It's 8.30pm and I'm on my verandah having a ciggarette. The rain hits the tin roof like pellets and a spinifex hopping mouse jumps past and dives into the grass. I'm reflecting on my day today....
Billy and Lulu are artists in residence again, and as usual, Ben and I are excited to have them around.
Beep, beep! "Hey, you mob ready" I call out loud enough so they can hear me through the rain.
Out emerge Billy and Lulu. "Morning. We ready"
Behind them, their daughters; Marlene and Jainie. Following them, Catherine, 11, Sarissa, 5, and Kevin, 3.
Cooley Tjuta! (Lots of Cooley's)
We were off to the Tourist Visitors Centre in Yulara. A museum of all the flora and fauna of the Central Desert. Here, you get to see all the real stuffed animals that are found in the desert. Papa inura (dingoes) malu (red kangaroo) kipara (bush turkey) mala (rock wallaby), liru (snakes), tinka (lizards), ngintaka (perentie), as well as, eagles, owls, every sort of mouse, snake, bug, scorpian, centerpeid - you name it, they've got it!
First though.. "hey, you mob seen where my wati has gone?
"yeh nanna, his Toyota went that way" and Billy pointed into the scrub.
"Let's go and find him" Catherine called.
I started to drive into the scrub.
"Hey, there he is!"
"Where, how can you see?" I asked
"I can see through the dark too" she leaned forward and whispered in my ear.
Sure enough, as we got closer, there was Bens ute. He walked over, wet, and looking adorable in his worn akubra hat. What a cowboy!
On closer inspection, right in front of me, there was a rabbit, tied to the tray of his ute. He was skinning and gutting the rabbits he'd shot the previous night! Clearly there were more than the ones he'd left in my fridge! He wandered over, knife in one hand, the other, bloody and covered in fur!
"Get away!, Yuk!" I screamed
I wasn't hanging around, I started the car and began to reverse out.
"Hey Ben, save one for me" Billy called out the window.
"No worries, I've already got one aside. Might cook him at Vics!"
"No you bloody won't! We're goin' for a Sunday drive. Catch ya after!"
And we were off!
Three kids, screaming, running around wildly and having a hoot of a time! It was fantastic! Later, I found out they'd had Coke and lollies for breakfast! That would do it!
With the usual trip home via the service station for a variety of fried foods, we were heading home.... Then, we approached the Kata-Tjuta turn off.
"wanna go for a ride" I asked
"Oowa!"
So, I hung a right and we were travelling in the direction of Docker River and Kata Tjuta.
Billy was travelling in the front seat and was describing what the country we were travelling through was like 20 years ago. He described the old roads, old camp grounds and showed me where he used to grade roads. Billy is unconditionally generous with his knowledge, stories and tjukurpa.
"Camula! Camula! Camula!" All the kids cried from the back, giggling so sweetly, the car was instantly filled with love and the innocence of children. So, we stopped for a moment, said hello to the herd of camels and proceeded to drive through pouring rain.
We arrived at Walpa Gorge, Kata Tjuta. One of my favourite places.
"This is wati ngura here" Billy told us. Mans place. Traditional owners aren't strict on this, and, tourists are able to visit freely. Apparently locals should know better, but, the old women have told me its ok. "We go there too kungka" they always whisper to me. "Maku tjuta there". Lot's of witchetty grubs they reckon!
It's pouring, kids are running up the rocky paths, barefoot, splashing in the little rockpools on the way, and I, leave the track and head down into the valley on the left with Billy. Creeks are running, waterholes are full, and the mala are abundant.
Down in the waterholes, ngangi (frogs) are hopping around and croaking and I feel like I am in Wonderland. Land, so rich, abundant, bursting with all the nutrients my soul needs. We sat by that waterhole in silence and it felt like the whole world had stopped, apart from that waterhole. In that moment, we were at the heart of the earth - in rhythm with its pulse. The water flowing into the creeks was the blood flowing through the planets veins. In that moment, I was reminded of the extraordinariness of our planet, of our country, and, of my opportunity to be so close to these amazing places where I get to share it with traditional owners!
After walking to the end of the gorge and being pointed at by excited tourists who were seeing anangu at Kata Tjuta, we headed to Uluru to check out the waterfall extravaganza!
After seeing rain on The Rock several times, it still blows me away!
From a distance, The Rock was silver, it's summit in the clouds, and you could see what looked like silver, etheric ribbons flowing down.
On closer approach, you could hear the water gushing down! White wash, rushing down through holes, pores, and rock holes of Uluru. Kantju Gorge was abundantly flowing, so hard, the creek nearby had started to flood. That I was hearing gushing water, crashing against an arkose sandstone monolith in the centre of Australia made me feel as though I were in some other parallel universe.
They were so grateful they'd had a Sunday day out, but today, the privilege was all mine. I was with family and I was experiencing the divinity of rich, flowing and abundant desert.
Photo by Catherine Cooley aged 11. Uluru.(Kantju Gorge far left) Courtesy of my iPhone!
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