Monday 18 June to Friday 22 June
We had a week of work, providing relief for Trevor while he set up case conferences and teacher meetings as part of his role as Learning Support Coordinator. At least, this was the plan but I managed to wake up on Monday morning with a killer cold, complete with aches in the joints and a fever. I satyed at home in front of the TV while Christine went off to work. I felt very guilty about this state of affairs but the feeling soon passed. Christine came home having had a mixed day with some successes and some struggles.
Tuesday was a day off for us anyway so I had a couple of days to recover. We spent Tuesday doing a spot of housework and getting our gear organised. Unusually, the day was wet, with light but persistent rain having started the evening before. A check of the weather radar on the web showed that the rain was widespread across the Kimberleys and heavy in places, including across the Mt Barnett area of the Gibb River Road. We started to panic about the prospect of driving in to Kalumburu on the coming weekend. By Wednesday, the situation had worsened, with the steady rain at Fitzroy Crossing taking its toll locally and some areas to the North suffering localised flooding. I rang Jarrad at Wannanami School (Mt Barnett) and he reported that the Gibb River Road was closed and that lots of tourists were bogged or stranded along the way. By Thursday, we had given up all hope of leaving Fitzroy on the weekend and had given ourselves a deadline of the next Monday to set off. With a two day drive into Kalumburu ahead of us, we decided that if we could not leave on Monday, we would drive to Kununurra on the bitumen and fly in.
Meanwhile, the teaching continued. The process we have adopted is for both of us to be employed for one pay. This makes the work a lot easier and more enjoyable. We work well together and the kids seem to like the increased attention they get. We both love reading stories so we fight a bit over that task but otherwise things are going well. We spent one terrific morning out at Bayulu School (on Gogo Station). The staff and kids were fantastic and we had a great time doing a “show and tell” about Kalumburu. We also showed a lot of the classes at Fitzroy all about Kalumburu and we found they were very keen to learn about other communities. We both thoroughly enjoyed our brief time spent working at Fitzroy. The staff is a very professional group and work well together in some of the most trying conditions around. The school buildings are falling apart as the termites take their toll, the facilities are old and delapidated and the timeline to the new school seems to be very elastic. Despite this, the work goes on. Somehow, the media seems to miss all the great work being done under conditions no other employees would accept. Thanks to all for the wonderful hospitality.
Weekend 23/24 June
The rain stopped but there is little propect of leaving for Kalumburu for some time. We tried fishing again in Gieke Gorge, borrowing Troy’s boat so all four of us could go. It proved to be a poor trip from a fishing point of view, with only one medium sooty grunter caught and one fresh water turtle released. The river was flowing quite well with the recent rain and it had obviously put the fish off for a while. While launching, I managed to place a large rock on my finger while putting it behind a wheel. I did it in such a fashion as to immediately produce a nasty case of "black nail" and a considerable amount of pain. Despite this, the day was most enjoyable. Trevor and Emma have grown accustomed to the glory of Gieke Gorge but for us tourists the trip was spectacular. A very enjoyable staff barbecue rounded off an excellent weekend.
Week 25 to 29 June
We set off on Monday for Kununurra, driving through a fair bit of water as most creeks between Fitzroy and Halls Creek were flowing over the road. We never tire of the magnificant drive from Turkey Creek to Kununurra and the recent rains had added a beautiful splash of green across the landscape.
We contacted my cousin Wendy along the way and arranged to set up our camper on their block out at Crossing Falls. They are in the process of building a wonderful house. It is now in a livable state, with most facilities in place and others not far off. Fred may disagree with this statement but now that he has finally retired from Argyle, he should find more time to fit out what will be a spectacular house.
With a charter plane to Kalumburu booked for Wednesday morning, we had Tuesday to get things organised. The plan was to spend a couple of days in Kalumburu working, then pack 14 students into two Landcruisers and drive to Broome for a week of sports. Space would be at an absolute premium both on the plane and on the drive to Broome so we had to prepare as backpackers do.
The plane trip proved to be a real squeeze, because we had to pick up a couple of computer technicians in Oombulgurri on the way to Kalumburu. We all squeezed in and ended up with luggage on our laps. Kalumburu has changed a bit since we were last there in April. The signs of the cyclone damage of 2005 are fading as the normally lush vegetation around the houses re-grows. The fencing of the community houses and competitions to reward people who keep gardens and grounds clean has paid off, with many houses looking cleaner and brighter. The town was bulging at the seams with tourists, many of whom had been stranded in with the rain. THe road opened South as far as Drysdale as we landed and a cavalcade of 4WDs could be seen leaving. It was wonderful to be so warmly greeted by friends in the community.