Rita's Rave

“Jim, is that water leaking out of the bus?”

No… its diesel.

Day five Minyerri: the day we broke the school bus.

Who knew that driving over a star-picket would rupture a fuel tank…! The Teachabout mob is sincerely thankful to the bush mechanic who managed to repair the gouge with putty, rubber from an old tyre and tie-down straps. Fingers crossed that it holds until Katherine.

Apart from this slight hiccup we had a great day. We celebrated Caitlin’s 22^nd birthday with a sterling rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ from the kids. Followed by a morning of cultural activities with Hilda, one of the traditional land-owners in Minyerri, down by the billabong. We made damper, collected fresh-water mussels from the billabong’s muddy floor, and listened to stories about Hilda’s extensive family (kids, grandkids, great grandkids and I suspect even some great great grandkids).  

I watched countless backflips into the billabong by the boys who were eager to show off their skills to the video camera. This evening these same boys sheepishly asked to see the videos. During the viewing, their hysterical laughter and amusement never waivered even after we had watched each clip 6 times over. It was an endearing end to a busy, crazy, funny week.