Au revoir

Did you hear it?  That cracking , crashing sound that resounded across the vastness yesterday afternoon?  That was my heart breaking as I said goodbye to my time in Kenmore Park.

School excursion, Anangu style

There were rumours at Kenmore station that a cultural day was due
But the wind that whipped across the plains was cold.
The clouds rolled overhead, rain threatened on the breeze
And the kids stayed home til past the siren tolled.

What does ‘country’ mean to me?

By guest author, Poppy.

To me, country means the land that we live on and even the land that we don’t live on.  It is kind of hard to explain, but mostly to me the outback and farms and basically places relatively far away from the cities and urban civilised places. 

When opportunity knocks

So, if there is one thing this place has taught me it is this: seize every opportunity that comes your way with both hands.  I don’t know anything that makes me ache to the very core of my soul like reflecting on times I turned my back and walked away from something that could have been life-changing.

Broken ice

There was definitely a sense of acceptance as we walked in to the yard this morning.  More “good mornings” shouted across the basketball court, more smiles.  We brought some pavement chalk out and drew and played hopscotch together.  Common language.

We made it

Early news first thing this morning – I have been offered a formal practicum placement at Mimili Anangu School in Term 3!  Hurrah!  (Hopefully I’ll still feeling the same way about that after two weeks in Kenmore Park.)

Driving out of Coober Pedy at about 7:15am we saw more evidence of opal mining: small and large, surprisingly uniform anthills of upturned dirt dotted across the landscape.  From there, the land stretches flat and endless on both sides of the road as the dirt becomes redder and redder.  Those butterflies that have taken up residence on my insides were awake and active as both Mimili and Kenmore Park drew ever nearer.

First stop out of Coober Pedy, Cadney Homestead – forgettable.

Next stop, Marla – formally established as a township in 1982 by then Premier John Bannon and the last ‘big’ stop before the Lands proper.  A mini-supermarket for any last minute supplies.

Then, heading out of Marla, the landscape undergoes dramatic change.  Low lying, ancient mountain ranges give sudden undulating character to otherwise flat sparseness.

First dirt road off the tarmac, gateway to the APY Lands

Finally, the turn off the Darwin road and into the APY Lands.  Rough country now.

No Japanese whiskey for me for two weeks…

 

Creeping closer to Mimili

The corrugated, wide dirt road to Mimili is bone jarring.  Poppy and I rattle around in the back trying to take it all in.  The flatness is generally gone, replaced by hills of red rock and boulders.  This once impressive mountain range has eroded over aeons to surmountable hillocks.  The sense of timelessness is awesome.

Eventually, Mimili town. We stopped by the school to visit and thank Erin McQuade, Principal; Alana, the teacher who will be supervising my prac; and Emma, the Aboriginal Education Worker working with Alana in the Year 2/3 class.  I shall have to try and contain my excitement and anticipation for the next ten or so weeks until I come back.

And finally, the last stage of the journey, Mimili to Kenmore Park.  My turn to drive the outback.  I will let the pictures tell the story…

Just out of Mimili heading for Kenmore Park

The single track highway

The previously wide dirt road turned into a single track running along a fenceline into the never-never.  Occasionally, it petered out into the plain altogether.  Any bones, even those previously unknown, that had survived the tarmac-to-Mimili corrugations had their workout from Mimili to Kenmore Park.

Musgrave ranges in the distance

This land is primal and driving across it somehow empowering. The comforts of a modern 4WD notwithstanding.

Suddenly, around a final bend and over a cattle grid, Kenmore Park.  I will admit to the isolation hitting me full in the face as we rounded the curve and drove through the main gate.  This is, totally and absolutely, the middle of nowhere.  A collection of homes plonked down in the desert amidst the spinifex, dirt and rocky terrain.

Kenmore Park: the view across town

 

Kenmore Park Anangu School

The neighbours

View from Tuppy’s front porch

Same porch, different direction

Have I done the right thing bringing Poppy here?

On the road

Wow, what a huge day.  10.5 hours of driving – well, including stops for lunch and other “necessities”.  We are now in Coober Pedy, staying at the Mud Hut Motel.

So, Poppy nearly didn’t make it!  She came home from school Friday afternoon and put herself straight to bed, where she stayed with mild gastro until about 5am this morning.  Luckily, she recovered and was able to come along.

It was an early and tough start – leaving my 5yo boy for such a long time.  It was impossible to cram two weeks worth of cuddles into 15 short minutes.  But, stopping at the farmers’ market to collect our pre-ordered fresh produce and packing up the car, we managed to leave Adelaide at about 7:45 this morning.

We’ll be using the side mirrors…

Then it was just all about driving.

When we finally made it past Port Augusta, the enormity of this land and our journey through it started to become real.

Peering through the insect-splattered windscreen into a sunbleached sky, mirages shimmering into the endless distance.  The vast immensity of a land untouched –
unconquered.

Impossible to replicate the immensity

We drove through a veritable sea of blue-grey saltbush interspersed with native shrubland.  And the longed-for red dirt.  Raw desert.

Then, suddenly, Lake Hart.  Caravans lined up cheek-by-jowl on the shore of an inland lake that stretches to the horizon, its edges blushing the palest pink in the afternoon sunshine.

Language becomes so insignificant.

A family of emus pecking through the undergrowth.

Stunted tree skeletons frozen in a twisted ballet.

Unexpected urbanity – a 3G communication tower keeping the cattle and sheep connected to the global network.

Clouds of carrion crows rise as we approach each fresh roadkill.  Eagles soar.

Shadows lengthen across the red sand as we near Coober Pedy.  Strips of cloud on the horizon dress themselves in the orange tinge of early dusk.

Finally, space to breathe as the shackles of the city gradually loosen their grip.

Desert magic

Then, magically, in the East a perfect full moon slowly ascends from a hazy, purple horizon and gazes benevolently across the desert fading into night.

Tomorrow, Mimili and Kenmore Park.

Then the adventure really begins!

Leading up to work experience

The long drive north

Exhilarated.  Feverishly excited.  Filled with intense anticipation.  Overwhelmed.  Anxious.  Wracked with self-doubt.

All of these emotions and more course through my brain and body in these days and weeks leading up to my first work experience in The APY Lands.

LLiDW Week 6: Digital fluency and Scratch animation

(Scratch, 2003)

If nothing else, Scratch is an exercise in patience!  Soon after the first experiments, I nearly decided to give this week’s task a miss – other assessment tasks are looming.  However, including a reflection on the learning experience in this blog meant that this, too, was an assessment task, so I soldiered on.

LLiDW Week 4: The Digital Divide

(Holderhead, 2011)

Access to digital technology is something many take completely for granted.  Yet great discrepancy exists between the ‘haves‘ and ‘have nots‘ in the digital world.  This week’s readings and research reminded us that primary school teachers play a vital role in bridging this educational gap by ensuring all students have access to digital technology in the classroom.