On the road with my dog

It’s amazing how creative one can be in times of 40+ degree heat, red dirt and a whole lot of nothing! Confined to the realms of my affectionately known ‘grubby little home’, and aside from watching something on Binge, then Stan, then Netflix, then SBS On Demand, then Amazon Prime, then ABC iview, then listening to a few audio novels on Audible, I have come up with all kinds of genius ideas to keep myself entertained! Below is a plethora of amusements:

So there’s washing and cleaning, practising uke, making a food inventory and tracking run-out date, painting, drinking copious amounts of tea, exercise (indoors obviously – ceiling is just high enough for skipping) watching the in-house spy cam so one can keep an eye on comings and goings rather than venture out into the heat and gossip, and of course beatification of oneself so one looks ones finest despite all things red, hot, yuck, sand stormy, and fly-ridden. The joys of remote desert life!

Firstly, I’ll give $10 (generous) to anyone who can pronounce the above word correctly. This is the place where I’ll be hanging my hat for a wee while. It’s a small community of Martu people about 370kms east of Newman in Western Australia on the edge of Karlamilyi National Park.

THE TRIP IN…Having spent the night in Newman the day arrived where I would finally be heading off into the desert. To be honest I was really apprehensive about the road in. Some said it was horrible, some said it was ok, some said it would take 3 ½ hours, others 5 hours. I was more worried about Charlie but as I get to know this little guy more and more, he is one adaptable, awesome, amazing dog.

Can I just say, I LOVE my CB radio. What an awesome invention. Turn on, channel 40: “This is Gypsy Charlie heading off, over…”, “Copy that.”

First 50kms was sealed road then it faced me, the endless red. My stomach turned but luckily my bowels didn’t. I had no idea what lay ahead. Push button 4WD on, strapped in (kidneys weren’t which is why I think they are still back at the beginning of the track) let’s go.

In a few words…gigantic BMX trail. Some parts were smooth, some bumpy, some sandy, omg those smack you in the face DIPS, then there were parts with many bends, but I tell you what, I could feel the incredible energy driving through patches of this amazing part of the world. All of a sudden there would be these forlorn, weeping willow type trees all standing together as if looking on – felt very feminine and very sacred. Then there were these rocky outcrops that gave off an incredible male energy. Call me weird but that’s instantly what came to my mind and what I felt as I drove on….and on….and on….and on….and on…THEN:

After our one night in Mount Magnet, Charlie and I set off the next morning for Newman – around 7am, but not before getting a lovely walk in along the highway! Charlie is now officiated into the realm of proper bush dog having walked on the red earth and rolled in dead kangaroo – cheers Charlie, exactly the smell I was hoping for in the car on the six hour drive to Newman.

Once we arrived in Newman we were a bit early for check in to our unit so I decided I’d do a wee shop in Woolies and get some more bits and bobs in preparation for my time out at Parnngurr. I was a bit suss about leaving Charlie tied up outside the shopping centre but I had no choice. Leaving him in air-conditioned Big Bessie also worried me a little. Anyway off I went and Charlie sat like a good doggie. NEXT MINUTE…

A random man came up to me and said “I think your dog has just got out of his harness..” at which point I didn’t need to hear any more as I literally dropped my bundle and ran out to where I had left Charlie. OMG Alysha at Bankwest in Newman – what a gem. She managed to grab him and then said; “I’ll take Charlie into the bank with me where he can have some water and where it’s nice and cool so then you can finish your shopping.” To which I responded slightly aghast at the awesomely animal friendly Alysha; “Are you sure? I mean…IN the bank?” “Yeah sure, it’s no problem. Come on Charlie.” So off he trots and off I go back into the supermarket to literally pick up where I left (my basket) off. I think his paws were burning in the sun. Naughty, careless me. It wasn’t sunny when I left him but obviously the sun had other ideas. I was also later told by my new boss (an insane dog lover like me) how stupid I was to leave him as anyone could have stolen him. True. He is very steal-able due to his gorgeousness and when I left him I did feel bit uneasy about it. Lesson learnt. All’s well that ends well and Charlie has another entry for his soon-to-be-published book: My Silly Mummy Whom I Adore.

So finally hit the road in Big Bessie (my shining white beautiful, not steed, Prado) and first stop was Northam for a coffee and a walk with the Prince (Charlie). Mental note: don’t head off anywhere in WA on a Sunday ’cause it seems as though honouring this sacred day still abounds, which really sucks for a capitalist, shopping-loving, vibe-loving gal like me! In other words, everything is shut – oh except Dome Cafe. After what was supposed to be a ‘quick 10 minute turned into a 45 minute’ stop, Prince Charles and I hit the road again – next stop Mount Magnet. We checked into a lovely place called OUTBACK GOLD accommodation. Special shout out to Mary who welcomed me and the Prince with a lovely, friendly chat and a welcome basket of 2 slices of bread, milk, butter, spread of choice and wee packet of cereal of choice. The room was spot on – very clean, and had everything we needed and Charlie was allowed to be inside with me. I then took Charlie for a walk and came across a lovely Mount Magnet rock (see below)! Despite what you might be thinking, the (3) people who I came across here were super friendly, smiley and gave us a wave hello – gotta love small towns.

At the risk of getting political, what struck me, was despite the countless mining vehicles we saw on the road, obvious prolific mining and mining dollars being made, the locals have to contend with dead, ramshackle, run-down, forgotten, shameful, dilapidated housing. This is not, by-the-way, a stand-alone, ‘artsy’ photo worthy group of houses of a bygone era. This is the general state of many of the dwellings here. The adjectives I used above could easily be used to describe the attitude of the mining companies’ care factor towards the traditional landowners whose land they see fit to take from and give little in return. It’s embarrassing, shameful, sad, and makes me feel angry.

Pour La Madame…Oh La La…

One night to go before I hit the road on my way to Parnngurr Community (formerly Cotton Creek). For those of you who don’t know, Parnngurr is a community of Martu people with a tiny school comprised of three teachers (well 2 really) and 45 children (I will be one of those staff members). The trip up will be broken down into 2 nights. First stop will be Mount Magnet – maybe not such a magnet of a place, we’ll see, and a short 600kms from Perth, then the second night will be spent in Newman, a further 600kms from Mount Magnet. On Tuesday we (me, the principal and his wife) will go en convoy from Newman into Parnngurr along 370kms of dirt road. To prepare for such a trip one has to get one’s head around BULK BUYING. There’ll be no ‘quick popping to the shops’, more like stock up for at least a month which requires quite a different mind set and takes a bit of organising – enter BIG BESSIE and her beautiful 40L Engel fridge complete with drop-down fridge slide! Very posh. So my beautiful Bonnie Prince Charlie is obviously well set for the trip – slight difference in provisions mind you! The fridge is full of Charlie food whilst I’ve been relegated to a packet of chocolate, jar of coffee beans and snack pack of cheese and crackers. Oh don’t worry – I’ve packed the coffee grinder!