Home among the gum trees

 

Home among the gum trees

Highlights	Less of a highlight
Being amongst friends - both	The cold wind - both
Seeing familiar places - both	The cold nights - both
Being amongst the trucks – Bill	Kath’s computer having a hissy fit - Kath
Finishing my RSA refresher course quickly - Kath
Facetiming family – both but especially Grandma
Getting an article published in the Centralian Today newspaper - Kath
Chatting with Phil from the Centralian Today newspaper - both

 

It’s less than a month since we left home and here we are in our regular home away from home, surprisingly right under a gum tree. I never appreciated how the leaves of one gum tree hang down in a way different to home. The tree is near our communal firepit and the evening light through the limbs is gorgeous. Some of us ladies watch it as we sit around the campfire.

The days are often breezy with a nasty cold wind but last night the wind dropped so I appreciated the beautiful evening stars as I sat around the campfire on my own. It’s not hard to see we are all eleven years older – the late nights are fewer and far earlier than in 2015.

I spoke with Lola a few nights ago and shared that as I look up at the Southern Cross, I say goodnight, thinking of all my family knowing that they are somewhere under those same stars. She seemed to like that idea.

Another evening I popped into town to listen to an author speak. Having checked out the Red Kangaroo Books’ Facebook site I had noted there was an author chat to be held that evening, and the book, ‘a piece of red cloth’ tweaked my interest. I dropped into the store to pick up a copy, unsure I’d go into town that evening, but after receiving a welcoming invite to the event, a friend and I popped in to hear Leonie Norrington speak about the writing of the book which she co-authored with three other ladies. What a holiday treat!

Over the weekend Bill and I got out and about. We picnicked in a quiet spot by a
dry riverbed in the gold fossicking fields at Arltunga. I sat amongst the darting finches, listened to a myriad of birds with no one else in sight and watched a butterfly of brown and cream I never see at home. All the while Bill was waiting for the ping of the metal detector. It never did ping!

On Sunday we headed off to visit Palm Valley, one of my favourite spots from our very first visit in 2015. It is definitely a 4WD track. From memory, the 22kms took us well over an hour last time. We’d only gone a few kilometres when we pulled over, as corrigations and full bladders do not mix. We poured a cuppa and wandered off through the dry Finke river bed and found some lovely little water holes. I could hear Indigenous singing, whether it was coming from Hermmansberg or just up the river I couldn’t be sure. With the thought of 22kms of crazy corrigations at the forefront of his mind, Bill asked, “Just how keen are you to go to Palm Valley?” and the answer was “I just want a day out!” So, we dumped the idea of more corrugations and headed back toward Ormiston Gorge.

On the drive I spotted a lookout-thingy, which was exactly a car park on top of a hill,

by definition - a lookout. We ate our picnic lunch at the top of Tyler’s Lookout, a spot we’d never stopped at before, prior to continuing on to the gorge. We walked to a lookout I don’t believe was there when we last visited, and then proceeded to complete the Ghost Gum Walk, a circuit of 2.5 kms that saw us scrambling over rocks on the way back up the gorge.

Look hard and you'll see the lookout

Back at the museum Bill is once again helping with moving trucks and other odd jobs. I have begun my volunteering in the reception area. I enjoy greeting the customers, hearing where they are from and every now and then I hear a little story about the good old truck driving days. I chatted with someone who went to school in Benalla and grew up in Euroa, but he was too young to have stories of the old days.

While I was at reception I was introduced to Phil, with Lee-Anne the year round manager, being cheeky saying, “Be careful what you say, he’s a journalist.” I saw an opportunity and grabbed it, saying I was one too, as I write a regular column for truck magazine. As the conversation went on, Phil said he’d be back to write an article about the Hall of Fame and then he looked at me and suggested that I write it instead. So, I did! I was chuffed to hear from Phil a few days later telling me that my article was on their paper website and would be published in the paper copy the following day.

Bill and I spent about an hour with Phil yesterday afternoon, picking up a free copy of the paper. Hearing his enthusiasm for Alice Springs was delightful. It’s a town with a population of 27,000 people, it has sporting fields of such high quality that interstate and international games of various sports are played, it has a ballet group that has been going for forty years and many other art and cultural groups, a drag way, a speedway, botanical gardens and his list went on and on. The airfield can host international military vehicles or the Roulettes on their way to Singapore. Phil’s enthusiasm was certainly contagious; we both left his office with a smile and a spring in our step.

This morning, I woke feeling tired and anxious. I have been relieved of my reception duties and tasked with an editing job. That would be fine, except I would have liked at least two weeks to complete the job, but I only have 5.5 days. I have been plugging away at it on my own but today I was given permission to share the task with our fellow camp mates, that was such a relief. So, I spent most of this afternoon printing items for others to proofread, so I can then make the changes on the computer. Still a big task ahead but it is lovely to feel the support of the ‘firepit’ crew.

Each weekend we have a shared meal around the campfire. Tonight’s meal was pulled brisket and pulled lamb in buns with coleslaw, and it was followed up with caramel mud cake. Vina helped out with the gravy, Denise took care of the lamb and others took charge of the nibbles. We sang, I pretended to get carried away and dance, and we watched the full moon rise over the old train. There’s talk of coffee shops in the morning, so I’d best find a few photos, press send and get some rest.