Behold the Bush Trip

wild camels crossing the road

As part of my job, I regularly go on what they call "bush trips". This means that we head out to remote communities in an agency 4WD. Sometimes the vehicle is a Land Cruiser, and the old ones are referred to as 'Troopies" or "Troop Carrier" as some of them have bench seats along each side, and able to care 11 people. We also have a Land Cruiser Prado which is a sweet ride. I took one out bush for the first time this past week and it was amazing to drive, such a smooth ride, great control, and luxurious to ride in. We had the tunes going on my iPhone, and the scenery flew by outside. Then we also have Nissan Patrols, which are shit on the bush roads. They bounce all over the place, and you hardly feel like you have proper control. Thankfully they are replacing any of the old vehicles be it Troopie or Patrol, with Prados.

after the bushfire, the termite mounds survive

So when we go out bush, we like to leave quite early in the morning, about 6am, sometimes at 7am so we can get there early, have time to do all of our work, and still get back before dark. Some communities are 3-4 hours drive away or more. On occasion I've had to stay overnight because it is too far to go and come back in the same day if we have a lot of work to do in the community. Sometimes we visit 2-3 or more communities along the way.

there are a LOT of old dead cars on the side of the roads

This week I traveled to one I hadn't been to before, Utopia. Utopia not so much a community as an area. There are several outstation bores where there are 3-5 houses with folks living in them, along with several work buildings. Right in the middle of this land tract is a health clinic and several houses for the staff. One must drive from one of the bores to attend the clinic. Some of the bores have small schools, usually one building. There are a few little stores scattered around the land tract, with the largest one being at Arlparra.

The road signs for each bore and service is painted on the bonnets taken from old cars. Pretty cool looking as someone put some thought into each one. I'm trying to upload here but Blogger is being a bitch and rotating the photos so they only post sideways...not sure what that's about.

took a big rock to the windshield!

Going out bush on a road trip requires some preparation. We have to make sure our gas tank is full, which is a no brainer, but we also have to do other checks on the vehicle to make sure it's in good shape to travel, so we check the recovery gear, oil levels, battery levels, tires, etc. We also have to sign out a fuel book in case we need fuel, a satellite phone to check in with and an epirb, which is a device that we use to track our travel with online, but also to call for help when we need it. It uses satellite tracking so we don't need cell phone towers to send the signal. There is no cell phone service in the bulk of the communities we travel to. One must also pack emergency water, and then personal water. I like to take at least 3 litres for myself, and encourage my bush partner to do the same. Once I went with a guy who brought one 500ml bottle for the whole day. Nowhere's near enough. I also like to pack a little cooler (esky here in Australia) with some food, ice packs to keep it all chill, and some frozen water bottles for cold water later. Another must is to wear a light scarf around my neck to keep the seatbelt from chafing. When you drive on the 4WD tracks, the vehicle bounces and the seatbelt saws back and forth across my neck, what little neck I have.

sometimes we drive through bushfires

Preparation also includes calling the communities the day before to ensure the people we want to see are there. So we can call the health clinic, the police station, or the school to check, as most days one of those services would have seen the family we are looking for. These are also stopping places once we arrive in the community, often for a chat, or to use a clean bathroom.

wild donkey outside Areyonga

The bush roads to these communities are sometimes paved part of the way, but most are desert dirt, so red sand, dirt, and sometimes gravel. They can be a bit rough, with lots of corrugation along the way which can mean a bumpy ride if you have to drive slow. Keeping the speed up around 100kms/hour smooths most corrugation out. There isn't much to see along the way besides the landscape which doesn't change much for the most part. There are no coffee shops or restaurants along the way. There are occasional rest areas where you can pull over along the Stuart Highway, but nothing on the bush roads. So we usually just pull over in the shade of a big desert oak tree, or gum tree and take our own breaks. We usually see animals along the way, most often cows, but quite regularly we see wild horses, wild camels, sometimes wild donkeys, and a host of lizards, snakes, eagles, hawks, falcons, etc. Bush trips are my favorite part of my job here in central Australia. I truly enjoy getting out of town for the day and spend in the peaceful outback.

What's New at the Zoo Down Under

It has been a busy few weeks lately, with no time for blogging, so thought I would catch up this afternoon while I had the chance. Work has been busy and stressful, but I'm coping as best I can by balancing work with an active social life. We went camping this past weekend at Ellery Creek Big Hole, which is about an hour or so from Alice Springs. The waterhole is quite pretty and I thought a dip in the waterhole would be refreshing now that the temperatures are climbing up as we head into summer. It was frigid. Yes, coming from a Canadian who swims in the ocean, that is saying a lot. Two of the girls jumped straight in, and screamed with horror at how cold the water was and they couldn't feel their legs, so I attempted my usual in/out routine, and I just couldn't get past my waist, so gave up. The day was bright and clear, not too hot, so I was happy enough to sit in the shade and have a few drinks with the rest of the gang.

I was the only one sleeping in a tent this time as the others had swags. I haven't done that yet, but am considering it at some point, I just have to get past the whole spiders/bugs/snakes thing...we did have a dingo pass through our campsite, and once again, things were odd. I tried to get a look at him with my flashlight, which was nearly new and should have worked, but refused to turn on. By the time I had the lantern turned on and the tent flap zipped open, he was gone. I tried the flashlight again and it worked perfectly...bizarro. There is something about the dingos...can't photograph or shine my flashlight on. We also had some very strange animal nearby that made the weirdest sound, like an electronic hum - hmmmmm. hmmmmm. hmmmmm.hmmmmmm. The same length of noise, and same level/sound that went on for a few minutes. F. was afraid it was going to attack her in her swag...I told her considering the only thing to be feared in the desert were snakes and spiders and I was pretty sure they don't hum, there was nothing to be afraid of. It was likely some rodent. No one wanted to get out to look and see.

I've been applying for jobs, and have an interview this afternoon for a local agency, NPY Women's Council as a case manager for sexual assault and domestic violence victims. It sounds like a really interesting job, and NPY is very well known here in town and around the territory for being strong advocates for their client population. They cover a large geographic land area that crosses into Western Australia and South Australia. It will be so good to work for an NGO after all of these years in government. It's where I have wanted to be for a long time, but couldn't really afford to work there with my massive student loans. Now that they are trimming down fast, I thought it was time to go for it. It means far less money, but I'm hoping much more job satisfaction and a whole lot less government bullshit. I've been less and less happy working in my current job, and often I am rather embarrassed to say I work there due to so many unethical decisions being made by management, micromanagement, and the direction the department is heading. I'm done. I die a little each day I have to go into the office. I am not alone by a long stretch. Our union is signing up members fast and furious due to so many unhappy workers. Go team.

Now I just have to sort out my immigration status. I have been getting conflicting stories from HR and then from Immigration. Immigration says I can work anywhere now that I am a permanent resident, but HR is saying I need to give them 2 years on my PR, and I'm only 9 months in. I'm hoping I can simply transfer my sponsorship to my new employer should I be successful in obtaining other employment. HR also says that if a reasonable effort has been made, they can cancel the sponsorship, but I don't need it cancelled, I need it transferred. So we shall see. I have another job interview next week for a job in Melbourne - specialist case manager at the prison, so managing the worst of the worst in sex offenders. It's ironic how these two interviews are at each end of the spectrum, but I find both sides fascinating and any chance I have to be involved in the justice system is exciting, particularly when I can combine social work and the law.

The weather is heating up, with 37C today...pant pant pant, and it's not even summer. I was hoping we had another month or so before we saw those temperatures. Bugger it's hot...

Changing Tides

     Well, I don't know if there are tides in my future for sure, but a change is definitely on the way. I have made the decision to leave my current position. I haven't given notice yet, but I am actively seeking another job and am determined to leave as soon as I have an acceptable offer of employment. I've wanted to write about what has been going on, but when one is a public servant, there are limitations to discussing issues at the workplace in a public forum. Suffice it to say, I am simply looking for new challenges and a different mindset that doesn't compromise my social work ethics. I've put in 18 months in my current job, and here in Central Australia, that is considered long term. It's pretty transient here and I can't even count the number of people who have walked through the revolving door at my agency. Turnover like I have never seen in my life. There is always bound to be turnover in any child protection agency due to the fast paced high stress nature of the work. In any event, the stress this current situation is putting on my body is just not worth it anymore. Time to move on to new challenges. And it has nothing to do with the clients...
     I'm looking both locally and interstate in South Australia and Western Australia. I'm hoping to get something in a town the size of Alice, but closer to a major city. It's been so expensive to get out of Alice Springs to a major airport where fares are significantly cheaper to travel internationally. I'm only looking at oceanside agencies interstate. If I'm going to move out of the desert, I'm going for the ocean, not more desert. I'm keen to live in another part of Australia and explore what I can from there. Both states have breathtaking beaches, turquoise waters, and desirable climates for the most part. There will be more rain, but not an excessive amount like the top end, but not as rare as here in the desert. It hasn't rained in Alice Springs since March of this year. I don't like a lot of rain, but sometimes a little would be nice for a change to freshen things up.
     Staying local is my preference as I was hoping not to be moving anywhere this year for a change. For a variety of circumstances, I've moved every single year since 2004. I don't have near the amount of stuff I've had in most of my past moves, but there is enough. I'd rather not pack up. I like Alice Springs, like my current apartment, and my group of friends. I've enjoyed the climate and the work with the client population. The local positions I've applied for are for NGO's which will be a welcome change from being a public servant all these years. My social work practicum was at an NGO and I quite liked the intimacy of a private agency. The positions are a departure from child protection as well, so looking forward to that new challenge if it happens for me. Of course the salary is lower, but sometimes the sacrifice can be worth it.
   So there has been a lot of things going on these past few weeks since my return from San Francisco, which is why I haven't posted lately. I had so much going on that I couldn't write about that it occupied most of the space in my brain, which I resent every time it happens. I just want to be able to go to work and do my job, and do it well. So employers out there - hire me! I'm ready to hit the ground running. The jobs in SA and WA are mostly with government, but the odd job comes up for an NGO. I am still game to work for government if it is a different one, as one cannot tar them all with the same brush.

     Wish me luck, and I'll keep y'all posted as things progress. Onward to the next chapter of my life! In the meantime, local life lives on. The Bush Bands are over at the oval tonight, and I can sit in my courtyard and listen to them without having to deal with drunken crowds.