Eamon: Chilly Minyerri

“Wanna join us for a run, Romas?” at 8:30am this morning on our way to the airstrip. “Nah. Too cold.” He was right. It must have been 22 degrees Celsius. Bloody freezing.

So began our first morning in Minyerri. Thankfully, the day warmed up and before long we were properly sweating under the blazing sun. Surrounded by kids intent on figuring out which of the Teachabout mob were back again and which were new to Minyerri, we were greeted by an enthusiastic cascade of “what’s your name?” and “my name’s this, no, not that, this!”.  Two years since my last visit to M-town, I was chuffed to have just a few smiling faces who recognized me.

A kid-led wander around the hotspots of Minyerri (billabong, new footy oval, waterpark, B-ball court) gave Daryl and Amy their first taste of the local area and it was certainly enough to get everyone thoroughly parched. It was also a great opportunity to say “G’day” to few old friends who were not rambunctious enough to come looking for us at 9am on our first morning in town.

An afternoon of planning activities, trying to find a jack to change a flat tyre, cleaning boys’ bathrooms, sourcing essential cutlery (a spoon is not the optimal instrument for spreading butter on bread, although it’s probably not the worst) and then checking out the library’s collection filled out the rest of the day.

Our first day of activities tomorrow is gonna be a cracker and the kids are already impatient to see what we’ve got in store for them. If today was chilly, then I hope that the cold snap continues. Although I reckon it’d be hard to find a warmer welcome.