Tom: Final Days in Minyerri

Thursday morning was our last full day in Minyerri and we were lucky enough to spend it out on country at Bringung. After an early (sort of) start we took the two troopies along the Hodgson River Road toward the Roper Highway, eventually crossing it, in our search for the fishing spot. After some tough driving conditions, including a battle against a barb wire fence, we made it the river and began to set up our camp. Bringung is a stunning place. After seeing all of the magnificent places around Minyerri over the past few weeks it has been hard to find a favourite, they all have their own sense of beauty, serenity and inspire a real connection to the land. Bringung was, of course, no exception. 

Stunning Bringung.

The tarps were dropped near the fishing section, a wide and deep part of the river where the possibility of salties (salt water crocodiles) was raised and therefore swimming discouraged. However, a little further down there was a shallow section with some fast ‘rapids’ where the kids and the activity leaders could have a quick bogey (swim)! It was an absolute highlight of mine sitting in the rapids and having the water rush past, it was particularly good as the pressure in the showers back in our home at Minyerri left a little to be desired. So I’m counting my little dip as a swim and a shower. 

Jesse and some kids enjoying the water.

Mucking around. 

Micheala pulled out some fish, a black bream and a catfish, and served up one of the best meals you could ever wish to eat. Fresh as fresh can be fish, on top of damper just off the fire! The culinary delights for the day had only just begun…. We packed up and drove home, again battling against the barbed wire fence and making it through. Another day another stunning local spot that we were so privileged to see.

Thursday evening was special for a whole other reason. The Riley family had a surprise for the activity leaders! All we knew was that it was for dinner on our last night…. Amy and Jesse, as old hands of Teachabout, were directed to help set up whilst Tara, Kevin and Phoebe waited back at camp. At the last minute another pair of hands were needed to collect firewood and so I was drafted into the setup team. Before leaving the community Tara, Kev and Phoebe were blindfolded to ensure the secrecy of the location and that no peeping was going on. Once there they were led out into the open and allowed to open their eyes, and what a sight! Dinner of baked potatoes and a smorgasbord of toppings were cooking in the fire surrounded by the Riley family. 

Potatoes on the fire.

Extra special surprise for Tom and Kevin.

The other treat was the two tarps that had been laid out, and bedding brought too, so that we could lie back and watch the stars as we fell asleep. It was a beautiful way to spend our last night, surrounded by our new family, by which I mean both activity leaders and Riley’s, and to connect with the country one last time. Falling asleep under the stars while Trevor Riley plays the guitar by the fire is a moment I will not soon forget.

Driving out on Friday morning was met with a variety of emotions. Waving goodbye to all the kids as we drove around the community was both sad to be seeing for perhaps the last time and heart-warming to reflect on the relationships that had been built over the month. Heading down to the Riley’s to say our last goodbyes gave us a chance to hand out a few tokens of the immense gratitude we felt. Robin also had a gift for us. He had been painting, day and night, for the last few days to produce a huge and stunning work. It was his friendship, he told us. 

Robin and his beautiful painting.

Driving out for the last time and the long trip to Darwin gave all of us a chance to reflect on our time, in between rocking out to road trip tunes. 

The month had its ups and downs, tough days and stressful moments are always a feature in a trip like this. However those moments are blown away by the amazing sights you see and the wonderful people you meet. We are up there to run a holiday program but the community gives more than it gets. The open arms with which we were received and the lessons we were taught are the memories that I will take away from this trip. I would like to thank Teachabout, Amy, Jesse, Phoebe, Tara and Kevin for this amazing month. It couldn’t have been the success it was without you!

Finally, for those of you who have been following this blog or just stumbled across it over the past few months please consider going up to Minyerri. The chance to see the places mentioned and meet the people we have spoken about is too great an opportunity to pass up. If you are even a little bit interested, get in contact with Teachabout and apply for the Wet Season trip. It is something you will never forget and, I promise, never regret.

Tara: Last Day of Activities

And so we were there, the last day of Teachabout activities for the 2014 dry season program. It was with a strange mix of relief, sadness and accomplishment that we drove our troopies out to the oval for the final time.

And what a last day it was.

The morning started with kids being sorted into five teams. Each team had a mascot (a lovingly decorated orange) which needed to stay with them for the duration of the race and collect stickers along the way. A clue was given to each team that informed them where their race would begin, and they were off!!!

The teams navigated their way through five different stations, ranging from the Three Tin Kick with Jesse, Tennis Elbow, Water Relay and River Mat Crossing with Amy, Kevin and Tom to Water Balloon Catch with me.  To get to each station, the kids were given both a visual clue about the person they needed to find (including brown boots, tattoos, and even a Melbourne Demons Guernsey!) They were also given name of a place around Minyerri that they were required to remember (such as Minamia, and  Renyan). Water balloon catching proved simple for my first group of kids, which caused me to change the distances between catching stations. This resulted in a lot more burst water balloons and hence more fun!

Watch out Jesse!

Running while holding tennis balls using only their elbows proved quite a challenge.

Team work during the water race.

River Crossing.

Jaysaphina ready to catch the water balloon.

When each group completed their last station, they were given the final clue; a word jumble that spelt out Phoebe’s name. The final race to the finish was on, with a mob of kids descending upon Phoebe to claim their prizes. All kids who participated in the race received goodies out of the prize box, with some surprising fashion choices resulting.

Trying to choose a prize was tough!

A slightly frightening choice of prizes.

All that was left to do now was to use up all the left over water balloons! The kids were given free rein to pelt them at the nearest Activity Leader, a task completed with enthusiasm! Needless to say we have no photos of this final hurrah as we all got pretty drenched.

As our amazing group of kids drifted off to play with their new goodies and  the kites that the Health Clinic provided them with for the afternoon, I was left soggy, a little sore from the water balloon bombardment, and filled with sadness that our time in Minyerri was drawing to an end. However I couldn’t dwell on my thoughts, we had much to do before we left this incredible place.  

Photos: Day 15

Teachabout Junior kids got to watch a highlights video from this program.

Tom got to watch it again, and again, and again.

Making spider webs.

Celebrating the last afternoon of activities with a trip to Bellaglen.

Johanan, making the most of his afternoon.

What a smile!

Tara got the kids rapping on the car ride home.

Jesse: Rock Cod and Red Ochre

After a trip with the kids to see the never-dry waterhole at Cogol on Friday, Robin told us to get some rest and prepare ourselves for a big day on Saturday. All manner of snacks and supplies were packed into the troopies for the 2-hour drive and the all-day fishing trip to Blackwater.

A perfect spot for a fish.

While it doesn’t quite have the same majestic rock formations or inviting swimming holes as some of the other places around Minyerri, Blackwater is an out-and-out fishing hotspot. Turtle, catfish, bream and barra are in abundance. If the billabongs at Blackwater were just a little bit smaller, it would surely be as close as you could come to shooting fish in a barrel, without actually having a gun or a barrel.

For my part, this was the fourth year in a row that I had made the trek to this fisherman’s Mecca. I had never caught a fish at Blackwater, or anywhere else for that matter – a pattern of dry luck that has seemingly been passed from my father down to my brother and I.

A perfect spot for a sit.

We drove on past the usual spot at Blackwater, ploughing through the scrub and playing dodgem with termite mounds. We came out at a small clearing, meters from the water. A few hours were spent casting and recasting our lines, tying on new hooks whenever we lost old ones to a snag. Amy dropped her bottle into the water and one of the kids fished it out. To that point, that was probably the best catch of the day.

To ease the pain of our barren haul, Micheala made the best damper any of us had ever tasted – bakery quality, if the bakery produced a multi-award winning damper. Seriously, it was like biting into a cloud. Yum, yum.

Picturesque billabong full of yarlbun. It doesn't look real.

After some tea, we headed back to a twin set of billabongs that I have been to many times before. The front billabong was laden with water lilies, giving Amy and Phoebe another chance to try their hand at picking yarlbun, lily roots. Over the back was another billabong that has reached the status of legend since my first trip, when Micheala caught two turtle – the second of which she somehow hooked on its back leg as she pulled in her line ready to head home – and her younger brother, Abraham, pulled out a catfish the size of a small child.

Phoebe claims a lily root.

And so I sat. Determined to catch my first ever fish, I cast two lines out in different directions and waited. And then I felt it. A couple of big tugs, the kind that I had never felt before. It must be a fish, I thought! As I was about to pull it in, a young girl named Valerie cast her line, hooked herself on mine and pulled in my fish in an attempt to get untangled. Stolen. My first fish. Stolen. A rock cod, apparently delicious – better than barramundi. Stolen. I’ve since decided not to claim it, as I don’t want my first catch to be in dispute. I am still fishless.

I claim a fish (and then unclaim it).

Sunday saw our team with its first sleep-in in memory. Eggs, bacon, baked beans and avocado featured in our first official breakfast cook up. Robin had a short trip planned, but that wasn’t happening until late-afternoon, so we used most of the day’s remainder planning for our post-program community engagement.

 The afternoon excursion was a dusk-drive to find some red ochre for ceremony and painting. The sandy bush track turned pastel-red just before we pulled up near a small hill. Robin got out and cracked a big round rock against another. It split in two. He picked up the near perfect halves and rubbed his thumbs on the insides.

3 or 4 years worth of red ochre.

“See, ochre” he said. We wandered around for a little while looking for more. Robin found two that he thought were pretty decent, and enough to last him 3 or 4 years. He playfully spread some across the bridge of Tom’s nose, reminiscent of Michael Hussey’s zinc stripe during his playing days. Phoebe ended up with a whole lot of ochre on her hands, which she kindly wiped over my cheeks.

Phoebe, ready to stain my face.

We’re into the last couple of days of activities on Monday and Tuesday, before community engagement chats, cleaning and farewells on Wednesday and Thursday. Looking forward to another big week!

Mr. Cricket himself. And doesn't he just love it!

Photos: Days 13 & 14

Impromptu duck, duck, goose...

...turns hide and seek.

Making crowns fit for junior kings and queens.

A balancing act.

Teachabout activities went to Cogol on Friday.

The swimming hole at Cogol.

The family photo.

Patricia: Day 12

Hi my name is Patricia and I am 13 years old. I have been doing Teachabout for 3 years. I love basketball and also I love to hang out with my friends like Marcianne. She is my best friend and we hang out a lot in school and out in community and we hang out at the disco and we have lots of fun.

Patricia, posing for the camera.

This afternoon we was doing a rocket. We had to get a bottle and a blank paper and design what you like and then we put the fins and it was ready to go. We have to put water and we pumped it up and it explode up the air like a rocket.

We had another interesting science game, it is attached to maths. Well we have two planets, one was called yellow planet and the other one was orange planet and we have to have a journey to take 6 aliens to the other planet (from yellow to orange). The ship had four seats and we put 4 by 4 and then we drive back to get the other two to join the ones on the orange planet.

Alien problem solving.

After that we went and draw our faces and then painted on the mural.

Some of the finished masterpieces.

                  Concentration etched upon Marcus's face.                           The victory shot.               

Photos: Day 11

Reading regulars.

Oh my, what lovely playdough nails you have!

Pastel responses to Jeff Buckley, Gorillaz, Iron Maiden and Norah Jones.

Martha, listening intently to the music, getting ready to draw her response.