Australia: Tales from a Canadian Nomad: May 2012

That's a well used Australian term, full on. It refers to things being pretty intense, in your face, heavy, a lot to deal with, etc. And this week has been another full on week. There have been several this year so far, and yet again, another. There was another murder in Alice Springs this week. I'm still trying to comprehend it, as it differs from what seems to be the norm for violence here. I can't really write anything about it as it is still under investigation. Let's just say the details are disturbing and it's been a lot to think about.

So I've been hermiting myself away, trying to forget it all through books, movies, and Mario. Yes, Mario. I bought Super Mario Brothers for the Wii, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I always enjoyed the original my Nintendo, but this was a great improvement, with the same level of easy fun. I just can't do the themed video games, with characters to portray and plots to follow. After using my bean all week, I'm looking for less complicated leisure time. But hermiting is pretty isolating and knowing too much is not good for anyone, I'm heading over to a friend's house for supper tonight. She has a fireplace...nice when it gets chilly at night. I even broke down and bought a heater. Winter here might be nothing like Canada, but 0C at night is cold no matter where you hang your hat. And my house is not only unheated, it is uninsulated so it doesn't retain much heat overnight. I don't mind it too much, but the little heater takes the chill off, and then I can just get comfy on the sofa with a quilt and sweater.

The afternoons are quite pleasant outside, with temperatures in the 20's most days. Dundee still loves to stalk lizards and bugs in the garden, which is growing splendidly the third time around. I water it 1-2 times per day for 30 minutes with the soaker hose, and there are new shoots on all plants. With any luck they will be well established by the time the next hot summer comes around.

I'm itching to get out somewhere, anywhere. I have a bush trip to Hart's Range on Wednesday, so that will help somewhat. I really want to go camping again, so will try and organize that soon enough. Its's been hard to get a weekend when none of us are on-call, among other things. I have no other travel planned for this year, although I am considering driving to Broome at some point in the next 12 months. That will depend on who I can talk into coming to visit me this year, heh heh. Perhaps my friend K. in Yellowknife will think about it? Come on, you know you want to come to Australia!

Dundee at right, monitoring the courtyard garden.
Branches go to the jasmine bush on the canopy of the courtyard.

So I'm sitting here in my courtyard, just a couple of weeks before the first day of winter. It's 21C, no wind, and clear blue skies. The jasmine overhead is in full bloom with a white carpet of petals over the garden. Dundee is patrolling for intruders, and there are neighborhood busy sounds all over. The one I miss the most here is a lawnmower and that fresh green grass smell. They do mow here, but so infrequently and few have any grass to mow. I need to clean my courtyard up as there is yet another apartment inspection coming up. There might not be any grass, but along with the jasmine blooms, there are always tons of leaves and branches to clean up every week in both courtyards, year round. At least it isn't snow...

So I've been here in Australia for a full year now as of the 12th of April, and what an interesting year it has been. I thought I might wrap up some highlights here for those who might have followed only sporadically or just began reading recently. So off we go in no particular order...

my Canadian friend R. and I in Darwin

heading to the Thirsty Dingo at King;s Canyon for a drink

Standing at the edge of King's Canyon

Dundee, the Aussie kitty

me and Flick heading to Palm Valley - went to Cambodia with Flick

me and my friend Kate on a camel ride

croc in Darwin...big teeth!

Me with the weaver girls of Mekong Island, Cambodia

Elephant ride in Phnom Penh

bushfire sunset in Alice Springs

on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Uluru with my girl at Christmas

Uluru with my sis in March

me with joey Rupert

crossing the Great Central Road, nearly 1100 kms of dirt

me with my trusty Rav 4

Devil's Marbles on the Stuart Highway

Hiking in the Australian outback - autumn, winter, and spring are amazing times to go hiking here as the heat is bearable, and downright chilly in the early morning. Since my arrival, I've hiked at Simpson Gap, Trephina Gorge, Standley Chasm, King's Canyon, Rainbow Valley, Katherine Gorge, Palm Valley, Ormiston Gorge, Uluru, and several other unnamed hikes. My favorite by far was King's Canyon - the moonlike surface, the shear cliffs, and the enormity of the desert was just breathtaking. Mount Gillen is my next conquest, possibly later today.
Camping in the outback - with barely any rain, camping is pure pleasure most of the time. I've camped at many of the places listed above, and more. I went with friends to King's Canyon, Palm Valley, Katherine Gorge, Rainbow Valley, and then to Uluru with my daughter at Christmas, and my sister in March. While traveling with my daughter and my sister, we camped for a few weeks each time, and found ourselves in places like Coober Pedy, Port Augusta, Kangaroo Island, along the Great Ocean Road, and in places like Warrakuna and Tjukijirla along the Great Central Road, along with Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Helentoun, Graceville, Lancelin, and Leonora. Depending on the location, each campground had something to offer - sweeping views of the mountains or ocean, spiders, lizards, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, and of course, mozzies (mosquitoes). After camping for more than 5 weeks in total, I only had rain three nights, and one of those I spent sleeping in the car.
Wildlife in both the outback and coastal Australia - I've seen most everything I hoped to see when I came to Australia, up close and personal, not counting what I saw in zoo/parklike areas. I've seen wild horses, wild camels, kangaroos, wallabies, two species of bats, dingoes, spiders, snakes, lizards, wild donkeys, emu, penguins, sea lions, echidnas, dolphins and seals. Within the parks I saw crocodiles, koalas, and many critters of the night. I've seen ringneck parrots, cockatoos, galahs, pelicans, eagles, kites, magpies, kookaburras, and so many other little birds I don't know the names of.
Bush trips for work - this job has taken me all throughout the central Australian outback. Since my landing last April, I've traveled by bush road and small bush plane to so many communities, and I still haven't seen them all. I've been to Nyrripi, Yuendumu, Yuelamu, Papunya, Ampilatwatja, Hart's Range, Bonya, Ti Tree, Ti Tree Station, Laramba, Willowra, Engwala, Hermannsburg, Tjikala, Finke, Docker River, Kintore, Alcoota, Areyonga, Amoonguna, and likely more that I've forgotten. The bush roads are always exciting, and a bit rough at times, but that just adds to the adventure. The flights are also exciting, particularly when the pilot makes maneuvers that result in a g-force of 2...nearly puked on that one. Traveling with fantastic team members makes it all worthwhile though.
Alice Springs events - some I attended, some I chose not to for any number of reasons. I did go to the Henley on Todd dry river bed race - just a hoot. Want to put a team in this year if I can get enough folks to sign up with me. Sunday markets - always interesting. Todd Mall fills up with stalls for international foods, crafts, clothing and other treasures. I've bought some really nice stones there. Territory Day and Show Day that happened to fall on the same day this past year. Yeah, that was interesting. The only day of the year they are permitted to sell/buy fireworks. I think they bought enough to sink the Titanic...it was last July and people are still setting them off at least once a week. The show was disappointing though, as the vendors/rides shut down early due to trouble with drunken youth and adults. The Old Timer's Fete - another word for a garden party/market. I also went to the Finke Desert Races - half a million dollar cars racing over the desert scrub for big prizes. Awesome.
Weather - well, for the most part I have greatly enjoyed the weather. With the exception of some extremely hot days of 43C (about 110F) where I just couldn't cool off in the apartment even with the swamp cooler on, the rest of the weather has been just amazing. Waking up to this bright blue sky does more for my spirits than all of the rest combined. While summer has some too warm nights, the other three seasons allow for cool and cold nights which are brilliant! Nothing like snuggling under the covers. It has rained less than 10 days in total, and 98% of the rest of the days were sunny blue skies. How can you not fall in love?
The Todd River (video link) - for about 360 days of the year or more, the Todd River is bone dry, a sandy riverbed that locals drink and camp in on a daily basis. And then if we're lucky, heavy rains north of here result in the dry river bed coming to life and flowing madly! I happened to be on the bridge at the time the floodwaters came in. It only happened once this summer, but that was enough for me, I was so excited, along with the rest of the town who turned up to watch the spectacle. I even captured it on film.
The garden saga...well, shortly after I moved into my flat, I dug up the crusty bone dry flower bed and added mulch, soil, and about $200 worth of plants. It looked gorgeous. I watered it regularly and was so proud of it. It was such an improvement on the former cracked up desert dirt. Then I went on vacation and through miscommunication, the garden did not get watered, and more than half of my plants died. Drat. So I bought a few more and trashed the old ones. I even asked for donations for my birthday, and received 3 gorgeous new plants. Then I went on vacation again. The watering did not happen as required - some were overwatered and drowned, while the others scorched in the summer sun. I came back to a dead garden once again. So I ripped it all up, got myself a timer for the sprinkler, and replanted once again. I had some donations from friends who had extra plants around the house, and the garden is once again, growing well. I even went on vacation and this time had a housesitter who diligently watered my plants. There is so much new growth, I am hopeful the current garden will survive. Stay tuned for that one.
There has been a few negative happenings since my arrival, that had nothing to do with me, but did affect me in who knows how many ways. First there was the mouse plague. My first apartment (gov residence) was overrun with mice. I dragged out carcass after carcass and they still kept on coming. They finally slacked off when the snakes outrunning the Queensland floods arrived and nature sorted that out. Then it was bushfire season. I had been through similar when living in Fort Resolution a few years back. The fires were just breathtakingly scary. With little forest to burn, they mostly swept through and burned the long dry grasses. By the time bushfire season was over, about 75% of central Australia had burnt. The final plague was one of violence. I had heard about the reported violence of Alice Springs before I arrived, and for the most part, I haven't been bothered by it as much of it seemed to be propoganda put in motion by the press. However, since my arrival there has been several murders, several rapes, numerous stabbings, muggings, armed robbery, and property crimes running rampant. I still feel pretty safe, but many of my friends have been robbed since arriving. This past week has been just ridiculous with violent crimes. I guess that's why we're here, abundant social problems.
Dundee - after not being able to bring Stormy to Australia, I headed to the shelter to find me a cat, as I just can't see life without a kitty in it. Initially I had looked at a stray, nice looking cat that needed a home before they euthanized him. Then the bastard bit me. He did not get to come home. So I turned my attention to some kittens in the cage across from that one, and found Dundee. He was very endearing and the match was made. I wasn't sure what to call him, and came up with several names, but my friend F. really disliked the name Dundee, and cats in general, so I just had to go with it. I mean, how cool is that - I'll be moving back to Canada with my Aussie cat named Dundee...he has settled in nicely at home, and enjoys hunting lizards both in the house and the courtyard garden. He also takes care of any and all bugs in the house, so I don't need a flyswatter, though sometimes I have to get up in the middle of the night to take away the bush roaches as he makes too much noise playing with them.
My apartment - found a nice one-bedroom apartment in Eastside, one of the most sought after neighborhoods, which was lucky. Competition was stiff, but I persevered and snagged me a good deal. I love the openness of it, the hard tile floor, and the beautiful courtyard where I spend many hours, both alone and in the company of many friends. I bought some basic furniture when I moved in - fridge, sofa, table set, and a bed. The rest migrated in from lawn sales and what was shipped to me from Canada. I can see myself staying here until I leave Australia to return to Canada, it's that comfy. The kitchen cupboards are small, and I have little counterspace, but I just bought a kitchen trolley/island for some added space and reckon this will help out. I can't believe I've finally been in the same space for nearly a year now. Surely a record breaker...
Visits from family & friends. My friend R. emigrated from Canada to Darwin last winter/summer and so I drove up to visit her and her kids, and some crocodiles! We had a great long weekend and I saw more of the top end. At Christmas my daughter was over for Christmas and we drove south to Uluru, and southward to South Australia - Coober Pedy, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, headed into Victoria for the Great Ocean Road, and Melbourne. Then my sister arrived in March and we traveled to Uluru, and headed westward from there into Western Australia across the Great Central Road, heading to the beaches along the coast south and north of Perth. I have no one scheduled for any future visits but they are always welcome! I've been camel riding each time, and another trip with friends...I'll go again when you visit.
International travel - in October I traveled to Cambodia with a friend via Bali and Malaysia. Cambodia was simply amazing - both sad and beautiful. I would go back in a heartbeat. This year we are considering Beijing, China.
I couldn't imagine being in the outback without a 4 wheel drive, so last May I bought a Toyota Rav 4 and with the exception of getting bogged twice going to Palm Valley, it has been just the best car ever! With over 20,000 kms in the first year, I have enjoyed driving in Australia. She can tackle just about any bush road, and some of the most rugged 4WD tracks. She is a bit low, so struggles in the sand dunes, but otherwise, she rocks it. Thank-you Nomad (yes I named her).
Swimming holes - well, one would think that living in the desert means no water. Not quite, While the riverbeds are cry 98% of the time, there are several permanent waterholes within an hour or two drive from here, and I visited most of them already - Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge, and Ellery Creek Big Hole. I still want to visit Red Bank Gorge. They are fabulous to swim in, nice sandy bottom, and cool but not cold water.
Lastly the food - I still struggle with food on occasion here. I can't get good bacon, orange cheddar cheese, or a decent hot dog. They just don't seem to exist here, so I will miss them until I return to Canada. I couldn't find any summer savoury here either, so had my niece from Canada send me a couple of large packages - now I'm set until I move back to Canada! Sure makes a difference for the Thanksgiving turkey dinner I served up last year. Many of my friends had never had roast turkey...so bizarre! They usually cook seafood for Christmas dinner as it is during the heat of summer, and they don't celebrate Thanksgiving.

So there you have it, it has been an interesting year. I will stay for at least 2-3 more years before returning to Canada. My plan is to finish paying off student loans (I'm so close!) and then save enough to bring back to Canada and pay for a graduate degree so I don't have to incurr any further student loans. I'm planning to work on a masters of criminology and head into research for awhile before turning back to field work. We shall see what happens when the time comes. Until then, I'm content to continue to explore what Australia has to offer!