Hard to believe it was only a year ago since we were last here on our Central trip with our good friends the Rougets. Only planned on staying the one night but it turned into more, typical us! The amount of aboriginal folk seemed double from last time we were here. Walking around the main street and shopping centres it almost seemed to be more blacks than whites, bit like being back in Fitzroy Crossing. There is such a mix of indigenous folk here, from those who seem to really be doing well to those who seem to be scraping for every dollar. Had an aboriginal lady come up to me and the kids pleading for a couple of dollars so she could buy some food to eat. I had only large notes in my purse having spent my only change on paying to use the local toilets (first time had to pay for loos all trip but they were lovely and clean) and felt terrible saying no to her. That was the first time all trip that any aboriginal had approached me in any way. They have all kept to themselves and not bothered with us white fellas.
In Alice we got to catch up on mail and shopping and our big highlight was visiting the Desert Wildlife Park. The Wildlife Park was a great day out. We had a talk by a great aboriginal guy who told us all about the tools the women use for getting bush tucker and the tools and weapons the men use. Very much mens work and womens work; if man do womens work all goes wrong, so men stick to hunting for food and women getting berries and grubs. He gave us a great insight into the aboriginal culture and Rory loved holding the spears and boomerangs. He talked afterwards about how the aboriginal traditions are slowly dying away, with the strong influence of the white fellas culture. He spoke of a tribe out the Tanami desert way that still live traditionally but he said for most city dwelling aboriginals, a great effort must be made to teach their kids the old ways or it will be lost forever. We wandered through all the different types of desert habitats in the park and got a running commentary through little headsets. The birds of prey demonstration was simply amazing. The guide would talk about different birds and almost as if on cue they would fly in and she would feed them tidbits of food. If you ever come here this is a must see. Great entertainment.
So here we are, on the last stretch to home. We made the big decision in Darwin to head back to Alexandra. We were extremely tempted to keep going round to Queensland but as the finances are dwindling we would have had to work and that would change the feel of our 'holiday' completely. We didn't want to spoil that magical feeling of our 'early retirement'. Sounds odd I guess but that is just what we have had for the past 6 months. A real taste of what it wil be like for us in 20 odd years. The experiences we have had have been so awesome and the time spent as a family has been priceless. It is undoubtedly the best thing we have ever done. We are now fairly poor and homeless but you know what, we have never been closer, happier and more relaxed. We feel so proud that we have given the kids this experience, and it has changed our lives forever. Now I'll get off my soapbox and go and do the washing...some things dont change!
Find out: SEEK Salary Centre Are you paid what you're worth?
