Fast forward to after Flinders Trip

We said our goodbyes to our My Swag camping buddies at Alpana Station and made our way to Adelaide via a one night stay at Peterborough. In Adelaide, we decided to stay in a cabin at a caravan park close to the airport. I had items packed throughout our camping gear that I had to consolidate into 2 bags before flying to Alice Springs. It was a nice luxury to not have to set up Crusher – especially as it was also very hot. We had pizza for tea and enjoyed a walk along the beach watching the sun set across the ocean.

 

Saturday 3^rd October 2015 - The dreaded day arrived when I had to say goodbye to my beautiful wife. It was so hard because on the one hand I wanted to cherish every last minute with her but I didn’t want to prolong the inevitable.

Also she had a big drive ahead of her, back to Melbourne with an overnight stay somewhere; probably the Grampians. However, it became obvious from the txt’s and pictures that she sent, that she drove all the way to Melbourne in one drive.

At the airport, I really began to question this decision. What sort of relationship does this by choice? Leaves a partner behind for 2 years. But then I remembered our long term goal and that I am paving the way to achieve this. I had taken the first step and I was feeling terrified but also excited.

 

 We said our goodbyes and I watched her walk away until I couldn’t see her anymore. I didn’t know until after that she stayed for longer because she could see me. I boarded the plane in tears but soon the excitement of taking off and my new adventure took over and I was consumed with watching the landscape from the air; excitedly flying over the Flinders Ranges, where had previously spent the last 2 weeks.

It was great to see mum at the airport waiting for me. We shared a taxi to our accommodation – The Ibis Styles Apartments in Alice Springs and decided to dial a pizza and watch the AFL Grand Final.

It was good to just chillax with mum before I left.

 

 

Sunday 4^th October 2015 – Mum and I had a 3 hour breakfast meeting with Jan and Rick, early childhood studies educators from The Batchelor Institute, which specialises in teaching tertiary studies to Indigenous people. Kate, another new team leader, who would be located at Mt Liebig also joined us.

Jan and Rick proved to be a wealth of knowledge and it was great to meet Kate. Later we walked into town with Kate and did some grocery shopping. I spent approximately $300!

 

 Just some of my shopping

 

We shared a taxi back to The Ibis and mum and I had a nana nap before heading over to the in house restaurant for the Sunday Roast.

I treasured these hours with mum as I knew that soon I would say goodbye to another familiar face.

Monday 5^th October 2015

The big day! It took me ages to get to sleep – excitement, anxiety and probably because of the nana nap Id had the day before.

 When I did get to sleep, I slept well.

We had breakfast with Kate, then Kate and I walked over to the office to meet Margaret, our manager and Rennie our coordinator. We met so many people that my head started to spin but eventually our paper work was sorted and 3 hours later we headed back to the Ibis to wait for Rennie to pick us up.

Another coordinator, Helen was going to pick up Kate and take her to Mt Liebig.

The wait for Rennie was the longest wait – I kept needing to go to the toilet – probably anxiety over saying goodbye to mum and leaving civilisation.

Rennie finally arrived and my heart sank. My bag that I had meticulously cleaning in Adelaide was going on the back of the Ute and was going to get dusty all over again. Oh well is said to myself “I was going to live in the outback after all so get over it”. I packed my non-perishable food onto the back of the Ute with my bag, and my cooler bag with my blueys went into the air-conditioned car.

 

 

Saying goodbye to mum was probably as hard as saying goodbye to Linda but I didn’t cry. I wanted to show mum how strong I was.

We called in to Milners Meats and an IGA which is where I would get my meat and groceries from whilst on community. We fuelled up and then Rennie told me that we would be staying in Papunya that night. I quickly txt Linda and mum before we got out of mobile range so they wouldn’t worry that I hadn’t called from Kintore as planned.

We arrived at Papunya between 4 & 5 PM and I was physically and mentally exhausted. Sue at Papunya kindly offered me a bed with a sheet and pillow so I had a tin of baked beans for tea and went to bed. Rennie slept outside on the back of her Ute in her swag.

I had earlier learnt from Jan and Rick that my boxes with my personal possessions would not be arriving in Kintore until the Wednesday so when I did my shopping, I bought a towel to sleep on and use after showering in Papunya and Kintore.

I felt like a displaced person with only my suitcase of clothes and my food to call my own but even then I was so much luckier that I had that as many asylum seekers had NOTHING.

Tuesday 6^th October 2015 –My journey is continuing. We left Papunya at about 8:30 after dropping some supplies of at Sue’s childcare centre. I took photos all the way to Kintore; especially of signs so that I had a reference point when trying to remember where particular photos had been taken.

The landscape and road continuously changed – I wished I could share it all with my beautiful Linda and the rest of my family. Finally we reached the turn off to Kintore and I got my first view of The Kintore Mountain Range – otherwise known as Womens Mountain and Mens Mountain.

My first night in Kintore was interesting but that is for my next chapter.

Kintore – where was Kintore and getting there.

After lots of googling and you tubing, we discovered that Kintore is approximately 530 KM West of Alice Springs, NT and closer to the WA border.

Basically a long way from nowhere.

 

It has a medical clinic, an airstrip, a shop, a police station, a school, preschool, aged care facility and of course childcare.

My accommodation would be furnished with basic items so the question was how to make my new home, my own……personalised……comfortable and above all items to keep me busy in my personal time…….reading material, coloring books, DVD’s and whatever else I could think of.

I knew that I had a relocation allowance so the next question was what to take, given that Kintore was so isolated but with basic facilities.

I didn't know how I was going to shop for supplies at this stage so I wanted to make sure that I had the basics to start with.

I bought 5 large removalist boxes and started to fill them with:
    1. Bedding and towels (and other linen)
    2. Bread maker (can’t buy fresh bread in the outback so why not make my own?) 
    3.Yoghurt maker (difficult to keep yoghurt cold but easy to transport sachets of yoghurt powder culture)
    4. 60 rolls of loo paper (didn’t want to run out)
    5. Numerous Tupperware containers already filled with food that wouldn't go off like rice, pasta, breakfast cereal, coffee, sugar and even meal base mixes.
    6. A variety of kitchen ware items that I might need (sharp knife, chopping board, small frying pan, glad wrap, foil, snap lock bags)

The boxes were packed to the brim, into every nook and cranny with all sorts of essentials, Knick Knacks and treasures and shipped to a trucking company where they would be shipped from Melbourne -  Adelaide – Alice Springs – Kintore.

My mum came to help me pack and was so very helpful with suggestions on items to pack that I hadn’t thought of.

She also took with her a large suitcase of clothes because she was going to meet me in Alice Springs after our Flinders trip and before I headed to Kintore. She would bring the suitcase with her as I didn’t want to cart the clothes all over the Flinders Ranges – we had enough camping gear to worry about.

 

My boxes were on their way a whole month before I was to arrive in Kintore because of the transport company schedule and also because we were leaving for a 2 week camping holiday in the Flinders Ranges immediately prior to me leaving for Kintore.

The weeks leading up to our Flinders Trip were a blur. Preparing for the trip, preparing to move to Kintore as well as a particularly busy time at work prior to the end of term.

The hardest time by far was saying goodbye to people that were dear to me. Many tears were shed. Saying goodbye to my brother and his family was especially hard although his boys who were aged 3 and 5 didn’t really understand.

James aged 3 thought “Aunty Kristin was going to live in Murrindindi” – a 1 hour drive away.

I cried all the way home after seeing my own kids for the last time. They were both so enthusiastic, Kathryn saying how proud she was of me going on this adventure and Mitchell was his usual quiet but proud way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally the day came to leave Melbourne. It was a cold, wet and windy September morning.

We got up at 4 Am as we were to meet camping friends for a fuel up and breakfast on the other side of the city, heading North West for our first night of the trip – Pink Lakes Camping ground located in the Murray Sunset National Park.

Never had I experienced such mixed emotions.

I did a last sweep of the house – particularly my kids bedrooms and my scrap booking room. I couldn’t take my scrap booking gear with me and that set me off into a blubbering mess. I cried as I said goodbye to my cat Rose and soon I locked up the house, hopped into Lizzie and said goodbye to Melbourne for at least 3 months until December At Xmas time when I would probably come home to visit.

Within minutes of being on the road, the excitement of the Flinders Trip and my move to Kintore set in.

 

How I came to be in Kintore (Part1)

 

When I met my wife, in 2009, we had many things in common but the main thing was our love of camping and being in nature, country, outback, bush, beach – not the city life. We were both originally country girls after all.

We soon set a 5 year plan that would be a stepping stone to our ultimate goal which is to work and travel / camp our way around our beautiful country, Australia.

We camped as much as possible and built up our gear so that our 4WD (Lizzie) and camper trailer (Crusher) were set up the way we need and want for basic comfort, practicality and for off road, free camping wherever we could. We would be completely self-sufficient and would only need enough money for food, fuel and the occasional camping fees.

 

Our first trip together was to outback NSW, Broken Hill Via Mildura and Lake Mungo

 

 

Then it was to the Victorian High Country - Corryong and Omeo

 

 

Then we upgraded to Lizzie and Crusher and explored Murrindindi and Sheepyard Flat in Victoria's NE.

 

 

 

 

 

Touring around Alice Springs, NT for two weeks with the "My Swag" group in July 2014

 Last year (2015) a tragedy in our family and some professional issues for me made us re assess our 5 year plan. We had already reached 5 years and our projections were tracking steadily so it was now time to take another leap towards our goal.

The universe always tells us things…….what to do and when to do it.

By June 2015, I had had enough of my workplace so I began putting feelers out to other jobs, including Governess Australia (an employment website for people to work with children in remote locations).

We had dreams of me being a Governess on a remote cattle station and Linda being a general handyman; maybe creating and maintaining an amazing vege garden, orchard and flower garden as is one of her many expertise. In our spare time, we would take Lizzie and Crusher camping and explore the region that we were living in. Linda would take photos of the region and sell them to tourist, cattle station, camping, websites and magazines.

Anyway, the stars were not perfectly aligned yet……..

BUT one Friday night, I saw a job advertised in a Facebook Group I was in and it ticked all the boxes. It was a job working for the MacDonnell Regional Council, based in Alice Springs, Northern Territory and my actual job would be as a children’s services team leader in a remote Aboriginal community. Everything about it would be new to me – the job, the location and the state.

I showed Linda, saying “what do you reckon?”; never once believing that I would even get an interview. Linda fully supported me applying for the job so I went ahead. However I didn’t push the “submit” button until the Sunday night. We talked about it all weekend, the “what ifs”, “pros and cons’ and the logistics. The biggest issue would be that Linda couldn’t join me because her daughters needed to finish their schooling and be settled in employment, accommodation and life.

Issues at work and life itself made me forget about the application until I received a phone call inviting me for an interview – I was excited but still not there yet. A week later, I had a phone interview and continued to wait. Work, life, work, life, work, life continued…….still no word.

One day while still at work, I took a phone call from the MacDonnell Regional Council offering me a job – in Kintore. I accepted the position and then texted Linda at work the word “KINTORE”.

Long story short and in my next blog entry my life turned upside down but in all the good ways we wanted.

 

 

Some observations about living in Kintore

November 3, 2015 ·

Weather: In Kintore it is either hot or bloody hot! Yesterday it was 45C, the only respite from the heat comes from air conditioning and when the sun goes down....but even then its only a few degrees cooler.. most nights it gets down to a balmy 30C! The locals say that it only rains at Christmas time.

Last night I noticed flashing lights out from the window, so I went to investigate and realized that in the distance was a magnificent light show of lightning (no thunder to be heard), soon after I heard a few drops on the tin roof! But it's so hot that the small amount of moisture does nothing. The endless heat is very draining and everyone does their tasks at the beginning or end of each day. The locals sit outside in the heat of the day, under a tree, or bring the kids to child care where it is air conditioned. The locals bring their beds outside to sleep under the stars. There are no mozzies or flies at night, I understand why people in the outback like to sleep under the stars.

 Some of the older members of the community now know me and call out to greet me when I walk to work, often asking "is there child care today?" Soon after their younger family members arrive with the kids... (who needs a mobile phone!)

 When I first arrived at Kintore, I found it quite bizarre to hear the yelling that would go on, however I soon noticed that the yelling was occurring between small groups of people located in the shade in different areas, it seems that they avoid walking around in the heat of the sun and so yell to communicate instead.

After all it is stupidly hot!

I offered to dog sit my neighbours 2yld kelpie dingo cross, this week while they are away, however she dug out under my fence and took off to visit all the other dogs of the community. So then my other neighbour, who also has a bitsa puppy, is now dog sitting, as his fence is secure. Sandy and Kinda, the dogs, come to visit aunty Kristin. I think Sandy may have taught Kinda how to dig under the fence....

Sandy

 My neighbour is the new pool guy, possibly the most popular man in town! The pool had been closed for 5 months up until now! He opens the pool for adults only for lap training, and also after school each week day for the kids, and again for female indigenous women, and again for the males. The pool is open to general public on the weekends. I might start some lap training on the weekends soon in the early morning.

Thunderstorm brewing

November 8, 2015 ·

Yesterday was bloody hot, nothing new, suddenly today I noticed it had gotten darker, so I went outside to find myself surrounded by thunderous clouds!
I could hear rumbling thunder in the distance coming from the west.
Nothing much happened for awhile but later when it got dark, I sat out on my verandah and watched the most spectacular light show I have ever seen!
All varieties of lightning from sheet lightning that lit up the clouds in a rainbow of colours, to ground strikes, and sometimes the lightning seemed to loop from cloud to cloud as though the gods were sewing the clouds together. The lightning seemed to travel across country from west to south east, over the mens mountain and then the rumbling thunder would follow, but it would echo on and it never seemed to stop.
Then I smelt a strange smell, almost immediately I heard a gentle roaring sound that quickly became rain on my tin roof! The gentle roaring sound and the smell was that of the rain approaching. The rain was not heavy but just enough to be heard through out the night and to settle the dust. Today has been quite humid and about 34C with a slight breeze coming from the south east. So I am finally able to open up my house for the day to let the cooler breeze in, a refreshing change. I look forward to sleeping under a sheet tonight!

 

Happy New Year in Kintore

January 11 2016

Yes I’m back. I said goodbye to Linda and Mum at Tullamarine airport on Friday. Flying into Alice Springs, I was blown away by how green it was from the air and on the ground - it was greener than Victoria!

                       

 

I was also blown away by the heat. How quickly had I forgotten how to drink heaps of water - not just 2 litres per day. Two nights at the Chifley resort in Alice Springs was lovely. I will certainly stay there again.

 

Yesterday morning I got up very early to hit the shops to stock up on food. I started shopping at 7 AM. I filled my eskie with fruit ($150) worth for the vacation care program. The supply truck didn't get through last trip due to the rain closing the road and they had run out of fresh fruit. I also stocked up for me on non-perishable goods like pasta, rice, coffee, sugar, bread mix - the essentials including square crumpets. I will wait for the next truck run for fresh veges and I still have plenty of frozen meat. My colleague Kate drove us to Mt Liebigg and I debated whether to continue on as we didn't get away from Alice Springs till nearly 10 AM by the time we finished shopping - it takes a lot of thought to shop for possibly 3 months’ supply, then pack it safely onto the back of the ute. Then we had to collect the Sat phone and personal tracker from the office, fuel up and air down before hitting the road. Anyway when I got to Mt Liebigg I decided to continue on to Kintore. I’m so glad I did because got to sleep in my own bed and also it rained all night last night and I’m pretty sure the road will now be closed again today or at least be quite treacherous.

 As I got closer to Kintore the clouds got darker and more ominous with lots of lightning strikes. Not one speck of rain though. I finally reached a rise (sand dune) and got my first glimpse of the Kintore Mountain Range. Another hours drive before I reached the turnoff into Kintore and then finally home. As I was unloading my car there were loud rumblings of thunder coming from "women's mountain". I’m pretty sure they were saying welcome home to Kintore. I really enjoyed my holiday in Victoria and miss my family and friends very much. (Throat lump forming right now) But as I fell asleep listening to rain on my tin roof and rumbling thunder in the distance, smelling the desert rain smell and watching the distant light show that doesn't cost millions of tax payers dollars, I am glad to be back in Kintore. Now to tackle all that red dust that has gathered over the past 3 weeks.............

Christmas in Kintore

December 15, 2015

Today is the MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Xmas party.

We are allocated $20 per head and the wife of the community manager shops and organises a menu. We all knock off work today at 12 noon and have lunch together in the main office. There will be roast lamb chicken and pork, roast veges with all the trimmings, trifle, pudding, ice-cream, bon bons etc, lollies and cordial......(this community is alcohol free).

My contribution was to make jelly....I haven't made jelly for years so that was interesting yesterday.

So at 12 noon today I will be xmas lunching with all my MRC co-workers - from Jess and Ritchie the youth team, to Brownie and Johnno the depot managers to the garbos, the gardeners, the maintenances crews and early learning staff (my team and I). I am soooo looking forward to a bowl of ice-cream

 

 

December 17, 2015

Had a lovely Xmas party with the children and parents / sisters / aunties / grandmothers today. We had a feast of strawberries, cherries, kiwi fruit, red & green grapes, rock melon, honey dew melon, watermelon and for savoury some cabana cheese and crackers. This menu was designed by my team. The children were soooooo happy to receive a gift, the mums were happy to receive a yearbook, showcasing the children's learning from Oct - Dec 2015 and my team happy to receive a small gift.

I've had such a busy week so now I am relaxing, the car is packed and Im going to have an early night to prepare for a long drive tomorrow. Purply orange sunset to the west and black thundery clouds to the east. Perfect last night in Kintore before my holidays