12 ON THE 12^TH

Our last day in Darwin….and what better way to finish our N.T. experience than to celebrate Gracie’s 12^th birthday (on the 12^th !)

Might be best to let the photos tell the story of the day’s festivities.

Day started with beautiful breakfast at Cornucopia next to Museum. Pancakes!

Then off to Leanyer Water Park and the Water Slides

Gracie's feet!

Heaps of fun!

Party Food. Gracie's favorite....French toast, smoked salmon, advocado, dill, cream cheese, capers and dill. Yum!

Next stop....indoor trampoline centre Flip Out .Thanks Sarah and Josh .

Smile says it all!

Grip socks....a great look!

Spag Bol for tea....Gracie's choice.

Guess who threw a Yahtzee to win!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

BEER CAN REGATTA

Excited to be in Darwin on the same weekend as the infamous Beer Can Regatta and even more exciting was that Sarah and her work colleagues had built and entered a boat for this year’s event.

They even made the NT News, and luckily on page 5. (If you know the NT News….you never want to be on the front cover!)

The event is held on Mindil Beach and attracted thousands of onlookers…… and thankfully no crocs!

Sarah’s boat proved to be very ship shape and completed the course quickly…unlike other boats.

Well done Sarah!

JOIN THE DOTS

                Gracie, thanks to John at Mt Allan has discovered and enjoyed completing highly complex dot to dot drawings, and has produced some amazing pieces of work, including cats, horses and this elephant. So realistic!

CAHILLS CROSSING AND UBIRR ROCK ART SITE

Spent this morning viewing a notoriously dangerous river crossing named Cahills Crossing. This crossing over the East Alligator River serves as the connection to Arnhem Land and is renowned for crossing crocodile infested waters and where a number of deaths have been recorded of people who have lost control of their car, fished on or waded across the crossing. Google Cahills Crossing for some spine tingling recounts of crocodile attacks, including one in January this year!

While there today, three men fishing for barramundi were standing in the water close to observable crocodiles. Hope they’re not on the news tonight!

We then ventured onto Ubirr Rock Art Site, home to some of the world’s most significant rock art and an area steeped in Aboriginal culture and tradition. The site also afforded spectacular views of Kakadu wetland areas.

We have made an Animoto of Ubirr that can be viewed by using this link.

Rock Paintings

Tomorrow we head off to Darwin for the last leg of our adventures in the N.T. and more importantly our chance to spend some time with Josh and Sarah.

Robyn is really looking forward to catching up with friends from her time teaching in Katherine, Libby, Eric, Yve and John.

THE TOP END

After spending two days at Bitter Springs, mostly spent floating down the spring fed thermal waters of the stream, as well as completing  a long walk along the Roper River to the Mataranka Falls (no swimming due to crocs!) we headed towards one of, if not our favourite spot in the Territory, Edith (Leliyn) Falls.

Originally we were going to stay two nights, but so good was the campsite and the swimming holes we extended to three nights.

Again, most of our time was spent in the water, with frequent walks to the Top Pool with its beautiful cascading waterfall and plunge pools to swim in. We also hiked into Sweetwater with its tranquil setting and nature provided spa pool! Amazing!

Barra and Buffalo burgers were a perfect way to cap the day!

KAKADU

In 2015, we promised ourselves that we would revisit Kakadu and stay longer to do it justice.

We used Cooinda as our first base for two nights, and spent a day visiting….and swimming in two spectacular waterfalls and plunge pools, Gunlom and Maguk.

We walked to the top of the Gunlom waterfall and found ourselves taking a relaxing dip in a crystal clear natural pool high above a sweeping vista of Kakadu National Park! Breathtaking!

We then drove to Maguk Gorge, walked through a lush monsoon forest full of pandanus palms and arrived at a cascading waterfall and large plunge pool. Another swimming opportunity too good to miss.

After such an adventurous day, we celebrated at Cooinda Lodge with our meal highlight of 2015….Barramundi Curry, made using bush tucker. Divine….and so too was the lemon myrtle tart as dessert!

Today we have taken the relatively short drive to Jabiru to spend the next two nights. Gracie has spent most of the day making friends with another girl and spending a lot of time swimming together in the camping ground’s resort style pool.

Baked beans for tea tonight!  Then back in the pool for a swim under a moonlit sky!

And who should Robyn bump into (not literally) in the spa but (singing) Dave and Lyn from Mitta days.  So good to see them!  Dave and I sang Leaving On A Jetplane for old time’s sake!

ULURU , KINGS CANYON THEN NORTHWARDS

We ventured back into Alice Springs to pack away our teaching resources and get our camping gear ready.

While there, we received a fantastic piece of news. Tim and Eli announced their engagement, which was received with much joy. A couple that bring out the best in each other!

After repacking the car and van we headed off to Uluru for a few days. When we visited in 2015, we were so inspired by Uluru and Kata Juta we just had to go there again.  Magnificent Uluru is a truly amazing natural wonder!

We did the obligatory sunset viewing and watched the colors of the Rock change to many hues over a 15 minute period. The next day we walked the 10.6km track around the base of Uluru and gained further  understanding of its significance to and the spirituality that the Rock holds for the Indigenous people.

It was here that we received another piece of fantastic news. Robyn and Gracie were notified that Gracie has been accepted into the SEAL program at Wangaratta High School which Gracie (and Robyn) is over the moon about….and well deserved!  We celebrated that night with dinner at The Gecko Café in Yalara.  For those of you who have dined out with Gracie, no guesses for what she ordered…..calamari and it was delicious!  The blueberry and lemon pudding got the vote from everyone too!

The next day we revisited another awesome spot….Kings Canyon. We trekked the 6.5km Rim Walk and relished its breathtaking scenery. Lots of photos taken!

We then did the long road trip back into Alice, did some repacking and sadly said our farewells to Jake and Gemma…and to Alice Springs.  It has been a real oasis for us throughout the term as we have used it as a base between our trips out to the remote communities.

Now for the long drive north towards the Top End. Our first overnight stop after a 700km day was Renner Springs. Such a long drive but it made it easier for us to arrive by lunchtime at our present location, Mataranka, and the famed Bitter Springs. We have spent most of this afternoon floating down the warm waters on our noodles. Our first of many water experiences to come!

HASSTS BLUFF

Hassts Bluff by Chrystal Rimmer, a Read Tutor...and very talented artist!

We’ve travelled to Haasts Bluff for our last teaching stint…..with a touch of sadness as our time with some truly remarkable teachers and adorable kids comes to an end for 2017. A big thank you to Geoff and Nick in the Regional Office for allowing this to happen, Cherie at Amoonguna,  Gaby, David, Sarah, Amanda and Kerrie at Kintore, Rob and his staff at Papunya, Kandi, Rob and Lauren at Haasts Bluff and Phil and John at Mount Allan, the dedicated Read Tutors (who we are looking forward to catching up with when we return home)…and all of the indigenous staff. We have had an amazing ten weeks teaching in your schools. But it is us who have done all the learning and we come away truly enriched by the experience. Gracie has made some wonderful friends and will carry with her long lasting memories. At Kintore, Ampi asked Gracie what are her plans for the future and was delighted when Gracie indicated she would love to come back and work with the community.

The kids of Haasts Bluff took us out on another adventure, this time to their favourite climbing rocks. Breath taking scenery. Watch the highlights on this link.

Rock walk

On Sunday we climbed a very tall hill called Memory Mountain which has a cross planted at the top….with plans to erect a much larger one in the future. An interesting story!

On the way home we detoured to the local car graveyard. Literally hundreds of vehicles piled beside and on top of and predominately Commodores and Falcons….easy to get parts!

It has been good to finish our teaching here especially as Gracie made some very close friendships with Zurana, Gina and Bianca.

Zurana and Gracie enjoying Sunday night tea together.



But after teaching for the majority of the term, we are now looking forward to our next adventure as we make our way further north….but not before we make our pilgrimage to Uluru, Kata juta and Kings Canyon.

Mount Allan

On leaving Haasts Bluff, we ventured back into Alice Springs for the weekend to restock our supplies and enjoy all that Alice offers.

Our next teaching stint was in the community of Yuelamu, 330kms North West of Alice Springs. It is located on a former cattle station called Mount Allan, that was transferred to Native Title in 1990. The school is referred to as Mount Allan.

It was another two week stint, with Robyn taking the Transition to Grade 4 in the first week and Music in the second week and Rob having the senior class (Grade 5 to Year 10) both weeks. This time we enjoyed the comforts of living in a two bedroom fully equipped house……luxury after many nights in the van. And very welcome too as the nights are becoming very cool (-2) but warming up during the day (20).

Here we met two special people, Phil (Principal) and John (senior’s teacher) who made us feel so welcome and kept us entertained. These two are working so hard in making the school as functional as possible and encouraging the children to attend. John (originally from Stawell) prepares breakfast for his charges every morning and bakes cakes with them after school so that they’ve had something to eat before heading home. Phil drives the bus around the community several times during the morning collecting kids to bring to school (if he can find them!) and uses the school P.A. that can be heard throughout the community, alerting families that school has commenced and children should be on their way to school. The mornings are very cold this time of year and understandably, kids are reluctant to get up!  John and Phil also open up the school on Sunday afternoons for the kids to use the computers and musical equipment. We felt so privileged to spend time there.

While there we went to a nearby waterhole called Centipede Dam and witnessed a mob of wild horses coming down to drink. Pretty breathtaking!

As part of Robyn’s music program, the kids performed a concert on our last day. Although naturally very shy, they did a great job and we were all very proud of their efforts. We left on a high!

 

ALICE SPRINGS

On the way back to Alice we shouted ourselves a night and meal with a few drinks at Tilmouth Well. If ever coming this way I recommend the scotch fillet with mushroom sauce!

We made our base at Jake and Gemma’s and enjoyed a great long weekend with them. We even learnt how to make Sushi rolls under Gemma’s tutorage. On Sunday we witnessed a leg of the renowned Finke River Race managing to get ourselves covered in dust! A must see thing to do though.

That night we took Geoff and his wife Jenny out for dinner to thank him for his efforts in finding us teaching placements throughout the term and being mindful of how suitable schools would be for us and especially Gracie. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed every experience.

 

HASSTS BLUFF

After an enjoyable teaching stint at Kintore, we travelled back into Alice Springs (8 hour drive!) for green grass, fresh bread, coffee and a beer/cider!

Our next appointment was to Hassts Bluff, this time only 240kms from Alice. Here though, we had to take our van as accommodation wasn’t available so we camped inside the school grounds. This quiet community, a remnant of a Lutheran Mission contains a much acclaimed Art Centre with Robyn & Rob unable to resist purchasing some amazing art pieces.

Gracie made some strong friendships with several girls around her age group…..beautiful kids!

On the first Saturday we were there, the kids took us on a walk out to the airstrip and back along the dry creek bed. We received an in-depth education about the landscape and hunting and gathering from the local kids, including catching lizards and looking for signs of life in the bush.

Below is a link to an Animoto of this adventure.

Haasts Bluff Airport Walk

On Sunday we had the pleasure of attending an outside church service spoken and sung in the native tongue Luritja. Even more impressive was the use of a green wheelie bin as an alter!!!

We had two weeks working at Hassts Bluff and Gracie was excited to learn that we’re going back there to have our final two weeks teaching.

KINTORE…VIA PAPUNYAH.

It was with great excitement that we received the news that Kintore required us to teach there for two weeks. It was a chance for us to renew our friendship with our desert family (a term used by the locals) and especially for Gracie to meet up again with Vivica, a little girl whom she got on so well with in 2015.

Kintore (540kms north west of Alice) holds a very special place in our hearts. These people, the Pintupi were the last tribe to come in off the desert and have contact with white people so are still well entrenched in their traditions and beliefs. In fact in 1984, a group of 9 were discovered and were still living the traditional nomadic life, oblivious to white people and settlements.

An account of their discovery and adaption to western ways can be gained by following this link, 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30500591

However heavy rains around Kintore meant being delayed at Papunya and saw us doing three days of eye opening teaching at the local school (…ask Rob about Alvin.)

Over the weekend we ventured back into Alice for supplies and waited for the track into Kintore to dry out. We did a day’s teaching at a small community 13kms out of Alice called Amoonguna which was a sharp contrast to our Papunya experience. A most enjoyable day!

We then got the all clear to take the 7 hour trip out to Kintore. We ended up teaching here for two and a half weeks and renewed our acquaintances with Gabby who is now Principal and the Indigenous support staff. We also met new staff members David and Sarah who are making a real impact on life at the school.

We also met Ralph and Kaylene from Echuca who were there as Read Tutors. Ralph and Kaylene have been instrumental in setting up a scheme whereby volunteers from all walks of life come into a remote school over a 4 week period and hear the children read daily one on one. This is allowing the children to make great strides in their reading abilities and giving the volunteers a firsthand experience of community life.

While in Kintore we camped under the desert stars at an amazing rock formation, ventured into W.A. and visited a body of water formed from the major floods that occurred at the beginning of the year and devastated much of Kintore.

On our return from camping under the stars, I (Robyn) noticed that church was in progress as we drove back into town.  Rob and Gracie dropped me off and I joined the family groups sitting outside on the red sand.  It was some time before the service got underway but well worth the wait as I witnessed 7 babies being baptised!  It was wonderful.

Rob made a slide show of the Kintore school kids and it can be viewed by following this link.

Kintore Kids

NORTHERN TERRITORY

2017

At long last we have got around to adding to our blog and recording our trip to the Northern Territory during second term 2017. This trip has been on our bucket list since our adventures and experiences in 2015 in the Territory. That time we were away for 6 months, teaching around the Red Centre and the Top End.

This year we decided to work solely around the Centre and do only 3 months (second term of school year) due to Gracie being in Year 6. We were really looking forward to renewing our acquaintance with friends we made in 2015.

So, sorry about the delay in adding to our blog, but we’ll claim being very busy as our excuse. We have worked nearly every day since arriving for the beginning of the Territory’s second term in a multitude of places and have been captivated by the many amazing experiences we have encountered.

WANGARATTA TO ALICE SPRINGS

We set off on our adventure on Saturday 8^th April saying goodbye to Wally and Jack ( our house/dog sitter from Mind A Home) and travelled along the Murray to our first overnight stop, Mildura. A quick pack up in the morning and we were off with Port Augusta in our sights. But what was more in Rob’s and Gracie’s sights was a Burra Pie for lunch. This pie was voted the best pie during our 2015 trip….and we sampled quite a few!

We got to Burra (a very historic South Australian town) around lunchtime and straight to the bakery. And what a disappointment! The bakery was closed on a Sunday!!!!!

However our disappointment was soon replaced by elation as on our way out of Burra we received a phone call from Jake to say that he and Gemma had just announced their engagement. Fantastic news from a couple so ideally suited to each other!

Following our overnight stop at Port Augusta (no stolen bikes this time, as we only had one on board...Rob’s, which they probably recognised as  the one they wrecked in 2015), we headed up the Stuart H’way bound for Alice Springs.

A highlight was our chance to sleep underground in our swags in Coober Pedy.

We crossed the NT border after a long days travelling and decided to pull up stumps at Stuart’s Well just short of Alice for the night.

At 11am on Wednesday we arrived in a sunny, warm and spectacular Alice Springs.

We set up base at the Big 4 MacDonnell Range Caravan Park much to the delight of Gracie with her fond memories of this park with its Jumping Pillow, swimming pool (& water slide! - a new addition since 2015) and chances to meet other kids.

Over the next few days relaxing, we caught up with Jake and Gemma and celebrated their engagement at the Overland Steak House. A lovely night!

We celebrated Easter and Anzac Day in the Alice, in between the many swims, slides and bounces that Gracie enjoyed!

We touched base with our friend Geoff Hobson from the Education Department Regional Office in Alice Springs who was so kind to us last time and organised our teaching appointments. We also met up with our previous Principal from Kintore, Nick Richardson who has now got a position in the Regional Office with remote schools as his responsibility alongside Geoff. Both great men for the role!