Christmas in the Desert

Things couldn't be more different.... Our last Christmas was in a city of just under 20 million and in almost freezing condition. Today, we are in an Australian outback town with under 20 people and 40 degrees heat.

With the day off, we decided to visit the Cullyamurra Waterhole where one could find ancient aboriginal rock carvings. Having made friends with the local rangers and getting their consent and directions, we started early on Christmas morning, 5am! With CB rally driving skill, the drive out to the waterhole was short and speedy. It was then on foot along the creek to get to The Choke, the narrow part of the river. This is where our search began. 5 pairs of eyes started looking around for the carvings. After several minutes, our driver found the area. We saw rocks with engravings, which wasn't obvious at first but realised that they were all over the rocks around.

After our morning adventure, it was pancakes for breakfast, thanks to EG, our resident chef. An hour nap later, it was Christmas lunch, followed by mini putt-putt and finally karaoke. With an open bar, it was a wonder everyone lasted till 7pm.

 Although we were not with our families on this day, we still had a good Christmas, especially with the opportunity to see the ancient rock carvings up close.

Oversize

After a couple of weeks of not having the same day off, we were finally rostered together for the day. We went for a drive looking for M, who we met at the pub and had agreed to let me have a go at driving the grader.

The grader is a big machine, relative to my size. It is used to smoothen the corrugated dirt roads. After a 5 second briefing on how to operate the machine, I was off. There is not much to it. Just remember where the brake pedal and the accelerator are, keep the vehicle in a straight line and that the dirt is shoveled. While it was fun driving for a short period, I don't fancy being in there going at 10km/hr, having to grade 30km.

Wills and King

On our day off, we took a drive to a couple of local attractions. First stop was King's Marker. This is the place where they found John King, the sole survivor of the four men from the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition who reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. The expedition was the first to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled areas of Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria. King survived with the help of the Aboriginals.

About 7km away, we visited Wills Grave. William John Wills was an English surveyor who also trained for a while as a surgeon. He was the second-in-command of the Burke and Wills expedition. He died alone after he was too weak to continue with Burke and King.

Dust Dust Dust

We experienced our first dust storm today. The morning started off really hot. Then the wind hit and started gusting by mid-morning. At times, visibility was no more than a few meters but that could be an illusion on my part when I could hardly keep my eyes opened! Having to run in and out in my housekeeping duty, I was handed a pair of eyewear and disposable mask. One would think I was handling hazardous linens!

Storm approaching

TJ meanwhile, had the task of unloading the delivery. I was told he had to take cover behind the forklift when a big windy gust blew up the dust.

TJ securing the door

The day ended with a sprinkle of rain, just enough to stain and smear everything red! Gotta work to earn my keeps, I guess.

Coongie Lake

On our day off, we went to Coongie Lake, about 2 hour drive from the hotel. Coongie Lake is part of a freshwater wetland system in north-eastern South Australia, which includes lakes, channels, billabongs, shallow floodplains, deltas, and interdune swamps.

It was my first time doing 4wd driving including going over sandy dunes. The lake is shallow, up to just a bit over the ankle. We saw a wild pig in the distance and loads of ducks, pelicans and birds.  There were plenty of mussels in the muddy ground, which we were told are edible. To date, we have yet to try it.

The Roster

Unlike our previous jobs, we get assigned various areas and jobs here, hence our title, 'All-rounder.' The roster is set weekly where we get the schedule of our assigned  jobs and time. We have been on housekeeping, "dixie-bashing", as TJ calls it, bar, breakfast and outdoor yard.

 I now have a new-found skill, folding hospital corner when making the bed.

Local Watering Hole

The Cooper Creek is the river that supplies the water to the area. There are a few local spots along the river and after 6 days of work, we hit one of the spots called Ski Beach. Don't let the name fool you as its far from a beach.

The cool water feels great on a hot day. Met some work mates who had a couple of kayaks and a rubber tube. Brought back memories when I was young holidaying in Port Dickson, where our family went almost each school holidays. You see locals renting out rubber tubes.

There were also a group from the Innamincka Station on jet ski doing tubing. The cattle station owns majority of the land in Innamincka.

We are 'Innaminckans'

According to our resident chef, we are calling ourselves 'Innaminckans'.

When we told people we are going to Innamincka, most commented - where? Good question. To make it easier, this is the extract from Wikipedia - 'Innamincka is a tiny settlement in north-east South Australia. It is 1065 km northeast ofAdelaide and 459 km from Lyndhurst up the Strzelecki Track. It is situated on the banks ofCooper Creek in the state's Channel Country, and surrounded by the Strzelecki, Tirari and Sturt Stony Deserts. It is situated within Innamincka Regional Reserve.'

The town

The hotel/pub and the general store

Running in the Desert

Finished work at 3 and had too much adrenalin to rest. Decided to try running since it has been more than a month since I ran. It was hot and I lasted only half hour. It was enough to get to the air strip and back. Stopped to take a breather at the top of the dirt road and captured the entire town of Innamincka.

Humble Abode

Having arrived at the hotel, we moved into our "home" while we are here. Its my first time in a demountable home as they called it. I called it shipping container homes. While it might not look like a proper home, it is. Has two rooms on each end with the living space and bathroom/toilet in the centre. Fortunately, we are not sharing with anyone for now.

We are slowly settling in and catching up with TV shows and news now that we have internet. Hope to sort out our camper trailer's park and cover it on Sunday, our first day off.