A 30-cent
cone was the order of the day on Saturday but the main fare was shopping and
cleaning. With half the mob off in Katherine doing the fortnightly grocery
shop, Daryl, Erin and I were left to toil with mop and brush and vacuum. After
all the chores were done we could finally relax after a massive week of
programming and I could eat a thoroughly melted ice-cream that had made the
three-hour journey from Katherine (courtesy of Amy) with the stamina that I’ve
come to expect from all McDonald’s products.
We were up
with alacrity on Sunday morning to head out to Minamia – a river inlet with
sandy, eucalyptus-lined banks and a vast area of red and brown rocks punctuated
by cool waterholes, known around town as a prime spot for catching huge
barramundi and bream. Luckily we’d brought a couple of lures as well as a crack
team of local women – Hilda, Mary, Lorraine and Dort Dort – who immediately
took charge of the business end of the trip.
Our job for
the day was to keep the kids busy – a pretty tough job – by exploring the
waterholes, sliding around on moss-covered rocks, jumping and flipping off high
rocks into deep water and sunbathing (for those with less of a propensity to
burn than I). While I read my book, some of the boys buried each other in sand up to
their necks and the other kids helped to make damper.
The fishing
moguls returned a little while later with an impressive brace of bream and
catfish as well as a good-sized turtle. We learnt soon afterwards, through the morbid,
although utterly hilarious, ventriloquism of Mary, that the turtle’s name was
Robbie, that he had a girlfriend back in the river named Rita (not related to
our birthday girl – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RITA!) and that he was very sad that Hilda
had killed him earlier that day. After such a long and exciting day, the ride
home in the boys’ troopie was astoundingly quiet while the girls’ troopie was
filled with Mary’s hysterics.
What a
great day out bush and what an incredibly rejuvenating weekend. We’re halfway
through the program now and it feels like we’ve only just arrived. Better get a
move on with all these activities – there’s no time to lose!
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