Once in a blue moon.......Oenpelli

It has been an unusual month with two full moons; perhaps thats why our children have been waking at all hours?  But the reason for the title is that Nick and I feel like we were lucky to experience something that you don't get to very often.  We went to a community called Gunbalanya (or Oenpelli) in Arnhem Land for a festival that lasts for just over 24 hours.  It is the only day of the year that the community invites people to visit, and you don't need a permit to enter their land.  There were a few challenges to the weekend, mostly consisting of about 500km travel each way including a tidal crossing, very basic facilities, no showers and hot weather.  My adventurous friend Sabina, who is not a camper, came along for the adventure and certainly had her good spirits with her!!  

We left Batchelor Friday morning and headed for the Humpty Doo pub for lunch.  There are all sorts of stories going around about eccentric things happening at the Humpty Doo pub, including people riding horses up to the bar to purchase a drink.  After being there, the horse story must have pre-dated the ceiling fans, however I could imagine it happening!  We ordered the very fancy taste plate (of burgers- buffalo, crocodile and barra).  It was pretty tasty!  Our little cherebs were kept busy over lunch by some quite noisy toy cars that their Aunty Beena (Sabina) gave to them.  We then endured the noisy cars for the next four hours into Arnhem Land, which should curtail any more noisy presents from Aunty Beena!!  He He!  We finally arrived at the East Alligator River, ready for our last part of the journey into Gunbalanya.  The river is tidal and the crossing can be a bit tricky with the water levels and force of the running water.  After assessing the situation, we decided to wait an hour and check it out again, as the river was heading towards low tide.  We ended up waiting about an hour and a half and spent the time watching the many crocs swimming around and the water birds.  With a bit of a nervous giggle from Sabina, we were across the river no problem.  It was another 20 kms of dirt road and we arrived at Oenpelli.  It was the usual relaxed chaos that you get used to in the territory whilst finding the place where we were allowed to camp, and we were just in time to set up camp with the sun going down.

The town is situated next to a large billabong where all sorts of beautiful birds live.  I get very excited in Batchelor as where we live is near a small billabong where two Jabiru have recently moved to (Jabiru are Australian storks); however the billabong at Ganbalanya is home to dozens of Jabiru.  We also had pelicans soaring over our heads high up on the thermals, and many other birds that I have no idea what they were.   We had to be a bit careful of the billabong as it is home to many crocs who venture up the banks.  Nick was warned by the locals to watch the kids as the crocs apparently like whitefellas!  He was told a story about a local woman who walked a group of indigenous children across the billabong without any problems, but being white we probably wouldn't be so lucky!

This area is called stone country and you can see why, with red, rocky outcrops of land dotted around, it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to.  We booked ourselves into a rock art tour that took us for a walk to the top of Injalak Hill, which had a beautiful view.  A local Aboriginal man with a lovely sense of humor took us and asked us to show respect to his land before we began.  We saw several rock art sites which he explained.  We were very lucky to see a burial cave where there laid the bones of several people.  It was clear that we were entering a special place and I told Flynn that he must be quiet as it is a special place for this man.  I think that Flynn and Aidan picked up on the vibe, as they quietly sat next to me for some time, and were really respectful.  Amazing.  The tour guide sang a song while we were there and while I have no idea what it was about, it was beautiful.

At the top of the hill!

Our rock art guide

We were pretty stonkered after the walk in the heat and so the rest of the day we spent a lot of time trying to manage two kids who were over stimulated, hot and it honestly was pretty hard work!  We did manage to check out the arts and crafts and the beautiful weaving that the community is known for.  Nick tasted some bush tukka- wallabies caught that morning, which were very tender and delicious!  We saw the spear throwing contest and then it was time for the traditional dancing.  This was a bit of a highlight.  As you can imagine, there is no shortage of traditional dancing in the territory; there is dancing at functions, building openings, celebrations, the palmerston markets after the wet! etc etc.  But, this dancing was quite different.  The agility of the men was amazing, and their ability to look like the animal they were dancing like was fantastic.  The had a didgeridoo, clap sticks and chanting to go with it.  There were dancers from other places in Arnhem Land, and some stars from the movie 'ten canoes' were there.  They invited the guests to dance with them, and it was great fun.

That night there was a succession of indigenous bands lined up to perform on the oval, which we attempted to attend.  The boys didn't make it through 15 minutes and really needed to go to bed.  Nick stayed on and Sabina and I put the kids to bed and enjoyed a cup of tea under the stars while listening to the bands in the background.  It was so nice to have a big catch up with Sabina! 

Three dancers

The next day we had a bit of excitement with car troubles and all of us thinking 'Are we going to get out of here'?  (timing of the tidal crossing, no mechanic, planes to catch etc etc)  We worked it out and didn't miss our chance to cross the East Alligator.  We decided to sneak into the Cooinda pool on our way home for a much needed wash, oh I mean swim!  Which was sooooooo refreshing!!!!!!

The message that I took home from the festival, was that the Aboriginal culture is strong in this part of Arnhem land.  We have heard this many times since coming to the NT, however I feel like we were lucky to see a tiny piece of it.

A month of visitors

 The last week or so of July we had a visit from Nick's Mum, Trish and her friends Helen and John.  It was a really fun week with lots of entertainment for the boys.  It was like Flynn and Aidan had three Grandparents visit, complete with an early Birthday party for both boys.  They loved the party and Nick loved his mum's sausage rolls!  It looks like we may have a doctor in the family; the Doctor kit present from Aunty Tess and family has had a lot of use!  

We finally found a visitor (Trish) who wanted to see the jumping crocs with us (well, agreed to anyway!!).  We headed to the Adelaide River and boarded a boat where they feed the crocs pork chops and make them jump for them!!  We got a really good view of the crocs and were amazed at their different colours, including greens, browns and yellows.  I was working most of the visit so Nick took everyone out to Litchfield and down to Adelaide River for a look around.  The highlight was that Angus, who runs the cattle station where we live, paid us a few visits, told a few 'yarns' and took us all on a tour of Cameron Downs.  We learnt some interesting things about cows that went in one ear and out the other, however I do remember that the word 'Downs' means a cleared area.  Angus has to clear his land every few years as the bush starts to take over.  Trish met quite a few locals as we went to a 50th birthday that was held on a friend's block of land nearby.  It consisted of a spit, a dance floor, a cowboy DJ and a ute with a tray full of drinking boys.  We all had a nice night, meeting some interesting people; the territory never disappoints when it comes to being surprised by the amazing people you meet!  

 While Trish, Helen and John were here, our little Flynn had his first debut on the footy field- playing Auskick at the Port Adelaide vs Melbourne game in Darwin.  It was very exciting to watch Flynn play for of such a big noisy crowd.  Because Nick has been helping to run the Auskick in Batchelor, he was required to be an umpire on the ground, which was reassuring for Flynn.  Flynn decided that Dad's job looked pretty fun and had a mini tantrum about wanting to wave the flags.  At the end all the kids ran around a small section of the perimeter to high five the crowd.  It was so gorgeous seeing the little kids given so much attention by the crowd.

Batchelor has its own festival once a year, called the linga longa festival, and this year the theme was food.  The primary school was heavily involved and had several stalls, including a vegetable art stall which was very popular and produced some very artistic creations.  The class that I work in gave a drumming performance to open the festival, and we were all involved in a grand parade (on bikes).  All the kids spent an afternoon decorating their bikes and a lovely girl in my class offered to do mine.  I had lots of colour and sparkles and some interesting cardboard panels that meant I couldn't really ride it without it all coming undone.  However, the grand parade was really just a stroll up and down the stalls and I didn't even have to mount my bike!!  David, Jasmine and his parents (friends from Philip Island ) joined us for the festival.  Jasmine had a go at some stick twirling and both Jasmine and Flynn loved the rock climbing.  We discovered chocolate dipped mango cheeks- yum!!  It was an amazingly relaxed day of hanging out and chatting to friends!  We had a really nice day. 

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Yet another relaxed day- we headed down to the Adelaide River Show Society (ARSS Club) Country Music Festival.  There was a small gathering of locals and most of the acts were local people.  We had a great time watching Ellie Mills, who is a well known indigenous musician.  Also the local school teacher in Adelaide River played, and she had about the whole school there to support her.  (Go Miss Jackie!)  Perfect venue for us- to one side is a sand pit and playground and in front of the stage is a grassy area for kids to go wild.  Our two ran between the two areas and we sat where we could see them and didn't have to move apart from going to the bar!  And we stayed past 9pm!!  

Banging on the pots and pans!

Backgammon in Batchelor

David, Bhavani, Isabel and Jasmine stayed with us for a few days and Nick and the boys had a camping trip out to Litchfield with them.  They went on an adventure to Surprise Falls where they had a great time swimming.  I decided to stay with friends in town who don't have children, and I missed them all terribly whilst I enjoyed the luxury of TV, morning walks with friends before work and generally just lazing around!!  I had forgotten how much spare time you have pre- kids!

We all headed out to camp for the weekend at the Douglas hot springs, which was very relaxing.  David cooked a delicious camp oven roast, and we spent the rest of the time soaking in the hot springs.  Aidan turned two on the Saturday, and we had a little cake and he was pretty happy to receive a bubble gun, which his brother is having a lot of fun with also.  We said good bye to David and Bhavani as they set off for more adventures, as do we!!

The holiday you need when you are on holidays!!

Catching lizards

 The Dry has definitely arrived and what was green and lush, is now brown, dry, and a lot of the landscape has been burnt, mostly from burning off and arsonists. With the dry has come a welcome relief to the heat with cool mornings and warm sunny days.  No need to check the weather at this time of the year, every day is the same!  With the cool weather we pulled out our long sleeve tops and fleece jumpers, and purchased some new donnas (ours didn't survive the mouldy, humid weather).  When the morning came that we actually had to put on a jumper for the first time in months, Flynn asked 'whats this Mum?'  With the dry weather also comes a month long holiday for schools, and for us! 

We made it to 'cracker night' for Territory Day, where a pretty spectacular fireworks display took place on the Batchelor oval.  In true territory style, the night was not cancelled due to a total fire ban in place.  The fire ban was simply stopped at 6pm so that hundreds of people could let off fire works 'willy nilly' in the towns and bush, and the ban recommenced the next morning!!  And let off crackers they did!  I was on call at the fireworks along with the other fire and emergency volunteers.  It was handy that we had the fire truck there, not because of any mishaps with the fireworks, but because Flynn freaked out with the noise and was quite happy sitting in the safety of the fire truck to watch the display!  

The crossing at daly River

 Our first stop for the holidays was meant to be the Douglas Hot Springs, but we didn't pay enough attention to the map and ended up closer to the Daly River by the time we realised that we missed the turn.  So first stop was the mango farm caravan park right on the Daly River.  There isn't much there to do if you don't have a boat to go fishing, so luckily it was a really nice caravan park and we were happy to do nothing for a few days to recover from our busy 'two parents working' experience!  Nick had a few attempts to fish for a barramundi, with no result (sorry Mums, there is still talk of not leaving until he has caught a barra.  Can I recommend a fishing charter as an early birthday present?)  

Flynn relaxing at the Hot Springs

 We headed off to Douglas Hot Springs next (and got there!).  We passed a very large bushfire and lots of emergency services activity, including a plane that had landed on the road.  The pilot had a bit of excitement with his plane malfunctioning whilst surveying the fire and he had to make an emergency landing on the road.  The Douglas Hot Springs was a great place to stop we had some lovely neighbours with older boys who played soccer with Flynn and Aidan and shared their marshmallows by the fire with them.  The hot springs were gorgeous; the water very shallow and surrounded by creek bed sand which was a great place for the kids to play.  There was a large olive python that came out a few times to sun itself alongside the creek.  It lives in the roots of a large tree and was quite gorgeous.

Umbrawarra Gorge

 Next stop was Pine Creek, a small town with some close-by mines that keep it busy.  It is about the same as Batchelor with a service station, a few pubs and a general store. The Sunday market had a grand total of four stalls. However!!!!  Pine Creek has a cafe!!!  So I went over and ordered myself a coffee (not fantastic) and a big slice of baked cheesecake (yum!) and sat and read a magazine in air conditioned comfort!  Can you tell by all the exclamation marks that going to a cafe is pretty exciting when you live in Batchelor?  We also went to the rodeo that was held at Pussy Cat Flats, just out of town (cute name).  Having been to a rodeo in the last few weeks, we were 'in the know', so we backed the car arena side and had various supplies to make children happy, including cushions to sit up on the roof racks and observe the show.  It was amazing the perspective that you get up there.  You can see the kids on horses riding around the back with their friends and preparing for their event, you can see the guys working with the steers and bulls, getting them ready, and behind the scenes.  So we were looking like we were regular rodeo goers! Except that poor Nick nearly speared himself on a bush getting off the roof of the car, to which the ute full of cowboys next to us gave him loads.  Poor Nick!  It was a bit funny!!  So as the night wore on, the crowd got rowdy, and the cowboy neighbours got rowdy and were assisting to 'shoo' the bulls away to get them back through the gates.  The language wasn't sensored for our boys, as you can imagine.  Flynn picked up a few new words that night, and as a bull was staring at us from the other side of the fence and as the clowns tried to get him back through the gate, Flynn screamed out 'Piss off bull".  To which the cowboy neighbours thought was hilarious!  

The next day we visited Umbrawarra Gorge which was really gorgeous with a sand bank and shallow water and red gorge walls surrounding us.  We stayed for a few hours and the boys played and we swum and had a picnic.  There was meant to be some aboriginal rock art there, but we couldn't find it.  I can imagine it being a place that aboriginals used a lot during the dry, it was a beautiful place!

The track to Jim Jim

Rodeo at Pine Creek

Jim Jim Falls

We headed off to Kakadu and found it pretty hot for the first few days so we snuck into a pool at the Cooinda resort, up the road from our camp ground.  We visited Jim Jim Falls, which was a difficult walk for the boys, so we made the decision to take it in turns of walking to the falls while the other one entertained the kids in the car park.  This didn't prove to be difficult with lots of dirt and boulders and rocks to drive toy cars around!  (the boys were really good!)  Jim Jim Falls is spectacular and the walk takes you around a pond with pretty views and through woodlands and then leads right underneath the falls.  The pool at the bottom of the falls was deep and dark, being in the shade.  I didn't want to have a swim (scared!), but Nick decided to brave it.  Nick was a little hesitant until a gorgeous European backpacker said she would go in if he did, she then got the heaby geebies half way to the waterfall and swam back!  Why does Nick come back with stories of gorgeous women wanting to talk to him, when the only person who talked to me was a 70 year old in a man-kini?

Croc trap

Above Gunlom Falls

 The highlight of Kakadu for us was Gunlom Falls, where we spent four nights.  It was a bit of a trek to get into there but worth the effort.  We were advised that the road was very corrugated and it certainly was.  We had to drive very slowly with the caravan as we didn't want to rattle it to pieces, but also because we were sliding all over the road at 30kms per hour.  So it took nearly two hours to drive 38kms, but it was the most beautiful drive and going at that pace you don't miss anything!  We were lucky enough to have Mayra, a friend from Melbourne, her son Markito and her new man, Simon, come and camp with us for a couple of nights. Poor Markito was called 'Mosquito' by Flynn for a few days, but they got along like a house on fire!  We had a really nice time chatting around the camp fire and swimming in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.  We all walked to the top of Gunlom to swim in the pools above.  The two boys did really well to walk all the way up and down the steep, rocky track which was a bit tricky in some bits.  I did well to carry Aidan and Nick did well not to fall over the edge!!  (Nick really needs to write a few blogs to get me back!)  We went on a couple of ranger guided walks and saw various animals including some wild horses and learnt a lot about aboriginal culture and way of life, which is quite strong still in Kakadu.

Beck and Mayra, top pools, Gunlom

Flynn and Markito

Gunlom Campground

Aidan finds some mud!

We decided to have a night in Pine Creek on the way home just so that we could watch some Monday night TV (no reception at home).  Unfortunately when we arrived, Nick realised that his mobile phone was missing, so he drove back 110kms to look for it.  It seems that it is gone, and Flynn has a story about Aidan being a naughty boy and throwing it in the bin?  The next day we didn't want to go back to Batchelor, so we stopped in at the hot springs again and enjoyed a day lazing around in the springs.  It was a fantastic holiday!