Bush Trip to South Australia

As I've said before, bush trips are the best part of my current job. I spend so much time in the office with no in person contact with my clients, as they are all in South Australia. When we go out bush, we go for several days as it's quite far. I really enjoy getting out to see my clients, but also to visit with other NPY ladies from the lands that I've engaged with for agency business, such as the recent AGM Bush Camp. They're quite lovely ladies, and always eager to help, chat, and visit. I was speaking with one lady when another that I knew came over and gave me a big hug, and was very happy to see me. She was so excited to tell me that she was going to get a house for the very first time. She had lived in a humpy, a tent, and currently a shed, so this will be her first house, and she is at least 60 years old. Warms the heart, that does.

Mount Conner, as seen from shortcut to Amata

the Toyota Hilux I was driving with Mt Conner

camel on the green 

     The wildlife was as exciting as ever. We saw several eagles, the most special being an eagle that was perched on a fresh kangaroo roadkill right next to the road. We were going too fast for a photo. Sadly they are well fed on such roadkill in these parts, usually hit by a road train - they are massive and own the road. They can have up to 4 cars in tow, which sway in the wind, weaving back and forth across the center line. And still we pass them all the time. The Stuart Highway is quite straight, much like TCH in Canada when it passes through the prairies, only in better condition. We saw one dead camel carcass, with little more than skin and bones left. We also saw older bones, resting on the ground where the camel had fallen, ribs extending towards the sky. There was something so archaic and somewhat sad about it, chain of life or not. On a more positive note, we saw at least a hundred camels. I managed to stop once to take some photos of a little herd grazing on the fresh grass that sprouted after a rain a few weeks back. The greenness of the grass, set below the red rock mountains under a piercing blue sky is just the most beautiful thing. Having camels grazing in that grass was too picturesque to pass on by. They are always very curious about us when we stop nearby.

ice cream anyone? near Pipallyatjarra

chunks missing on this one

     We had two tires chewed up by the rough bush roads. Much of the road is pretty good, with nice soft sandy tracks smooth enough to keep it comfortable, but not too soft that you would ever be bogged, and hardpack sandy that is as good as paved road. But here and there along the way is this white rock that erupts from the ground as the sand around it is packed down by traffic, and it's "rough as guts" and chews into the tires. We heard a loud thumping so pulled right over, and had a look at what the noise was. I discovered that the tires were chewed up, and a long strip had broken loose and was thumping against the body of the truck. Holy shit. We were within just a few hundred yards of losing both tires as once in blowouts that would have rendered the truck useless as we would not be able to change the tires with the rear of the truck sitting on the ground. We could have also very likely have rolled the Hilux truck as each one blew creating a very unstable driving experience. We were very lucky indeed. We had a few technical difficulties at first, as these were the first blowouts I've had in two years of being here. As you can see from the photo, the tires just chew right up and begin to strip off. There is so much rubber along any of the bush roads! The jack that came with the truck was too short to use, so we had to improvise and managed to macgyver a square rock in under the jack to cover the shortfall. We had both tires changed within the hour. While the heat was not as much of a misery this time, the flies were absolutely insane. They crawled in our noses, eyes, ears, mouths, you name it, they were there. And they were the same both on the road and in the communities we visited. I nearly began screaming...

so green around it

     The houses we stayed in are both pretty nice for bush accommodation. The bed in the house at Pip was hard as a rock and I woke with a very sore back at 5 in the morning. The ones at Umuwa are much more comfortable. I love that they all have fans and air conditioning, when it's working. I also saw another lizard in the Umuwa one, a broad banded sand swimmer. They're cute enough, and harmless. We were a full house on Wednesday at Umuwa house, six of us slept on beds and swags (or both) and shared the tiny galley kitchen. It was a pleasant week sharing house with others, however I was also happy to come home to my own space by the end of it, and hang out with Dundee. He misses me so when I go away. I feel bad for him too as my housesitter has moved away, so I just ask a neighbor to check on him so he is alone most of the time. The neighbors that come usually spend a little time with him as they can see that he is lonesome, particularly because of the loud meowing and wrapping around their legs...yeah, he's an affectionate kitty. I'm going away again on Wednesday to do a bush camp with some other workers and a group of adolescent girls. This should be interesting!
     The weather in Alice Springs has been just amazing. Mostly mid to high twenties all day, and into the teens at night. Bliss. I still have the air conditioning on during the day, but at night I just turn the air on as it draws in the scent of jasmine at night. I have a huge vine of it growing in my courtyard as shade, wrapped around the pergola and fence. When I go to bed, I just sleep with the inside door open. My screen door is a secure one with screen and caging. I also have a baseball bat next to my bed, as always. I'm going for a hike this weekend but haven't yet decided where I want to go. I wish Grant was here. I miss my bushwalking buddy.
     Today, however is chore day, so before any chilling out happens today, I have to get the chores done first so I can enjoy the rest of the weekend.

our Macgyver jack

donkey hanging out at Umuwa, after her purse

he was very dusty

Rockin' On The East Coast (of Australia)

Oh yeah, I rocked it down...this past week I went to the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Byron Bay, New South Wales with 4 friends, and we camped at the festival, enjoying 5 days of awesome music with reportedly 100,000 other people. And these folks know how to do a festival up proper. Not that there isn't room for improvement, but already they are working on those issues for next year, according to their website. Here are the highlights for me...forgive me, this will be a long one, but I'll pop in several photos to break it all up...

- With so many bands to choose from on 7 different stages, it was often hard to do, particularly when some were playing opposite someone else I really wanted to see. This is who I managed to take in...are you ready? It's quite a lineup - Santana, Steve Miller Band, Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) and the Sensational Space Shifters, Counting Crows, Roger Hodgson (legendary voice of Supertramp), Paul Simon, Wilco, Matt Anderson, Leonardo's Bride, Tedschi Trucks, Joan Armatrading, Xavier Rudd, Wanda Jackson, Jake Shimabukuro, Ruthie Foster, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Grey Ghost, Rufus Wainwright, Mavis Staples, and Rockwiz Live. I heard many more as I passed by or from our campsite as we were right next to the venue, closer than most.
- Santana - amazing. He was such a nice guy and chatted about his music before each song and what inspired him or moved him about a certain piece. He played all the tunes I wanted to hear from him, and I easily lost myself in his music. His guitar playing was effortless, and just magical to watch in person. I was pretty much right up front too, so saw him sweating, and at one point, he let the rest of the band carry on while he changed to a t-shirt from his long sleeves that he couldn't manage to push up far enough to cool off. Just before he began Soul Sacrifice, they played footage on the big screens from Woodstock and the crowd began chanting like they did at Woodstock with the "whoaohohohooo" which was pretty cool.
- Steve Miller Band - they might look old but they could certainly rock it down. They also played all of the tunes I was hoping for, particularly "Fly Like an Eagle", with all the sounds and nuances that come with their music.
- Robert Plant - fucking amazing. That's all I can say. He played at least 6 or 7 Led Zeppelin tunes and man can he still rock and wail! I was pretty drunk by that point and again, lost myself in the music.
- Wilco - Great performance, but they didn't sing their signature song - "Wilco" which was disappointing.
- Paul Simon - he played on the last night, and it was just as crowded as the first night of the festival, and I was just not up for squeezing up to the front to see him up close. I had some fat Aboriginal dude who didn't shut up the whole time, and then I got frustrated with Paul's song choices, so left before it ended. He did do "Slip Slidin' Away" which was damned fine.
- Counting Crows - I was right at the front for this one, and it was such a good show, with so much positive energy for the crowd, and at one point, I think the lead singer was crying, he was so moved by the song.
- Roger Hodgson - He is the legendary voice of Supertramp, music of my youth, and he just killed it with all of the tunes, that voice is legend alright.
- Matt Anderson - the boy from New Brunswick. I caught up with him at the smallest tent, with no video screens, and a packed tent due to the pissing rain, so sat at one of the picnic tables covered by big umbrellas and just listened in while chatting with some folks who were doing the same thing.
- Mavis Staples - what a big gorgeous voice. She sang some great tunes, then turned to the gospel that she is well known for, and after the first few gospel tunes, I felt like I might burst into flames, so moved on to another tent.
- Tedschi Trucks - recommended to me by a friend in Canada, and they did not disappoint - amazing music, amazing vocals. We sat on the grass and just enjoyed the music.
- Jake Shimabukuro - Hawaiian  letting loose on his ukulele, playing it like a classical guitar at speeds you cannot imagine - what an electric performance!
- Ruthie Foster - very bluesy voice, and sang "Woman No Cry" at the end which was my favorite bit.
- Wanda Jackson - weathered old gal who's been singing and recording for more than 50 years and told stories before each song, like when she used to date Elvis Presley, and then toured with him, and just last year, recorded a record with Jack White. She was a real pistol!
- Xavier Rudd - just amazing, and the didgeridoo was the highlight. He played twice, so for one session, I was hanging out at the campground listening to the didgeridoo spill in through the trees.
- Melbourne Ska Orchestra - well these folks were just amazing entertainment - they were dancing all over the stage with their instruments, acting crazy, getting the audience involved, and I danced my ass off. Loved their mascot, the cockatoo (man in a cockatoo headdress) who jived with the rest of us.

The venue was terrific, despite the downpours of rain that frequented the week. All of the stages had huge tents over the audience that were open on 3 sides right to the front of the stage, so you didn't have to barge from the back just to get close. I easily stood outside having some beers until the show started and slipped in from the left of the stage at the front for an awesome vantage point. When it poured, I need only get just inside the tent as the crowd would do the rest in propelling me forward towards the stage. I have become very skilled at slipping in behind others who were pushing for the front so people could give the front end their annoyed looks, and I slipped in. With so many shows on at once, many people stayed for portions and then skipped out, so I took advantage of this to slip in even further.

The beer sales were perfected. You lined up at ticket booths to buy liquor tickets for various levels of booze - regular beers, more expensive beers, spirits, and wine - all different tickets with different prices. You could buy up to 4 at a time, so that's what I did, and then next door was the bar - you simply shout out what you want, chuck them a few tickets and within seconds, you had ice cold beers in your hands. There were enough bars around the venue that I didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes or less in any line. Awesome.

Food sales, also pretty amazing. So many choices and spread around the venue. There were huge dining tents with tables so you could eat out of the rain/hot sunshine in comfort, and still be next to a stage and listen to a show. The prices were a bit steep for some things, but I was able to find some favorites, like Mr Potato Head where you could get a sliced potato deepfried, and it had been cut like an apple peel - one continuous potato spiral on a stick. The sweet potato was my favorite!

The shops were pretty cool and I picked up several items of course, including two tie-dyed dresses, and some jewelry. I could have spent a fortune, but was restrained, as it all had to come back with me on the plane.

Transportation - the festival had shuttles that ran into Byron Bay every 20 minutes, and were quite useful. With the grounds not opening up until 11am each day, we would head into Byron for breakfast each morning and some shopping/beers/beach time. There are certainly enough shops in Byron Bay to keep one busy, including the tattoo shop, Sharkys. One of my friends had been keen on getting a new tattoo, so I decided it was about time to get the lizard on my wrist that I had been thinking about for over a year. Yeah, it hurt, both the wrist and my budget, but what the hell - you only live once. It is still rather crusty and healing, so I won't post any real photos of it until that's cleared off, possibly by next week.

The beach at Byron Bay was pretty gorgeous, and the water was so warm! I walked right on in, but didn't go far as I hadn't brought my swim clothes with me and didn't fancy walking around in a wet skirt and tank top, lol.

I met so many amazing people, some I had just short chats with while others stayed and chatted for nearly a half hour or longer. People were for the most part quite friendly and conversation about music was an easy one to have with just about anyone. My favorite person though was the gorgeous guy who came running out of Xavier Rudd's stage tent, running towards me with open arms and just gave me the biggest hug! It was both bizarre and amazing. He smelled so good, and after he hugged me he just continued walking. Cool. Later that night a fella stopped to ask if he could have just a sip of my beer as he was really trucking to make it somewhere, so I did and he kissed me! Cool again...

So all in all, a fabulous time. It was a fantastical musical adventure that lasted just 5 days, but will remain in my heart forever.