* * *
The following weekend we went on a tour to Willie Creek to see a pearl farm. We went on the afternoon tour so Mum and I could have a sleep-in. We drove to the Visitor Centre and left the station wagon there while we hopped on a bus that was waiting for us as we were a few minutes late. It was almost a full bus by the time we picked everyone up as there were lots of visitors in town during the dry season. We hadn’t had rain for a while so the bus followed all the dirt tracks though there were a few puddles.
Our bus driver told us many stories and he pointed out some bush tucker as well, including a leaf that looked like a bird. Once we arrived we were directed to an outdoor shelter where a woman told us about the pearls and we were given quite a few shells to look at and touch. I wanted to take one home though I later found one in our garden. She explained the modern cultured pearl process of producing a pearl. I had seen a documentary on pearls recently so it wasn’t entirely new what she told us, like the irritant in the shell that makes the oyster develop a pearl.
We were given afternoon tea of damper and jam which was okay but not like some I’d tasted back east. Then we went out in an open boat to see where the pearls were harvested before returning to the house and seeing many pearls for sale. We didn’t buy any. Neither did we catch a helicopter back to Broome though one couple did. It looked pretty flimsy.
On the way home, our bus driver made a diversion and we saw wild brumbies in the bushes. By now I was tired and the bus driver had stopped talking so I dozed off and dreamt of riding brumbies. No saddles or bridles, only a mane to hang onto. Some cowboys tried to round us up but I escaped. I was on a stallion and the mares followed me deep into the bushes. We were safe for now unless they brought dogs in to flush us out.
My horse’s flanks were heaving so we stayed where we were until daybreak and then went further inland.
When we arrived back at the Visitor Centre we were the last to be dropped off as most of the passengers had left us at their hotels, etc.
We went to Domino’s for tea where I had my first pizza since coming to Broome. It wasn’t too bad, but different somehow.
17 Melbourne and Trips.
All too soon it was time for Dad to return to Melbourne to look after his mother for a fortnight. Marcus’ mother took on the job of driving Marcus and I to Scouts and tennis and Mum picked us up.
It was weird not having Dad at home. I missed him, especially when I arrived home from school. At least I could use Mum’s new laptop for my journal and homework as I had saved my work onto a memory stick. Dad had taken his laptop with him as his sister had an internet router and he could use the wireless for his connection. So we emailed every day and kept in touch. One evening he talked to us on Skype on his stepson’s laptop. He’d gone to a stepdaughter’s place for tea and they all got to say hello to Mum and me. Then he was back again.
I worked on my practice tennis ball, and I hoped to get a real racquet for Christmas. Anyway, I should be able to improve with my strokes in between my weekday lessons. I don’t think I have quite the knack as the ball keeps wrapping itself around the post. And I have trouble seeing the ball hit the paddle so I stroke it sweetly.
Once Dad returned, nearly every weekend of third term Mum and Dad and I had an adventure before the wet season arrived. We went to the Visitor Centre again and found some carved boab nuts. Any fishing tours we put off til fourth term because it didn’t matter if it rained whilst we were at sea, or so we thought. Apparently, wind was a problem, too. While tourists petered out because the roads might be waterlogged, we would be enjoying our fishing. This also gave me an idea for Dad’s Christmas present.
We soon booked for the Broome Camel Safari at Cable beach on a pre-sunset tour because it was the cheapest. Our handler was Alison who really knew how to control the camels. Her team had numerous tales to tell plus how the camels have been used in films. I found riding them a bit uncomfortable, smelly and those awful teeth. I was sure I was going to fall off when my camel stood up. Talk about ships of the desert. As I looked behind, no mean feat, there was a boy scooping up the dung. What a job. I hope he was well paid and didn’t step in any. We also had a scare when two dogs escaped and came running towards us. One of our team shooed them towards their owners who were yelling at them to heel. That could have been disastrous.
Another tour was called Red Dirt Photographic Tours. Dad did the half day Broome and Sunset which was too expensive for all of us to go on. He doesn’t have a digital SLR so Staircase to the Moon would have been a waste of money. The photographer, Nigel Gaunt, taught him a few creative tricks with Dad’s smaller digital camera and we now have a good selection to send to our families back in Melbourne.
One Sunday we all went to Cape Leveque. We departed at 7 am and didn’t return until after 9 pm. We went on the one day tour with mud crabbing as the other trip visited a pearl farm and we didn’t want to see another one. On the way, we stopped off at the Beagle Bay Sacred Heart Church which is famous for its pearl shell altar. It was really spooky as we don’t go to church very often.
Our next stop was the Aboriginal community of Lombadina and we checked out their bush style community church. Then we were driven to Cape Leveque where the driver put the vehicle into 4WD and we coasted along on the sand. We looked for crabs which we cooked up for lunch and were quite salty. I then had a swim before we packed up and watched the sunset. I fell asleep again on the way back.
This time I dreamt I was with an Aboriginal family and we had to go to their church as an elder had passed on. Before we went in, we had to be smoked with gum leaves. There were a lot of women keening and it was quite noisy in the little church. I felt out of it as I didn’t know their language.
Our last trip for term three was whale watching with ecobeach. We didn’t see many but a few did a tail slap and a breach where they leapt out of the water and made a great splash. They were magnificent. It was great being out on the water and everyone having to look for a whale.
In between these trips I had excursions with the Scouts and one weekend we went camping and another time tidied up Cable Beach. I was a pirate on a ship with the other scouts as part of the Chinese Shinju Matsuri festival with bands and other floats. It was great fun dressing up and using pretend swords. Mum and Dad came to watch and took a few pictures.
Dad and I went camping during the first week of the school holidays after third term, near where we had broken down on the bridge and our rescuers had the right tool to change our tire. We looked for boab nuts and found only three. The temperature was high but we found relief amongst the trees.
When we returned to Broome, Dad contacted our rescuers. We made a deal whereby we got one nut that was engraved and they could keep the other two.
“Have you been to my wife’s city library? Mary has a few engraved nuts on permanent display, her own and those of Aboriginal women,” Merv, our rescuer, said.
“No, but we’ll do that before the holidays are over, eh Paul?” said Dad.
“Yes, I’d love to see them. How does she do it?” I asked.
“Mary has a special engraving machine that just touches the surface of the nuts without cutting in,” said Merv.
So the next time we had the car we drove to the library and waited for Mary to notice us.
“Hi, there,” said Mary. “Merv said you dropped off three boab nuts. I’ll engrave yours when it has dried out. Come and have a look at our display of the nuts – you might find a design you like.”
We walked away from the desk to a display cabinet that was locked. Mary unlocked it and brought out the nuts and put them on the trolley. I was truly amazed at what she and the others had done.
“I like the ones with the hatch design on them, and the barramundi, and the boab tree. Can you fit them onto one nut?” I asked.
“You gave me a large nut so I could do both carvings, if you like,” said Mary.
“That’s settled then,” said Dad. “Do you want to join the library, Paul, so you
may borrow some CDs and DVDs?”
“Of course, Dad.”
We both joined and left with half a dozen DVDs to watch on TV. All in all, a good visit. So, I had DVDs to watch on the weekend and my Kindle during the week, along with some worksheets from school, like essay writing and book reports.
The Journal of Paul O'Leary: From the City to the Outback Page 8