventually left, and headed down the highway on what was quickly becoming a very hot day. We called in to the small community (only 1 house is occupied) of Crocodile Hole to ask permission to travel upon their land. They were very welcoming. This community is about 20 km of dirt in from the highway, has no school, store or any other services beside electricity and water.

We were ahead of Deb and out of 2 way range. John the adjusted the hubs and put the car into 4 wheel drive. The remainder of the journey was tough going, with the last few kilometres so rugged we had to unhitch the trailer, load all the food and gear into it, and then the high school girls and I walked the rest of the way along the river. This terrain is absolutely second nature to these kids. I admired the toughness of their feet as they headed barefoot straight across the spinifex grass and rocks.

As they walked along the river they spotted a goanna hiding under the rocks. That poor animal did not stand a chance for the girls just saw dinner, as goanna is one of their favourite delicacies. Most teenage girls would stand back and squeal. Not this lot! They pounded that poor goanna, showing absolutely no mercy, then proudly carried it up river to where we were setting up camp on the dry river bank.

We unloaded the troupie, trekking up and down the bank in what turned out to be the state’s highest temperature of the day, 38 degrees. With the heat radiating and light reflecting off the sand it felt closer to 45 degrees.  I was beginning to become concerned about Deb. She was now within 2 way contact but heading in the wrong direction. John went out to find her and I expressed to him my concern that Deb may not have realized that she had to engage 4 wheel drive.

She finally arrived, very traumatized by the experience of driving a car full of kids in such conditions with no previous 4WD experience. As I guessed she did not realize she was to engage 4WD and so had driven over very rugged terrain in normal gears. Rose the teacher’s aide turned the vehicle around to unload, but got the car firmly bogged in the sand. John, Deb and I spent some time trying to dig it out, but in such hot conditions it was difficult to exert yourself for very long. We again thanked God that John was with us, as he knew what we had to do. We rounded all the kids up and they helped build rocks up behind the wheels and sticks in front. We then all pushed hard and eventually it moved. We teachers were exhausted from our exertions.

All the kids were immediately off into the water. This was not supposed to happen as none of the adults had the required Bronze medallion qualification. There is no way you can keep indigenous kids out of the water as they swim in rivers from a very young age and it is just such an integral part of family life. Crocodile Hole is named due to the large number of fresh water crocodiles that live in the river. You can imagine how Deb and I who come from city schools where you complete a risk assessment in which every i is dotted and t crossed were feeling. We wondered how we would complete a risk assessment if necessary, deciding there is absolutely no way this excursion would be allowed. For these kids, the bush is where they are in their element and you have the chance to see kids who struggle with conventional learning shine in their knowledge of bushcraft.

The kids were not a problem as they spent the whole afternoon playing in the water and fishing (very competent at this and very serious about it too). We took a group for a drive further along the river to where it forms what is called Crocodile Hole. This is a beautiful high bank, wide and deep part of the river, but about 30 pairs of beady eyes were watching us. Only fishing was allowed here.

We served big pots of stew for dinner and to our surprise, the kids settled under their blankets and were all fast asleep by 7 o’clock. Home is very noisy and most homes have lots of people in them. Often there is drinking or all night card games. These kids slept that deep sleep that comes from lots of physical activity and a feeling of great safety and a full tummy.

Settling down for the night                                      My high school girls teaching Deb’s 1 and 2 girls               under the stars.                                                      how to paint using ochres.

Today the high school students attended a basketball competition at Kununurra. Mike and I had enough of bad behaviour over the last few weeks and so had told the students we were only taking those students who knew how to behave. We took 8 students each and for the girls, even those who did not come to school much had made an effort they were so keen to be included.

I had organized with the students to meet us at school at 7.30 for breakfast as many of them are not fed at home. One boy was so worried that he would not wake up on time that he had to sleep outside so the sun would wake him. He had arrived at school at 6.30 for brekky.

We eventually got on the road after a quick prayer from Sister Mary. Soon after leaving we got stuck behind a 4 trailer road train on the part of the journey that curved around mountains. About 50 km passed before we could overtake and now we were racing against time. Our games had been pushed back so that our first game was not until 10am.

As we arrived we were immediately ushered onto the court and the girls proceeded to play 4 games in a row with little break in what was 38 degree heat. The temperature of the asphalt surface would have easily been 50 degrees and to our girls it was a badge of honour to play bare foot.  They won all four games and were immediately through to the grand final.

We stopped for a sausage sizzle and then after lunch the finals were played. The Warmun boys were divided into 2 teams as there were only 3 teams in the boys’ competition as the others had not come due to bad behaviour. The boys team came runners up but after a nail biting close game the girls took honours and remained undefeated. Their feet were covered in blisters.

As we returned to the community and I drove through to deliver each of the girls home, they hung out of the car with the medals and trophy, had me beep the horn and declared excitedly that they had won. In a town dominated by AFL it was really nice for the girls to have their time in the sun.

WA News

Cane toad inches further into WA

Ngalanagnapum School pupils Jacinta Clifton and Courtney Turner with the cane toad found at Warmun yesterday. Photo: Supplied

Today I received another email to let me know that the girls and the toad were the lead story on the West Australian newspaper online (copied above). The students were very excited and all kept coming into my room to see the famous toad.

This afternoon we went back to the Art Centre to work on our major projects. Maggie the new director was very disappointed as she had made the staff make up all our boards for us only for them to be taken by the older people for their artworks. She said that next time she knows she has to hide them under her bed. She had canvas for us to paint on and the girls did this however when it is stretched onto the frame, a good two inches is lost from each side. We did not realize this until after they had started painting. We were all greatly disappointed but I was thinking how we could work around this problem, bearing in mind that we wanted to enter some of the work into an art competition where it had to be mounted on board.

As I drove to the Art Centre I asked the girls’ to please not tell me to get f@#$%&^* today as I did not feel I could cope with being told this any more this week. They were champions, obviously very engaged with their project and gaining a great deal of satisfaction at watching their skills improve and their ideas develop. Their work was now truly the work of artists and stood well above the other children’s boards in quality.

As I headed off for my sunrise walk this morning my attention was caught by a vision lying across a car bonnet at Mirrilingki. The Drug and Alcohol programme was still on and a collection of older people were gathered around a campfire, warming themselves up as this morning was very chilly. As I ventured closer I got the giggles and was trying not to be rude. Lying across the bonnet was the hind quarter and leg (complete with hoof) of a bullock (or killer as they call it). I asked would they be offended if I photographed it as it was something you did not see in Coles. It was thawing out, lying in the sun, complete with flies.

Today we were doing another creative writing activity in the computer room. I only had 5 students writing stories, whilst another was doing very basic literacy activities from a book for 4-6 year olds. As I could not get around fast enough one girl threw her things on the floor with a “f#$% you then” whilst another typed in hot pink letters in the largest font “f#$% you, you big hole”. It is hard not to lose your temper, but they are just struggling with both their confidence and their literacy, and want you to hold their hand every step of the way. It is very challenging.

After lunch I said we would do Science and then could train for the basketball competition on Friday. As they started complaining and tormenting each other I had a brain snap and for the first time in my 20 years of teaching I wanted to throw a chair in anger. Instead I walked out and slammed the door and took ten minutes to recover. I was not going to jeopardize my career but it was a symptom of the exhaustion and extreme stress this teaching creates. The culture shock, resistance, rudeness and severe under resourcing had taken their toll.

After a while I went back into the room and calmly talked to them about anger management. How they just let fly at the slightest provocation, yet I have to try and be polite and positive at all times. Walking away is often the best option, rather than responding in the heat of the moment. These girls live in a community where violence fuelled by alcohol and a sense of hopelessness is a constant companion. Many of the community are in incarceration due to their inability to control their temper. I did not want this future for these girls but I could see unless something was done many were heading this way. We talked about alternative strategies and they genuinely showed remorse for their actions. It is hard work, but this was one of the few days that I felt it was hopeless.

This evening I had a call from the Toad Busters lady to tell me of all the media interest in our toad. The story made the WA channel seven and nine news and the photograph I had taken of 2 students with the toad formed the background for the story. It was very exciting.

Lyn and Juliette found a dead baby brown snake while on the 4 wheeler.

After her late night I didn’t think Juliette would rise at 5.30 to help with the farm chores, but sure enough as soon as Lyn popped her head in the door she was awake and out of bed. As she dressed (she had packed her bag and would not let me check it at all) she constantly asked as each item was put on “Is this what farmer girls wear?” So, attired in her jeans, riding boots, jumper and pink cowgirl hat complete with tiara and flashing lights, she set off on the 4 wheeler motor bike with Lyn.  Mike and I had the luxury of a sleep in and some time together.

They went off to feed the cows, turn on the irrigation, feed the chooks, collect the eggs, and pick some veggies and fresh grapefruits for brekky.  On returning she helped Lyn set the breakfast table outside. She was absolutely in her element and had slipped into saying “our farm”. Lyn and Damian were equally delighted to have her.

Breakfast was a delight with freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice which is sweet and tasty, followed by cereal and fresh home baked bread. It was hard not to just sit all day and chat as they are such great company and the lifestyle and scenery is so relaxing. I could feel the stresses of the last few weeks slowly ebbing away.

Eventually we made a move to go into town as we had our fortnight’s shopping to do and were then heading off to the local school fete. Juliette was very excited at this prospect, thinking it would have large rides for entertainment. Once again at the markets we saw so many people we knew and constantly stopped for a chat. The local produce is now in season; the veggies come straight from the farms a couple of kilometres down the road and so are wonderfully fresh.

The school fete was a very humble affair, with the only ride being a merry-go-round type thing run by too old country guys and their dogs. It seriously was a home made job that looked like it had been put together from offerings of the local tip. When there is nothing else on offer the kids learn to make do and so they lined up thinking it was great.

That afternoon back at the farm, Juliette was taken down to the jetty for a fish. She spotted a crocodile in the water nearby as apparently they breed in the reeds. Carl, Lyn’s son was kayaking in the river here when a saltwater crocodile chased him. There are a few salties in the lake but it does not stop the tourists doing canoeing trips. Mike and Damian set off to collect firewood for a campfire tonight as Damian and Lyn insisted we stay again (I don’t think they had their fill of Juliette yet). We did not need much convincing.

We set the table ready for the barbecue and were having nibbles by the fireside when Juliette decided at 6 pm that she was exhausted and wanted to go to bed without dinner. This turned out to be a good thing! We had a wonderful dinner together and were settled into good conversation when Damian threw a huge hollow log onto the fire. After a few minutes, a snake comes out of the log, obviously woken up from its winter hibernation. It slithered out of the log and dropped immediately at Lyn’s feet. She sat still whereas I jumped back and screamed. Damian and Mike were sitting on the other side of the fire and wondered what the commotion was about. Damian thinks snakes are magnificent animals and immediately was over to watch it, transfixed. Luckily Lyn moved as it slithered up and over her camp chair, across the grass and then climbed vertically up high into the branches of the large tree we were sitting under.

That was enough for us to decide it was time to call it a night. Inside we identified it using the Snakes of Western Australia book as a Taipan, only the most venomous snake in the world. It has white flanks (which were bubbled slightly due to the fire) and their heads are very narrow. They are rare in the Kimberley, but the surroundings here were exactly the habitat where it is found.

After this Damian and Lyn regaled us with their snake stories. Pythons in the cupboards, knocking groceries off the shelf during the night, in the chook shed with half a chook down its throat or wrapped around the toilet plumbing when you go for a midnight tinkle. He then told of the venomous encounters: last week a king brown as thick as his forearm was in the middle of the track, feasting on a goanna and how he walked under one of the palms and a whip snake (called so because they strike quickly and often) fell at his feet. I can tell you, that night every noise I heard set my nerves on edge. When we told Juliette of this in the morning she finally believed our warnings of the dangers of the snakes, as she had been sitting in the chair before Lyn and asked if the snake had taken her Barbie.

 The view from Damian and Lyn’s jetty across Lake Kununurrra to Elephant Rock

We had enough of the trials of report writing with extremely slow internet access and headed off to the big smoke of Kununurra for the weekend to kick our heels up and relax. We were staying tonight with Damian and Lyn, who at one stage were the volunteers who ran Mirrilingki. They now worked as volunteers managing the bishop’s mango farm on the banks of Lake Kununurra. Juliette had been so excited all week about going to the farm as she had met Damian and Lyn at Warmun and immediately were captivated by their warmth and love of children.

We arrived at the farm as the sun was setting. It was beautiful, with the farmhouse surrounded by huge old mango trees that cast shadows that gave a welcome respite from the relentless heat. Lyn and Damian have worked hard to restore the farm and its veggie gardens. The house was a long ranch style home of double brick. Almost all homes we have seen since arriving in the Kimberley were either metal dongas (like ours is) or made of corrugated iron so this was a treat to stay in a real home.

Mike and I were catching up with friends from Warmun, Damian and Summer for dinner at the Country Club and Juliette was staying at the farm. From the moment we arrived she was asking us to go out to dinner as she wanted to have Damian and Lyn to herself. She unpacked her bag and made herself at home with all her belongings lined up in the cupboard.

We had a lovely dinner, our first since leaving home without Juliette, a real grown up meal. Damian and Summer are great company but the temperature was freezing. We had dinner on the terrace and after 2 hours of teeth chattering cold I asked could we move inside. It was probably about 15 degrees, but after being warm for so long, my tolerance to cold had disappeared.

When we got home Juliette had only recently fallen asleep, having had great adventures all night such as building cubbies and holding baby turkey chicks. Lyn was going to wake her at 5.30 am to join her with the chores, it would be interesting to see if she preferred to sleep in.