Red dirt, flies, heat

Back into school today.  We got started this morning while Grant worked on fitting polystyrene that we'd found on the side of the road around the fridge.  I'm not sure how it all works, but he's hoping this will fix the problem of the fridge not staying cool enough.  Unfortunately the day is so hot, and the sun is shining right on the side of the van where Grant is working.

No one really wants to sit and do books in the heat with the flies crawling all over them, and it was a bit of a stressful morning.  By lunch time I was ready to pack it all in and drive home.  How are we going to manage this school work and traveling in this little van in the heat?...probably should have thought of that a few months ago!  

One thing they did enjoy doing, (apart from making paper cranes from Nadine's english reading book) was completing the junior ranger's activity sheet, with lots of puzzles, information and jobs to do to earn a junior ranger badge.  They all had to sit still and draw the wildlife they saw (ants) and collect a bag full of rubbish among other things, so we finished the sheets  off, learning about a few things in the process.

I learnt that this grass that spikes you whenever you go near it, but which covers all the hills and plains we've passed on our trip, is called Spinifex.  I never knew what spinifex was, but now I do.  It is unbelievably needle sharp, and I thought it was pretty useless, apart from making walking through the bush extremely unpleasant.  However, I learnt in my junior ranger course that the inside of these little green hummocks (they look so soft and fluffy from a distance; monsters) are dead, and full of creatures using them for food and shelter from the hot sun.  They no doubt get a fair bit of protection from the spikes as well.  I have heard of spinifex hopping mice, well there's also spinifex pigeons and  spinifex lizards as well as lots of other little things sheltering in there.  They began to look completely different - like little Eco houses for animals, all over the place.  Pretty cool, really.

Anyway, we all slowly wilted as the sun climbed into the sky, and pencils were lost and maths sheets crawled slowly to completion.  We ate lunch and very lethargically and unenthusiastically decided we'd better go look at something, since we were here.  Everyone got into their togs, and their sneakers, and their hats, and by that time I was really ready for a nap.

We took our ranger sheets to the ranger and were duly awarded four junior ranger badges (Joseph did one too), then after much discussion we decided to just head back to the swimming hole we went to yesterday, Fortescue Falls, because it had a shallow spot where we could take Cooper in.  At the car park we realized we only had a few litres of water, but it was getting late in the day and not too hot, so we set off down the trail, holding Cooper in the iron grip he hates.

By the time I arrived at the pool with Cooper, the others had been in with their snorkels, and were getting out after cooling down in the freezing water.  Nadine was still doing a fish impersonation, however, so we got in with her for a bit.  The water was just what we needed to bring back our energy, and after drying off on the hot rocks, we put our sneakers back on, and thought we'd try the walk down the gorge to see how far we could get.

After the initial whinging and complaining, everyone really got into the rock hopping and crossing of streams, and before we knew it we were right down the other end of the gorge, near a swimming hole called circular pool.  It was starting to get late, though, so we headed up the 399 steps to the top of the gorge, and walked the track around the rim back to the car.  By the time we got back we'd drunk every drop of water we had, and decided we'd better make sure we always carry more.

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon, the walk was just so much fun.  I couldn't believe how well Cooper and Oskar and Nadine walked.  It was three kilometers in the end, all over rocks and steep cliffs and they did so well. Cooper fell asleep in the car in the five minutes it took us to drive from the car park to our caravan.  He was well and truly worn out.

Arriving back for dinner, our ground sheet was covered in ants. I swept them off a few times, and they just came back again.  Sitting around eating we all had to lift our feet up or they would crawl up our legs. And they were biting ants!  Joseph has decided it is time to move on tomorrow!

One of the interesting things about traveling around is seeing all different types of toilets.  Here they have a little corrugated iron out house on a metal frame, with a corrugated iron door that closes off the back half which holds the toilet. Because it's all corrugated iron on a metal frame, it is very noisy closing the door and sliding the bolt.  Everyone knows when someone is visiting the facilities.  Even using the toilet paper dispenser creates an echoing screech of the metal walls.  Everyone can tell how much paper you're going through. There is generally a warm breeze coming up from below, which blows the paper you are using to cover the seat off the edge before you can sit down.

Sitting on the toilet in the dark, balancing the torch and  toilet paper, the thought crossed my mind that if my torch took a dive, I wouldn't be retrieving it, and it might cause people to wonder if there was a wierd glow coming up from below for a few days.  I wonder how long the batteries would last?  It turns out Grant had the same idea and thought of throwing one of his super bright glow sticks down.  At least you could see what you were doing!  Might spoil the delicate balance of the composting loo though.

This morning I was busy packing up the van and Grant was chatting with the neighbour, when I heard Cooper calling out.  I realized he was over in the toilet, and was after some help.  There  was a young girl standing outside looking a bit bewildered at all the noise coming from the loo she was wanting to use.  Cooper had locked himself in, and as I walked over I could see under the corrugated iron wall, his undies and his shoes sitting on the ground beside the toilet bowl.  Big hand cleanng session after that.

Some of the loos we've used have a weird maze like entry, with a wire mesh door that you bolt to keep people from walking into the maze and discoving you there.   

A lot of the roadside loos have bolts on both sides of the door, so you can bolt it to keep people out if you are in, and also so you can bolt the door closed to keep animals from destroying the toilet in between visitors.

One morning we'd stopped at some disgusting loos at the side of the road and I had visited.  Trying to open the door after however, proved a bit difficult, because Cooper had slipped the bolt on the other side.  Dominic, and Joseph tried to open the bolt, but it took a fair bit of wiggling and manoevering and I began to imagine the newspaper headlines - Mother dies in Roadside Cesspit....etc.  It was pretty funny.

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Vicki