Bush Camping on APY Lands

I have no photos, as we cannot share them outside of the organization, however I can write respectfully about it here. I went camping with the agency I work for and the members we represent, and this was bush camping alright. We had to pick up some ladies in South Australia and drive across the state and into Western Australia where a big meeting was being held and ladies from all over the lands were brought together to discuss the agency and it's work. We were there to make sure the ladies were comfortable and to share ideas as well. So good or bad and in no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on this amazing week.

- Man it is hot. Real hot. 42C hot and here I am in the middle of the Western Australian desertlands, camping without a drop of water for miles other than what we brought ourselves.
- brought my new tent, screen on all four sides - now my new favorite tent and admired by many of the ladies. They sleep on either swags, foamies, or small mattresses on the ground or a simple bed frame, and all forms are still exposed to the bugs and spiders.
- Man it is dusty. Real dusty. Between shoveling out grass and spinfex roots, and raking up the dead stuff; the dust raised by vehicles coming and going, and the occasional blast of wind currents through the camp, everyone and everything was covered in the bright red dust of the desert. My entire body was coated in it and the more we sweated, the more stuck to us.
- listening to the ladies sing their inma both in our agency vehicle and at the camping area was the highlight of the week. At one point we staff were invited into the dancing circle around the fire, shuffling our feet through the now cool red dirt as dozens of ladies and staff sat around us under the stars. I feel quite privileged to be there, as did many of us.
- extreme heat, dehydration, and gastritis are not things you want to hear about in the desert when camping with over a hundred women. A couple of workers suffered heat stroke and had to be taken out, while I had my own rough day on Tuesday. I felt faint and dizzy most of the day, so spend much of it drinking water and eating fruit to keep my strength up. I had no energy and no appetite. I was traveling alone with three ladies who needed help to get around and get set up. Once that was done, I was completely exhausted in that heat and felt like either throwing up or passing out, or both which could be bad. I was more afraid that I would  be taken to the clinic and left there and miss out on the camp, and someone else would have to look after my ladies.
- the smell of freshly cooked kangaroo tail (baked in the dirt covered in hot coals) or three stuffed into the cab of the Hilux with five women as we bump our way over the bush roads of the APY lands is one that I will not soon forget. I thought the raw tail we brought smelled bad enough, but cooked is worse. Thankfully within a couple of hours the smell went down as they ate them, and the hot meat cooled down. At one point there was a cooked chicken in the back being shared out by the ladies. It was a reprieve from the kangaroo tail aroma. They just love them though, and they were being cooked at every campsite.
- The driving was probably the next most exciting experience. We covered 2300kms from Sunday to Thursday, with over 1300kms of that on bushroads that were either quite good, quite rough, or inbetween. Passable by all means, but a rough ride at times with corrogations, dips from rainfalls, and road work. The sandy bits are definitely smoother to drive on than the crushed stone bits. The scenery more than made up for the road conditions, and I actually don't mind the road conditions as it makes the driving much more interesting than long stretches of paved highway through a flat land. The wildlife along the way was spectacular. We saw hundreds of camels in both night and day, enjoying the fresh shoots of green grass from a recent rainfall. It doesn't take much for the landscape to bloom.
- along with camels we saw a pack of dingos, some feral cats, a mob of kangaroos, a gorgeous wedge tailed eagle atop it's prey, flocks and flocks of white cockatoos, cows, feral donkeys, and several horses. I didn't stop for any photos as we were trying to make good time in order to cover such long distances.
-pit toilets were actually quite good at the campsites, private and with a proper toilet seat. Of course they had to cover the drum on which the toilet seat was installed with cardboard and duct tape after one of my friends burned her cheeks on it...ouch!
- firewood galore - with such dry conditions and times of drought in central Australia, there is no shortage of available firewood. It need not be chopped or sawed as it is often brittle as bones, since it is so dry here. No rubbery twigs here! A fire was always simple enough to light and walk away as it blazes up. With so much dead and dry grass and spinifex, no need for paper or cardboard. The ladies liked a small fire going near them on which to chuck their billy can on for tea.
- There was a lot of language being spoken and discussions I had no idea were about. It wasn't a negative thing, but more of a "I wish I understood language" thing as I wanted to participate more. The ladies were quite open to speaking English when they could, but many did not have strong English skills as it was not their first, or second or third language. Traveling by myself with these ladies meant conversations were very simple and short. Much of the time the ladies were telling us about their homelands, where family was born, buried, killed along the way in car accidents.
- As much as I enjoy bush road driving, having 3 backseat drivers was challenging at times and felt like I had my mother in the car with me again, 3 of her. I learned tolerance, slow and steady. I did break down and cry at one point, and asked one of the ladies to back off a bit, that I had been driving for 30 years, and have already spent a great deal of time driving in the bush in central Australia, both with someone and by myself. She backed off and apologized and then said she would pray for me to feel better. Later on I had two of the ladies come up and tell me they were going to pray for my tummy to feel better. I hadn't told them I had an upset tummy...
- the colors of the landscapes along the way were just absolutely stunning. The landscapes change by the kilometre, with so many different textures to the mountainscape. I might not have taken any photos, but those images are burned into my mind forever.
- kungka fighting. Kungka means woman, and with so many women camping together from all corners of the lands, some who hadn't seen one another in years, or spoken to one another in years, there was bound to be conflict. I'm not sure what it was about but there were two separate episodes. It was all sorted out in the end and camp life simply continued on, and voices were lowered once again until someone busted out another inma. All across the campsites there were small groups of ladies singing inma from their own homelands/country. It really was quite special.
- camped in community along the way. That was interesting. We camped out in someone's front yard on the concrete block under shade roof. There were about a dozen dogs milling about, fighting, trying to nip ankles, and pissing on personal belongings/beds. The owner of the house was very generous and offered me a bed frame to throw my foamies on. Yes, thank-you very much, I shall take it! So there we were, me and three elder ladies from the lands, camping out under the starts. Before long the owner's two cats found their way to my bed. I woke up hearing purring in my ear, and had to rouse to realize I was outside, not in my room at home with Dundee. I had my toes licked a few times by random dogs, but overall it wasn't a bad night. I got over worrying about the spiders and bugs...too bloody tired to care.
- tying up the swags/mattresses on the roof rack of the Hilux is not a big deal until it's really hot and you feel like you are going to die, climbing all over the truck's surfaces to lash down numerous bundles. I didn't mind it in the early morning, but all other times were in the midday sun, as it scalds your skin.
- bush fridges - awesome. The Hilux I had taken from work had a second battery for the bush fridge so I had cold drinks all the time, and cold fruit, which made so much difference to my recovery I think, as the alternative was very warm water, which surely would have made me vomit.
- bought me a propane lantern, the kind that screws right onto the top of the tank and provides very bright lights for when you are cooking or doing other tasks that need better lighting. I didn't need to use it on this trip though as I had no appetite and did not eat much the entire time, nothing cooked at all. I lived on fruit and granola bars. I had a few cans of Coke, and once the word was out, I had someone come and ask me quietly if I had any more cold Cokes. Fifty bucks I told him...then I gave him one, lol. He had "helped" me put up a shade for my ladies to sit under as the trees were not enough. He really didn't know what he was doing, and the knots really puzzled him, so I ended up finishing it myself.
- I gave each of the ladies some handmade mittens I had made, and they were both tickled and somewhat puzzled, given the temperatures. I just wanted them to have a bit of Canadiana, as it is very much mitten weather there right now. The ladies gave us hugs and thanked us for looking after them. I had a second worker with me for the return drive, and it made such a difference.

- all in all, an exhausting week, but an amazing experience. And in a few days I take off to the Byron Bay Bluesfest with some friends and plan camp out under the stars all week, and hoping it doesn't rain too much or it shall be a mudfest. Bring it on.