Back in Brisbane - soon Runaway Bay

Dear All,

Last Thursday I arrived in Brisbane and immediately started house-hunting at Runaway Bay. This looks as though it will be where I will be living:

You might be able to see that the Tower is right on the Broadwater. It has 30 stories, so, if there is an earthquake, you can probably not bother digging for me for, as you can see in the right hand picture, I will be in a unit on the ground floor, underneath all those 30 stories. You can see that I have a little 'garden' of my own! It really pleases me to have a little privatge outdoor area. Much better than a balcony! The gate (locked) out of that leads down through another secure are to a path around the Broadwater. It is all very secure; the unit effectively has only one bedroom, but it has a large living / lounge / dining area and a room off that, behind the kitchen, which has no windows but has one wall covered with a mirror and another with a built-in with mirrored doors which gives an impression of size. This room could be used as a bedroom, but you would need to leave the door open because there is no window whatsoever. It is listed as a 'study' which is probably more realistic.

I am in the throes of organising all of this and am waiting on my multiple boxes to arrive from Darwin by road mid-week so I can get started. On Monday 17th I get the lease and pay bond and rent etc. I don't know when I get the keys. I start on 21st in the Parish.

Yesterday I caught up with Mary at the ex-students' biennial gathering (Yeronga Services Club) which was a really nice occasion. I brought Mary home and stayed till Neil and family arrived. Here are couple of pics of the 9 month old Robbie who wants to crawl but does not yet have his techniques sorted out.

You can probably work out from the accompanying Photos that Robbie is underfed and so unhappy! His parents are obviously to blame - and also his big sister, Nikki, who plays with him whenever possible. He adores her.

This is just a little blog. I must get down the Coast. The weather is clouding over a bit. Hmmm.

Love from Rita.

Finishing Up in Darwin

Dear All,

Well, yesterday, Friday 4th, I finished up at Nungalinya. Last night the Theology Staff had dinner together. Today we have a special occasion for our Sisters here in Darwin with the 150th Anniversary of the Title "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart" being celebrated with the blessing of the new stained glass window behind the statue in the Cathedral and lunch on the lawn (under a tent, I hope - it's hot today).

I didn't do much work on Friday at Nungalinya - wrote little cards to put in everyone's pigeonhole, cleaned up my computer, attended Chapel and Morning Tea, and generally filled in most of the day until 3.30 pm. Morning Tea on Fridays is the time for marking Birthdays, Visitors and Farewells, so Rob, the Theology Coordinator made a nice (and rather fullsome) speech about me and then Tony Lee gave me a little carved bird. He said to me on Tuesday, "I have been carving up a bird for you on Friday" and I looked at him a bit bewildered, thinking that carving up a cooked chook, and then leaving it till Friday would be a bit strange. But no! He had carved a traditional little Jabiru with symbols all over it to remind me of the people I have touched up here. You will see that I am holding it in the photo with my Numbulwar ladies. I was very glad to see that it was very small and made of very light wood. I like it and it is already packed in a box of things. I ried to get a better photo of the 'carved bird' (a Jabiru) and enlarged just myself in one of the photos. I can see the bird better in that and I hope you can. All of the Aboriginal ladies from Numbulwar are related, they tell me. 'In the other photo, I am thanking Rob for his kind words about me while Lorraine looks on.

I have also posted a small copy of just me with the carved bird so you might get a better look.

I wish I had pulled the camera out at lunch time when I saw what I thought was an injured rainbow lorikeet near the gate. "No", said the handyman nearby, "It's just drunk - been eating too many ripe figs." It kept toppling forward onto its nose as it tried to flee me along the ground, climbing up a branch to escape! But it fell off it about one metre up, then resumed its staggering run toward a low-set palm under which to shelter. By the time I returned from lunch, it had disappeared. Must have sobered up.

Chapel (8.30 am) was held under the mango tree to start the day and the Theology Teacher who led it had done an action song with all the students during the classes and they did this during the Chapel time. You can see them all raising their arms in a 'superman' gesture! The whole song was about Jesus and the Resurrection in very 'superman' imagery!

A group of the ladies (from Nugkurr, Warrawi and Numbulwar) also presented a Prayer Dance during our final Morning Tea as they were returning to their community on Saturday after two weeks living in to study. They did it all most reverently. I have shown only part of the group.

The Mass at the Cathedral was a very nice event this morning. I helped Mary with the singing and took photos. The Blessing of the window was at the end of Mass. I took a few photos and will put in a couple here:

You can see in the photo below, the 11 Sisters presently in the Territory (although you can only glimpse Sr Liz behind Sr Mary - the Chinese one beside me.) Behind us you have the artist who did the window Jon Firth, and Bishope Eugene Hurley. I was looking at the person who had my camera and everyone else was looking at another camera and that is why I am looking in a different direction!. And below is a fairly good picture of the window itself.

After the Mass we had light refreshments on the lawn under a plastic awning - a big tent. Boy, was it hot under that! Much better under a tree. Anyway, it was a very pleasant event and not lots and lots of work.

I decided to take a picture of the Aboriginal Madonna on the opposite wall too. The skin has a wonderful 'velvety' quality to it with the actual picture. They apparently carry children like that often.

On Saturday evening, the 11 of us went out to dinner at the Jetty Restautant, which is on the nearest end of Stokes Wharf but much more upmarket. We had a booked table inside with an excellent view. It was a smorgasbord and you would have been hard put to eat all that was offered. We started with prawns (large) and oysters. There were 'scrap' bowls and finger washing bowls with water and lemon juice on the tables. After that, we ordered a bottle of wine and other drinks and queued up to select the main meal. There were soft skinned crabs and oysters, chicken, lamb etc etc. and steak, but I chose the steak, which was cooking on the grill before our eyes. The lady beside me said their steak was excellent and I agree with her, having had some. There were vegetables and salads and a Chinese section, with stacks of chefs and plenty of enthusiastic customers. I took a few photos which I will put in small and show you more:

1) Was the view from our window inside - gives you an idea of the setting.

2) The moon was glorious over the distant coastal lights - you can see a little cloud starting to move over it.

3) This photo should have been first - we are arriving at the place. That's where I took the photo below of the 'Croc'.

Finally - a couple of 'nice' photos. The first is of a little 3-year old joining in the actions after Children's Liturgy at the St Martin de Porres Church Mass this morning. She is a most delightful and spontaneous little girl and a joy to see.

The second photo is of the amphibious Tour Bus - the Croc - which you can take around Darwin and see the sights from land and sea. It was going past the Jetty as we walked towards the Restaurant. You can see the front wheel. The writing says "Ride the Croc" and gives a phone number. It is certainly colourful and had quite a few occupants.

This will be my final blog entry from Darwin and I can't see myself doing one next week, although I might surprise you. There is much to do when I get to Brisbane - catch up on some shut-eye! Ring up some people. Arrange to go over to Rochedale and down to Runaway Bay on business to fix up accommodation. I think my 'retrieved' car will be waiting for me when I get to Corinda. Hope it's been treated kindly during its soujourn south.

I get on to packing up now and might even get a little time to do some of the essay which is due next Friday and for which I have sought a 1-week extension. I have started the packing and have until Wednesday 1 pm to have all the boxes and cases which are going across on a transport stacked up at the front door. I will live out of the suitcase I take on the plane just like I would if I was on holidays! (Let's pretend). I start work on 21st - the Aboriginal people up here were inviting me to come along to the ATSIC Conference which apparently starts in Brisbane on 21st also. Not much hope, was my answer. But you never know.

I will see some of you quite soon. That will be excellent. Meanwhile it is head down, tail up on the packing.

Love from Rita

Pressure Cooker

Dear All,

Tomorrow is the last day of August and then I go at 1.45 am on 10th September, so there are only 10 days left to do so many things. Packing up will have to start soon - but I am working this week. There is a lot of paper-work to get done. I am still doing Certificate IV work, and of course, the study of THEL continues with a 2000 word essay due on 'Friday 9th September'???? Did the lecturer mean Fri 11th or Wed 9th?????. (I am TRYING n...o....t.... to PANIC!... like the birds on the top of the page)

Not much for this week's blog. I taught my six ladies from Numbulwar last week and they worked very hard and are such a lovely lot of people. I will put in a photo of when they were standing around ready to start a role play of a Biblical story. They have their Nungalinya 'dog tags' around their necks. This week someone else is teaching them and there are 18 students altogether with 10 from Nugkurr and 2 from Warriwi. Lorraine taught the larger group because she is more experienced.

A volunteer Librarian (Janet) has been here for a couple of months and she left yesterday. It is the second or third time she has been here to do her little bit to help the place and it has been wonderful. She and Lyn (who left 3 weeks ago) lived in a house on site and the curlews laid eggs near their carport. I missed that photo, but one of the eggs hatched and they abandoned the other egg and last week I got a few good photos of Mum & Dad & Junior Curlew. Janet wanted a picture to send Lyn. What you can't see in the pictures is the menacing hissing noises made by the parents as they head away from me in full flight with Junior obediently following.

The other morning when I went for my early walk there was considerable drama down on the Esplanade - three Fire rescue trucks, 2 or 3 police cars, and an ambulance. I rightly deduced that someone had fallen over the cliffs and that alcohol was 'maybe' involved! It was all in the paper next day - a 24-year-old visitor, who had been drinking, got over the safety fence and ....... ! He was unconscious at first but when he became conscious he was apparently very vocal because of pain. I don't think his injuries were life-threatening, but they were painful. He was wedged between a tree and a rock. Made for a more interesting walk than usual. The emergency services had quite a job retrieving him. You can add your own comments!

You would be interested to know that the car I was using at Rochedale (and had been for a few years) is being 'retrieved' from Sydney and returned to Corinda for my use at Runaway Bay. I will examine it carefully and see if it has received good care down south! I arrive at 9.35 am on 10th September after flying via Sydney on one of the Red-eye specials in the middle of the wee small hours in Darwin. My friend who arrived at 1.05 am a couple of weeks ago was amazed that the airport was fully engaged, with people everywhere. It is almost peak hour there between midnight and 3 am. No curfew in Darwin.

We are not quite up to the build up (I will avoid that neatly) but the humidity is higher than it was and the night temperatures could not be called 'cool'. However, the days seem very pleasant to me except when you go out in the midday sun.

Must get back to that reading for the Essay. Sigh!

Lots of love from Rita.

The end is in sight!

Dear All,

First of all I would like you to enjoy this picture which Carmel sent me from Melbourne.

Some of you have seen it. Don't know where it was taken but it is a beauty! It will enlarge if you double click on it.

No, it won't be the end of the world as the title of this blog might suggest - just the end of my time in Darwin. If you haven't heard already, I will be starting a new position as Pastoral Associate at Runaway Bay on September 21st and so will leave here in the early hours of Thursday 10th September. There is much to do, and the study continues (sort of!), so this blog will soon end too.

I came to realise that I was pushing against the current, so to speak, up here in my efforts to teach Theology within a culture where I have no language and no experience. I am an alien in the Aboriginal cultural scene and teaching within that culture was difficult for me, although the people themselves are lovely. So I am moving into an area where I believe I have some skills and gifts - at my tender age, I cannot expect to increase my physical capacities etc but rather the reverse, so, I am not pushing myself so hard and to so little purpose. However, the experience has been very enriching, I have grown a lot, and I have learnt a lot.

One of the things that struck forcibly me last week was the poor health status of the Aboriginal people as a group and how this impacts upon their daily lives. If I could be specific: the first group of 4 (3 of them sisters) had a sister in the last stages of a brain tumour; their mother had inevitable dialysis staved off for a few more months with some medical treatment, while their father was diagnosed with an untreatable illness during the time of their study. The second group of 10 came. One was profoundly deaf and one seriously so. Another had diabetes and advanced cataracts and need urgent help to get medication for the diabetes. Two spent different half days at the hospital waiting for treatment for health problems, and, on the final day we discovered that one person's brother is in the RDH and the family has been called in (by bus and plane) to hear what the Doctor has to say about the results of his surgery. One can only think the worst. Another member had an adult child involved in self-harm while they were in town. This is apparently 'normal'. I find it horrifying because only a one or two of them would be older than 50 and most are in their 30s. Staff tell me that with most groups they usually arrive with someone having just died at home or they leave to attend a funeral. All that constant early death and sickness and grief would have a huge effect upon the whole community. Next week we are expecting 20 students from Nugkurr, Numbulwar and Wurrawi. (Find those on the map! - Google Western Arnhem Land for Wurrawi). I will be teaching this week. The next week I will finalise all the paperwork etc. Then I will finish on 4th September and have about 6 days to pack up everything to travel.

Last week my friend Carmel from Melbourne came from Friday until Monday. Of course, I was at work Friday and Monday, but we 'made hay' on the weekend. Then on Monday an email arrived at work about the Indigenous Films on at the Deck-chair Cinema that evening: three 11 minute films then a Documentary on the making of Samson and Delilah. We walked down abotu 6 pm and bought out tea there for $10, picking out a couple of near-front deck chairs as our possy. Just as well we were early. As 7.30 pm approached, people kept coming down the aisles searching for seats and quite a few sat on the ground in the front. The three short films were quite different - one about an aboriginal baby born to a delighted father who found that his child obviously had a white father! Very silent and powerful. Then "On the Farm" about a young girl growing into her teens who 'sees' ancestors and such-like spirits (one aboriginal woman told me that aboriginal people see spirits all the time!); the third was about a woman and a rooster and it was very funny - based upon a true tale of a woman who, in tough time when she had trouble feeding her family, bargained for a rooster and hens in the hope of getting eggs. Then the rooster was found apparently dead in the chook-pen. In desperation she tried mouth to mouth and CPR and, loand behold, the rooster revived! It was done very well and was very comic. After these, we had the documentary preceded by a few words from Beck Cole, the producer of Samson and Delilah and the documentary. It was fascinating and showed them choosing the particular young chap and girl for the parts and then the things surrounding the shooting of various scenes and the responses of the young actors to the pressure. I took a couple of pictures which will give you some idea of the venue.

You can see that one of the charms of the Deckchair Cinema is watching the sunset. The seats and the set up are permanent. You can see the style of seats and the people at the front.

That might do for now - nothing much happening except the weather is really beautiful. The tourists have dropped off a bit now the school hols have finished, but there are still plenty around. And the hoons are still around - although they are not hooning here because there is a new law which can mean they get their cars confiscated! Last night they gathered in car park opposite in McLachlan Street and, about 10 pm all rolled out to go somewhere - I counted 26 of them (and I think I missed some) and they all had clear signs of being hoons! Never seen so many!

On that cheerful note I'll finish for tonight.

Love from Rita

More Natural delights, Visitors, Outings & Work

Dear All,

It is a bit hard fitting a blog into this week which has been quite full. It was a teaching week and I had those 10 students from 3 Communities. There were supposed to be 17 students but 1 group of 4 didn't eventuate, a group of 7 reduced to 5, one of 2 reduced to 2 and so there were 10. ( I was told, this was 'normal'). As a result we had one class - not two - and my colleague in this area of theology and I agreed to do some team teaching (which meant taking different days). She was to take Wednesday, whcih was just as well because I came down with one of those tummy wogs that day and was confined to quarters - not crash hot at all. Thursday I staggered out and tried work again - my colleague took pity on me and did that day, and I came good and was OK then and taught again on Friday. So I did 3 days and she did 2. I'll put in a couple of pictures of 2 groups of them outside preparing role plays, and also a picture of our univited but very welcome 'guest' on the property - a dear little rabbit which crouched under some bushes near the entrance and was obviously a pet. Some people gave him/her suitable tit-bits of apple/carrot etc. He vanished later in the week - hopefully to 'home', but who knows! By the way - I think I saw one of the baby birds last week with two adults - the one which I assumed was the baby was a bit smaller and less skilful at getting around in the tree. Perhaps the 2nd youngster was around too - it was hard to see amongst the leaves.

You can see from the photos how comfortable many Aboriginal women are with sitting on the ground - I would never be able to move at all after sitting for half an hour like that! Even if I could get into that position and be comfortable at all! They are very flexible and graceful.

The other group mostly chose chairs, although one still chose the ground. They all covered their course well.

We had more visitors last week - one a Sister from another Congregation from on her way south via the Ghan after attending an Aboriginal Cultural Festival up in Arnhem Land (which she said was marvellous - she joined a party going there to learn about Aboriginal culture) and then, on Friday morning (very early!) my friend Carmel from Melbourne, came up for the weekend. [There some departures too with a Leaders' Meeting in Sydney this weekend and a Sister from Wadeye waiting 'in town' for their gentle dog, Socks, to recover from a pellet he received from an irate resident who was past his tolerance level for the mayhem created by every dog inthe town setting out in hot pursuit of any big pig which prowled about at night, waking everyone nearby from sleep! Socks was an unfortunate victim and ended up having to have surgery and recuperation in Darwin! He was a gentle soul and seemed to have recovered well, so I hope he lives for a long time yet.]

Carmel & I header off to Parap Market today (no photos allowed - notice at entrance!) and it was very interesting with lots of jewelery and clothing and leather and wood and 'New Age' accoutrements! The food stalls were varied and excellent and well patronised. The fresh-cooked crepes seemed to be very popular and I asked one recipient if they were good and she was VERY enthusiastic! But we settled for freshly-squeezed containers of juice. One chap was selling magic tricks and some of them were amazing - quite a crowd (including us) were standing there agape, but at $50 a pop, you would have to be keen.

From there we headed to Litchfield Park which was a good move - very enjoyable. We went through Batchelor and I was very interested because Batchelor College is a Tertiary College for Aboriginal Students. I never realised before just how far outside Darwin it was - must have been 100 k (I haven't checked) and it is quite a big complex. I just took a couple of photos and was interested to see the visual similarities to Nunglinya complex - identical fencing and some buildings a bit similar. Here are just a couple of photos - one really incidental, but interesting.

The first big sign was beside the turn off to Batchelor, along the Stuart Highway. Enlarge it and you can see a bit of info about Litchfield. It looked a bit like one of those travelling trucks which advertise things and had the same pictures and messages on 3 (I think) sides.

The second picture shows a building inside the fence of Batchelor Colege which had art works on the walls. Outside the fence was the explanatory sign about it, which you should be able to enlarge and read.

I drove to the Entrance to Batchelor Institute and took a photo of that (see No. 1 below) and then we headed out onto the road to Litchfield. We didn't get far before stopping to inspect a most surprising sight! - A miniature Castle in a Park. Carmel took photos for her 6-year-old neice and I took photos too. As well as Carmel 'appearing' out of the bush to 'show me' the castle (centre below) you will see the account of how the structure and park came about in Batchelor Town. .

Then we headed off the Litchfield Park proper - had a sandwich and coffee at a Carvan Park and looked at maps there. Decided to go onto the turnoff to Florence Falls about 27 km further along. On the way we stopped at the Termite mounds:

1. These were strange and flat (like large tombstones!)

2. I hope you can read some of this - it might be too blurry, but you'll get some headings at least.

Finally, a couple of pictures of a [3. Buley Rock Pool on the side road to Florence Falls, and [1.Florence Falls themselves. [2. Carmel had her togs with her and had a wonderful swim. I sat on a rock below - with many other people waiting for swimmers - and put my feet into the delicious water and chatted to others. Very pleasant - lovely temperature and atmosphere.

On the way down the 135 steps (notices warning people about the number) there were two cute little Rock Wallabies just beside the steps and I was able to get a nice photo. The one furtherest from the camera was possibly a youngster, and kept 'wagging' its tail! Couldn't show that, but showed the tail anyway.

I'll be in touch again. We will go to Nightcliff Markets after 9.30 am Mass this morning, as Sr Jo says they are worth visiting.

Love from Rita

A busy week, but quite productive

Dear All,


This week has involved visitors, study and preparing for more teaching. I have even taken a couple of photos, but, when I went to check on the little birds on Tuesday (last photograph was on the Sunday morning prior to this) they had flown the nest - literally. I hope they were big enough and smart enought to survive. It is better not to think about the possibilities - no wonder the one nearest the camera looked wracked with anxiety and trepidation, (even though it was only his eye-brows that gave that impression!)


We had a visiting Sister of Mercy, Mary, here last week. She had won a trip with a raffle ticket she had bought off a little school girl who approached her in the street. She flew up and had a week in Darwin just wandering around and looking at things, then took the Ghan back on the Saturday. Our Sr Mary took her to Stokes Wharf on Friday night as well as driving her around some of the northern suburbs. I took her to the Ghan. I had a couple of text messages from her and it all seemed to be going well. I must see if I can take the Ghan one day.


During the rest of the week we have had four of our own Sisters in from Port Keats, Bathurst Island and Alice Springs for a Meeting, so meal times have been a much bigger event than normal. All the cooks (including me) have risen to the occasion! There has been a lot of talk about the terrible problems arising out of the Intervention. The quarantining of income applies to anyone living in these remote areas and putting the place down as their home (including some Grey Nomad volunteers who have thought they would give some years of skills to a remote community. They have not been able to access their money!). Not many of us would like to have our income quarantined just because we happen to be receiving some sort of Pension! There has also been a lot of talk about people who have no idea of what is on their Basics Card until the girl at the check-out tells them they can't pay for what they have put in their trolley (usually only basic foodstuffs) and they have to take items out until they can get through the check-out. The humiliation is not removed by having the girls treat them very courteously. They can only shop at Coles or Woolworths also, and that means if there is a smaller local store they have to find (and pay for) transport to the ones where their card will work. One story was of a woman outside Katherine who could not shop locally (not allowed to) and with no transport of any kind paid $100 for a taxi to take her to the big town, bought up her food, and then had no money left to get home.

These are real people trying to run their lives and raise families. It is very demeaning. A lot of them (Aboriginal as well as white) managed their income and fed and clothed their families capably in the past. It is very disempowering. There is an article in the latest report from the St Vincent de Paul society (The Record) which points out that, since the Intervention, diseases associated with poor nutrition have been on the increase. The causal link has not yet been established but the increase was in the order of 16% or so, so it was not insignificant.


Another problem stemming from the Basics Card and the quarantining of income has arisen for Aboriginal people who have gone into another State - eg. Hospital / Conference etc. Their Basics Card does not work except in their home state and they have no cash whatsoever when they are interstate. You can imagine the potential difficulties. Many who would like to send children away to a boarding school can't because they can't give them any pocket money. There has to be a better way to help people manage their money - everyone is being treated the same, and it is paternalistic, to say the least.


I drove out to Dripstone Cliffs for lunch in the car (air-con on!) the other day and was a bit intrigued by a memorial stone behind the fence near whcih I parked (see the wires in the first photo). I took a photo - then a closer one - and you can see the result. The stone has been put there to mark a place where people at a children's home used to come and play. I hope you can read it.

















I spent a large part of this week still fixing up the Assessment items for the Unit on the Holy Spirit I taught to those four ladies from Milingimbi. On Monday I start teaching the same unit to another group: 4 from Ringer's Soak (in the Kimberleys, I think); 2 from Minyerri; 4 from Numbulwar. I am supposed to have 10. Lorraine will teach a unit on Jesus to 6 others. I Googled the location of these places and found this helpful information:

Ringer Soak is an Aboriginal Community built on land excised from Gordon Downs Station. Ringer Soak is close to the Northern Territory border and on the northern edge of the Great Sandy Desert. The nearest town is Halls Creek, 170 km to the North-West.
Numbulwar. From Angurugu, 84.78kms SW From Ngukurr, 119.42kms NE From Gapuwiyak, 197.56kms S From Borroloola, 208.17kms N.
Minyerri is located approximately 270 km south-east of Katherine by road. From Ngukurr, 88.54kms SW (141kms, 3hrs 20mins driving



I have put my nose into the study and am starting to get interested in it. However, the initial read of one theologian's writings stopped me in my tracks. I will give you one sentence:



"A dialectic of contraries, as opposed to a dialectic of contradictories, is a particular realization of the single but complex notion of dialectic in which the constitutive principles are to work harmoniously in the unfolding of the changes that emerge from their interaction."



After three readings, something starts to make sense. There should be prizes for those who can send me a succinct summary of the sentence! Imagine pages of similar lucidity! I must admit that, after a while, some of the terms start to penetrate the brain cells and make sense, but it is heavy going. Not all the readings are as dense at that!


It is an online subject and I have had to come to grips with "Blackboard". This has required several phone conversations with my lecturer in Sydney (ACU) who has been extremely helpful, and now I can handle it quite easily. I even managed to get my first Discussion entry up on the site last night (although it briefly went missing this evening and I put in another copy only to end up with two identical entries!)


I'll finish for the minute and see if there aren't a couple of photos I can put in tomorrow. The soldiers from Afghanistan (or is it Iraq?) are having a Welcome Home Parade down the street from here tomorrow and I might go and give them a cheer. Keep watching.



Much love to all for this week. Rita


PS. I didn't get down the street to see the parade. I went for a walk and arrived back about 8.20 am (yet to have brekky) and found the parade was 9 am, so I didn't make it.

Ain't nature grand!

Dear All

I must share with you a couple more photos of the baby birds outside the College entrance door. I feel that, if I stood still in front of the nest, I would be able see the babies growing, they are changing so fast! The parents on the other hand, are getting slimmer! They work so hard going to and fro to the nest feeding their hungry off-spring. Here are this week's pics: 1) a good view of a parent bird near the nest; 2) the chicks this morning - Sunday 2nd August - looking very mature!

They have slightly worried looks on their faces because of the dark 'eyebrows' which seem to slope down outwards, as though they have all the worries of the world on their shoulders! You can enlarge them further with the double-click. T

While I am on my 'nature ramble' I must show you some pictures I took yesterday when I needed to get out in the fresh air and away from the house for a while so, on the spur of the moment, decided to go and take some pictures at Fogg Dam because when I went with Kath and John, I didn't take any. What is more, I decided when I got there, to go on the walk we were too pestered by mozzies to attempt and it was absolutely beautiful, so now you will see a few of those. I'll put six small ones in.

It was about 4 pm when I arrived there and the walk is 1.1 km each way. There was no one about so I had the walk to myself and there were birds galore, although I didn't photograph them all. The vegetation changed from open forest to ti-tree swamp and other swamp vegetation. After I finished the walk (a few mozzies were arriving!) I did a quick drive along the dam wall and back and there were only 2 other cars, so it was fairly peaceful, so I was able to stop and take a couple of photos - without getting out of the car! I will add a photo from that too.

The photos above show the sign at the start of the walk and if you look closely, you can see the route of the walk, first through the forest which becomes swamp eventually, then on walkways above the wetland.

Below, I have shown one stretch of the extensive walkways and some of the lilies (not in peak season) promised on the opening notice. I noticed a large bird flying into a tree and photographed it. To my surprise, when I enlarged it, I saw it was not a 'raptor' as I had thought, but a Coucal.

Finally, there is the photo from the Dam wall which shows an immense number of water birds.
I imagine Kath and John will enjoy these particularly. I saw no crocodiles. There were lots of other photos I took, but this is a sample of a very enjoyable walk.

The four ladies from Miligimbi were still at the College last week for another subject taken by a different Theology Teacher. I have a couple of photos showing them in the Chapel which you might see next time. Unfortunately, their father 'Papa Joe' has taken very seriously ill now and has been in Hospital. He will be discharged to go home with medication to keep him comfortable as soon as he is fit to travel. So there are 3 members of that family in medical strife now. There is a Doctor at Milingimbi, so they will be under him until they must return to Darwin. It was hoped they could all fly back together today (Sunday) when the 4 students returned to their community.

We've had glorious weather the last few days and I also drove over to Vestey's Beach, which is just the next beach to Mindil beach and used by all sorts of aquatic 'vehicles'. The water was sparkling and I will put in three pics which show the delights of the scene and the multiplicity of craft.

1) Just look at the sparkle on the water - it was beautiful! My editing has slightly exaggerated the colour, it was still a beautiful aqua however. The editing has only made it more dense.

2) I tried to get as many different water craft in the picture as possible: jet skis, catamaran, yachts, and a large cargo ship in the distance. The first photo also has a number of craft.

3) I couldn't resist this one - which I have enlarged to the nth degree! The line in the middle is the fence through which I was looking to take the photo of this long craft being paddled by a group! The paddlers are not very coordinated - you can see the flat side of some paddles and nothing of others. Behind them is a pleasure cruiser. There is such a range of activities out on the water.

I had better stop this and head off to bed - it actually takes a long time and there were other things I hoped to do which will have to wait until the morrow! - fortunately that is a Public Holiday here in Darwin - Picnic Day for the Darwin Cup (Racing). The City is full of tourists - even more so than when Kath and John were here.

.

A final addition to this blog is a picture of the notice (self-explanatory) outside the Church where I go to 10 am Mass on Sunday, when possible. It is very friendly and welcoming. I took a couple of pictures when the children came back from Children's Liturgy and do a song with hand actions led by the leader (right picture - back to camera). The Priest and Adult Altar Server join in also. I put this picture in because the Server is a fine looking man who I think may have been the 'model' (he denies it) for the 'Saint Martin' on the Notice! The photo is a bit blurry, but can you see any resemblance? I leave that with you.

I am supposed to be seeing some of you soon (you'll know who you are) but there is a little glitch in those arrangments. Watch for an email tomorrow night.

Much love from Rita