Bo bo Gunbalanya (so long Gunbalanya)

With every week of the wet comes new waterfalls, billabongs, bugs and predators. The transformation has been spectacular and after a big rain Gunbalanya looks like an island surrounded by flooded wetlands. This weekend I had the pleasure of going on my final helicopter adventure and it was the best! Simon, our pilot, took us on an epic flight that culminated in flying through a narrow gorge and landing at the top of a magnificent waterfall in Kakadu. It was extremely remote with no walking paths or roads passing anywhere nearby. We explored the rocky ledges and swam in the top pools before flying back along the escarpment and the East Alligator River home. Hopefully from my photos you will get a small impression of how magnificent and special this place is.

The last month has been extremely busy within the clinic and in the community. Gunbalanya has a profound absence of any regular sports and recreation. From a medical point of view it’s difficult to promote exercise and fitness when there are no options available. From a personal perspective I wanted to meet new people and find ways to feel fit and healthy. So since arriving I have been spruiking the sport that I’ve been playing for the last 14 consecutive years- netball. For those who may not know, netball has been genetically programmed into my family and any skills, knowledge or interest I have comes from my mum and her passion for the game. I have been sponging off her success for years and this trip was no different. I pulled in my contacts at Netball Australia, primarily the super talented Julia Symons. She helped me to network with Netball NT and Australia Post and we have spent the last month running netball clinics a couple of times each week. The first session had 8 people attend and the last one had 36. I targeted mostly school aged children and have been helping a few girls in their early twenties to become coaches and leaders. Last week two of the mothers even came down and it was fabulous for the children to see their mums or aunties playing on the team, explaining the rules and correcting technique.

The clinics have become a big success and I have a lot of people to thank who have helped make it happen. Not only Julia and Steph (from Netball NT) but also Catherine and Sharna (two local community workers). The children have a natural talent for sport with superb hand eye co-ordination. They are quick to learn the rules and have so much energy and enthusiasm that I have to call off the session at dinner time and send them all home! This week the team got together and named the team “Daughters of Ingana” after Ingana the mother of creation in local dreaming stories. It’s been really fun to start this up and I hope that it continues after I have left.

Last Sunday I also had the chance to do something different; I did a radio interview with Liz Ellis, host of the All Australia Program on ABC National. Now I’ve never had a voice for radio and was surprised to be asked but of course I said yes (as Liz is a difficult person to say no to). The interview was about living and working in Gunbalanya and if you have been reading my blogs then you are abreast of everything that was discussed. It’s was a good opportunity to talk about the great time I have had up here and shine light on the positive experiences to be had in Arnhem Land.

As this is my last blog I wanted to thank those of you who have been reading. Keeping a blog is similar to social media in that can see how many people have been reading, where they were reading it from, what browser they accessed the site from and the operating system like Windows, iPad, iPhone etc. It feels like checking how many “likes” you have but in a more in depth, nerdy, statistical kind of way. What I can tell you is that with almost 1000 views and from every populated continent on Earth except South America- I have been extremely flattered by the interest and the positive feedback I have received.

My last session at FAFT
(educating mothers about health and development)

I am really looking forward to coming home to the east coast and seeing my friends and family. I know though that I will miss being here and am hopeful that someday I will get to experience something like this again. I have been surprised by how little I have missed certain things like good food, Melbourne coffee and having the freedom to do whatever you want. It’s also been liberating not wearing make-up or turning on my hair straightener. Being surrounded by the beautiful and dramatic scenery and weather patterns that are unique to Arnhem Land and Kakadu has also been awesome. Thanks for reading along!

If you're interested in finding out a little more about Arnhem Land communities you can watch "Charlie's Country". This film was shot in Ramingining, a town about two-thirds the size of Gunbalanya. I think it is a realistic representation of life in these communities. Here's an IMDb review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3244512/ and here is the youtube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8_7Su4m4c.

If you'd like four minutes of escapism you can look at a collection of my photos from the NT experience. By making a video I am hoping to win an iPad from NT GP so here is my entry: https://vimeo.com/118472730