Weekend in Oenpelli

It is Saturday night and all is well. We have been adopted by a ginger cat, who has taken command. He has spent every minute he can in the cabin curled up on the bed and begging at the fridge all the rest of the time. As I write this he is curled up on my feet. He seems to like being the centre of attention.

We have food this weekend at Oenpelli, different to last visit, and at the moment we have a red curry bubbling along. Nice veges in the curry and have some local bananas for dessert.

We are exhausted after an incredibly busy workshop in Minyerri this week. So today was always going to be a rest day. It was also a chores day - we have a washing machine in Oenpelli and so this morning we took advantage. Then of course it rained, so we had the washing hanging up in the air con; and then the power browned out so low, it would not even keep the light on. But after a big day, it is all dry.


As you can see the digs we have are quite nice. It's like a cabin you would find at the beach - about 10 feet wide and 25 feet long, with an inside toilet and shower; and a little veranda. There is a very small kitchen with a microwave, desktop burner and an electric frypan. We have a small table and a bed. It's clean too which is not usual. The view from our digs is unbelievable. We have a view across the water to Injalak Hill which has so many colours as the light and mood of the weather changes. It is almost as changing as Uluru. I can see why this place gets so many tourists in the dry. We will be back too. It's too wet to get to the hill this weekend. We had hoped to have an escorted walk up to the paintings.

It's been a report writing day today. We had a huge sleep in and after the "chores", we went for a long walk to the end of the road. The community here is totally surrounded by water. It's an island really, in the middle of very full wetlands. The lagoon just opposite our cabin seems to be at a reasonable level, but further down the road it is extremely wet. It is about 3 K to the end so we walked up to see how people were going - heard a few people were fishing down there.

It was a beautiful walk - what a treat to see the wetlands up close and get closer to the escarpments.


There is no one coming in or going out. This is the road. It stretches for as far as we could see. Its deep enough for people to fish in. There were two families fishing using frogs as bait..... I was a bit amazed at the kids frolicking in the water.... The wetlands are very full of crocs.


The rock formations of the escarpments are spectacular. Some we can not go to because they are sacred sites, but we can walk on the roads near them. I had never been to Arnhem Land before this project and I have been very impressed with the landscapes. Oenpelli has an amazing mixture of environments. It's hard to believe we get paid to come and see this.


Even the flight over was terrific. It was pretty wet on the way from Minyerri to Oenpelli, so the pilot had to scout around storms. This meant we got to see some amazing country and the last half at 2000 feet. It was wonderful - waterfalls, wetlands, huge formations, gorges. Wonderful views, even though it was raining. We loved it and planning a helicopter ride now through the georges when we finish this project. It is actually hard to believe how much water is down there in the wetlands. There is sooooo much more water about since the last time we came here.


We spent a few days in Darwin since our last blog. We bought supplies for the next four weeks and arranged for them to be shipped out to Maningrida and Yirrkala. It was good having coffeeshop treats and catching up with folks. We managed to have some decent sleepins and have our usual visits to rearrange everything in the shed. We also had to buy all new cameras, cause they have all been broken. Think the dust and wet finally got to them. Lucky we lost them close to a visit to Darwin. Got a video camera too, so we have fun making videos and helping others learn to use video too.

We then drove to Katherine, having a meeting at Humpty Doo on the way. We flew from Katherine to Minyerri where we ran an exhausting set of workshops. The deal on arriving in Minyerri was to buzz the house of the community manager and he would come and meet us. Amazingly, this worked. We did have strife getting into the accommodation cause people were away and the person with the "spare" key had gone fishing. We eventually got the policeman to look twice and he found a key. Paul actually left Minyerri with the key in his pocket, so its been a bit of a key saga. He also flew to Darwin with the car keys in his pocket - the car was on Groote Eylandt. Maybe it's time I took control of the keys......

Minyerri was exhausting. We had four days with 30 or so people a day crowding into a room for 10 laptops. Very keen. People just love technology and really take advantage of our time in town. We worked until 7pm one night. It was the most draining time we have had. We got folks making more sophisticated video products which we played on the big screen each afternoon.


Our blog is not full of interesting stories this time. The travelling round is getting pretty routine for us. We move every Wednesday and Saturday morning and write a report in the afternoon for the nameless ones. We do try and get out and enjoy the places we are in, during the afternoons and spend a bit of time setting up if we can.

The most interesting thing yesterday was we went to the Gunbalanya "club" which is open on Friday afternoons from 5-8pm serving mid-strength and light beers. We were invited to pop along by Anthony and Suzette the art centre managers to meet the artists. We met Cruscoe Kurdall who was one of big stars in Ten Canoes. He played the hunter, brother of the main character. He is pretty good looking.... He humbugged Paul for two beers, but it was very interesting talking to him. We've met three of the actors/musicians so far.

We are looking at a 4wd camper at the moment. Organising for an RACQ Inspection this week. Hopefully it will mean we can really retire... or keeping driving to work. let you know when we know.

Hope things are well with family and friends. Keep in touch with us. Its wonderful to get email or Facebook notes from folks. Helps us feel connected.

Much love till next blog.......