22.6.2009

It’s great when you find a little spot out of the way that is both beautiful

and free. While we were in Barn Hill our ‘next door neighbours’ told us of

Longreach Waters, a larger inland lake just 12km out of the little town of

Elliot. Apparently it is not well known to tourists and provides great free

camping alongside a lake full of birds and mussels.

Well we are here now – have stayed one night and will probably stay another

1 or 2. It is a really nice spot and the only downside is that the water is

a bit muddy and not that great to swim in – although it’s probably only been

25 or 26 degrees C for the last few days so no one is too worried.

We saw lots of mussel shells on the bank near where we camped so Sam and I

went exploring to try and snaffle a bit of local sea-food. We wandered up to

waist deep in sludge for a little while and managed to find some snail like

creatures, but couldn’t locate the mussels. A bit of local knowledge would

be handy about now, but we haven’t seen any aboriginal folks down here. The

cook was doing up lemon chicken for dinner so we decided that as appetizing

as the snails may have been we would settle for chicken…

We did drop up to meet our ‘neighbours’ yesterday – some people camped about

a km up the lake, but upon getting closer realized they were doing it ‘el

naturel’… We didn’t want to terrify the kids so we turned back and left it

at that… and I told Ellie to put away the binoculars!

The pelicans are funny birds… I’m no ornithologist but it has been

intriguing watching them. They move up the river like a flotilla and duck

for food as a unit. Amusing to see 50 pelican all do ‘heads down bums up’ in

unison!

To get to Longreach Waters turn right just before the cattle grid as you

enter Elliot and drive 12kms west until you hit the lake. If you aren’t

going here then just keep driving because Elliot is not inspirational at

all…

If I had to sum up the one thing I have been sensing from God over the last

8 weeks it would be that the prophetic identity of the church must increase.

I have been feeling this with a growing intensity so I share it here for

your reflection.

To clarify, by ‘prophetic identity’ I don’t mean the giving and receiving of

prophecy but I am referring to the need for the church to be both able to

reflect on its own nature as well as the nature of the society of which it

is a part.

I am increasingly convinced that our ‘missional’ voice is tied to our

prophetic voice and if we can’t live significantly different lives and

reflect the kingdom in the things we do, then chances are people will not be

the least bit interested in our words. By the same token part of the

church’s role in society is to critique the ways we seek meaning and

fulfillment and to boldly point people back to Jesus – knowing that many

will still regard this as folly.

This quote from Segunda has resonated deeply with me over the last few

weeks:

“We believe it is appropriate to the religious life to call into question or

even protest against church and society; against the church to the extent

that it is decadent or ambiguous, or has lost its radical dynamism; against

society to the extent that it has become dehumanized or dechristianised and

thus the source of oppression and injustice” p.82 Following Jesus

Newbiggin has said that the ‘church is the hermeneutic of the gospel’, or in

laymans terms ‘the way the local church expresses itself communicates

clearly the nature of our gospel’.

I find that at times my life seems to look like nothing more than a

religious version of ordinary suburban existence as I fall into line with

everyone else, but I desire much more than this.

Our Upstream Communities identity was birthed in the midst of studying the

sermon on the mount, one of the most confronting and disturbing parts of

scripture you will ever read. It continues to challenge and inspire me to

live differently even if I do it somewhat poorly at times. My mate Jarrod

Mckenna reminds me that these are not a collection of ‘ideals’ that Jesus

presents here, but that they are his instructions for how we are to live. He

wants us to read it and do it…

I don’t think it would be any trouble to invert the beatitudes and observe

much of contemporary western culture – yet our challenge is to somehow live

in them and call others both within and outside the church to embrace them

also.

I find this concept of being ‘prophetic’ disturbing because it involves

critiquing and disturbing both within and without, a practice that rarely

makes you lots of friends. I have done a fair bit of critique over the last

few years as we have asked questions of mission and church, but I don’t feel

that time has come to an end. In fact if anything I feel it stirring

strongly again.

If the church has a healthy future then I believe that reclaiming its

prophetic voice is an important step.

Last night Danelle and I went out to dinner – our first few hours alone in 8

weeks of traveling. It was nice to get away from the little people for a

while.

It’s always hard to know where to go for a good feed, especially when in a

different city. A rough internet search finished up with me suggesting we

try The Jetty, a buffet restaurant down by the water and pretty reasonably

priced.

They advertise themselves as ‘Steak & Seafood’ so I figured there was

something for everyone. We got there in time for sunset – which actually

didn’t matter because you couldn’t see the sunset… and decided on an

outside table on the verandah right over the water. You could tell you were

in Darwin by the sign on the wall that said ‘please don’t feed the fish or

crocodiles’…

It was a balmy Darwin night and it was a beautiful spot to be. The waiter

took our wine order and the wine came about 20 minutes later, a little after

we had eaten our first course… the first sign they were understaffed or a

little disorganized.

The food was a mix of the superb and the very ordinary – but then that’s to

be expected at a buffet. The cold seafood was great, the steak superb and

the veggies very nice. The chilli crab was dry as a bone, the ‘crab claw’

was seafood extender wrapped in breadcrumbs and the pork in plum sauce was

more batter than pork. Still there was enough there to enjoy and plenty of

variety to savour.

When it was time for sweets the options were passionfruit cheesecake, fruit

salad or two varieties of sponge cake with either lemon icing or chocolate

icing. My tip would be to get rid of the sponge cake. It gave it that

‘sizzler’ feel and didn’t do anyone any favours.

We bravely ordered a coffee and then went to get some sweets to enjoy with

the coffee. Forty five minutes later the sweets were gone and the coffee

hadn’t arrived. We managed to grab a waiter and 15 minutes later had the

second lamest coffee I have had in a long time – a tasteless weak flat white

made from stale beans. I knew it was a gamble, but it was still pretty

awful.

We drank the coffee and headed for the exit where the total cost was $75.00

– for dinner and wine (we agreed that the coffee shouldn’t be paid for…)

All in all pretty good value for money given the nature of the restaurant.

So far it hasn’t rained in 6 weeks of travel.

Today broke that drought and at 5.30 this morning large sploshy drops of

rain started to land on the camper. These turned into frequent large sploshy

droplets and now we have rain.

Immediately the joys of camping evaporate as we are confined to a very small

space with two small children and Sunday morning cartoons for company. Seems

like a good time to update the blog…

Danelle is off washing the sheets and towels, but we may need to head to the

Laundromat to get it all dry. Days like these present a much stronger case

for having bought a caravan rather than an overgrown tent.

We will need to hang here in Kununurra until the canvas is sufficiently dry

to be able to pack it up, but it has made us wonder what it will be like in

Winter on the East Coast.

While a caravan wouldn’t be all that pleasant either in terms of space on a

rainy day, it would at least be much more rain-proof.

Is it time for a ‘mid-course’ correction?…

Wondering…

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Our first impressions of Kununurra were that it is a very beautiful place

indeed. The high ranges that flank the town make it quite spectacular and

the lush green gives it a great feel.

We have been vegging quite a bit since coming here and apart from doing a

drive around to the local spots of interest our only other venture was out

to Emma Gorge in El Questro for the day.

We debated long and hard whether to give the camper another flogging down a

dirt road and in the end decided to go the ‘day trip’ route. We heard mixed

reports on the Gibb River Rd into El Questro and in the end just had to make

a decision. One man’s ‘roughly corrugated and nasty’ is another man’s ‘no

problem at all’ so road reports are not that reliable!

The town of Kununurra seems well set out and has a good vibe, but I guess

you’d need to live here for a while to really know what its like. Danelle

went for a walk early one morning and saw the ‘cleaner’ out getting rid of

all the beer cans and crap from the previous evening so maybe the veneer of

respectability and attractiveness is only a daytime experience.

It seems the north west towns have really taken the tourism thing very

seriously and have been on a major clean up. I expected Halls Creek and

Fitzroy to both be somewhat ‘third world’ in their appearance, but the main

areas present much nicer than that.

I’m sure there are still ugly parts to these towns and I’m sure they have

their ongoing social issues, but if you didn’t know better a simple ‘drive

thru’ would see them present very well.

I wonder is that a good thing or a bad thing?…

The weather here has been humid – not my favourite – and with no breeze at

all it has been a pretty steamy few days. We are staying in the Ivanhoe

Caravan Park which is right up there as one of the best parks I have come

across.

The vibe here is very friendly for the most part and we have some

interesting neighbours. The young couple just up from us have started

picking watermelons for work. They leave at 5am and get home at 4pm and they

have signed up to do it 7 days a week. Neither of them have looked too

lively in the last few days. At $18 / hr you’d have to be desperate for cash

I reckon. The guy across the road is one of those friendly but awkward

people who talks very loud and doesn’t quite know when a conversation is

over – or when someone needs to be left alone. A little strange, but well

meaning – possibly a Christian. Then there are the people on the other side

who pretend they are living here alone and say hello to no-one. I want to

jump into his path as he walks along and say ‘boo’, or something equally

silly, but maybe he’s just shy… or rude… Then there’s an older couple

two vans up who live in Butler just a few streets away from us.

At this stage we plan to move on tomorrow, and head into the NT but that

will depend on canvas being dry.

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The backside of nowhere really can be a beautiful place…

For the last few days we were camped at Palm Springs, an inland water hole/billabong 45 km east of Halls Creek and a little piece of paradise.

We heard about it thru Greg and Danielle and decided we should stop and have a look. They didn’t take their camper in which made us a little cautious, but operating on the premise that careful people are regularly disappointed we decided to take it down the 45km track and spend a couple of nights out there.

About 10kms in we were wondering if we’d made the right choice as we were making it rattle and shake and wondering just what it would be like when we arrived. The casualties were the fridge exhaust and vents which completely fell off – some are still lying somewhere on the road – and a fair old smattering of bulldust over everything.

But the price we paid was well worth the journey in. With only 1 or 2 other campers out there as well as an aboriginal family we really had a very special time.

I found the place particularly beautiful – which is a big statement when you have seen a lot of different spots. It was lush green and the water was cool and refreshing. It was cool at night, warm during the day and a great place for adults and kids to hang out.

In many ways those few days typified what we had hoped our trip would be like. Free camping in a sensational spot, away from the crowds and yet with a few other people to share the campfire.

If you’re up that way then I reckon its well worth the hour’s drive to get there and enjoy it, but don’t just go for the afternoon… camp out and make the most of it. free bullitt

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The visitor staggered into our camp at Palm Springs, a beautiful oasis around 40kms out of Halls Creek. It was a little after dark and just as we were sitting down to dinner. He approached thru the scrub shining a tiny led torch and yelling “Where’s the cold water! Somebody tell me! Where’s the water?”

He collapsed on the ground by our table exhausted and maybe even a little delirious.

“I’ve been yelling for the last 30 minutes. Did no one here hear me?”

We shook our heads, still wondering what was going on. “The water’s up that way” I said pointing to the waterhole.

“No I need a drink. I’ve been walking all day.”

We were still a little stunned and wondering just who this was and what was going on. I went inside to get him a glass of water from the fridge. When I returned he began to talk.

“I’ve been walking since 10.00 this morning. I reckon I’ve done 40 ks. I’ve got 40 to go before I get back to town but I need a drink.”

“What happened that you’re walking?” I asked, still trying to make sense of it all.

“I was out camping with some mates and when I woke up this morning they had taken off and left me there.”

“Really?… 80ks from town?…Why?…”

“Dunno, but I’ve been walking all day. I dropped my stuff after about 15ks and I’ve been carrying this water with me, but its hot and I need something cold.” He was distressed, but it seemed a tall story.

As he talked we found ourselves wondering, what do you do in this type of situation?…

He was intent on walking back into town, but he was also clearly exhausted. We had no idea who he was or if his story was accurate and we didn’t ask to be part of his life. But he had landed on our lap and now we were involved. Occasionally you hear stories of weird stuff happening in the bush to people who help others so we were a bit wary. We had an 8 & 6 year old to think of, who were watching this all take place.

We offered him some food, but he wouldn’t take any. He reckoned he couldn’t eat – would throw it back up. We tried several times, but he wouldn’t touch a thing. I would have been ravenous. He lit up a smoke and began to relax a little sitting on the ground and looking like a man who had just been given a reprieve.

We talked and he told us some of his story. He used to live in Perth and worked operating sideshows at the Royal Show and Community fairs. He had come to Hall’s Creek for a ‘change of pace’, but had recently been sacked and was unemployed. He had moved out of the place he was living and was now with mates.

He is 39.

He began to tell us more of his life, of being fostered out at 4, of being abused for 8 years by his foster parents, but of the case being dismissed when he went to court because he couldn’t cite dates and places the events occurred.

He is a chronic insomniac who can’t sleep because of the nightmares he still has as a result of that past. His life seemed to meander from one messy situation to the next. It was a tragic tale.

We wondered what he had done to make his mates abandon him? We wondered why he was in Halls Creek… There are plenty of people in these kinds of towns for a very good reason… so no one can find them.

I found myself asking ‘God what is he doing here?… Tonight?… And what do we do?…’

In trying to figure out a way forward we told him he was welcome to stay the night and we’d give him some sleeping gear and then we’d take him into town in the morning when we were due to move on. He didn’t argue about that.

A little later after talking with Danelle, I offered to take him into town. It was an hour in and an hour back, but I figured he might want to get home and into a real bed. To be fair, I also wanted to cover my bases on the off chance he was a crazy. If I took him home then it would get him away from Danelle and the kids.

He seemed to be the real deal, but you can’t help but be a tad cautious.

He wouldn’t let me take him in. He knew how far it was and didn’t want to trouble me. So we settled in for the night. He seemed glad of the company and the knowledge he would get a ride home in the morning. We sat around the campfire and talked. We listened to his life story. He slept in my favourite camping chair – at least he did until it ripped and he ended up on the ground…

In the morning I found him lying on the rocks in front of my car with a towel around his head. I guess he figured that if he laid in front of the car then no one could take off without him… He refused breakfast, helped us pack up and we drove quietly back into town. As we neared the town centre he said ‘Just drop me here. I’ll be ok”. He had asked the same previously. We wondered if he actually had a place to live…

So we dropped him off and said farewell. I doubt we’ll ever see him again.

Some days we forget just how good our lives are – how free from abuse and the evil that others have experienced. The visitor was a reminder that for some, life its not that way at all and maybe they sometimes just need an ear to listen to their story.  download fury online

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Just a quick note for those who may wonder where we are and where we have been…

– stopped one night at Fitzroy Crossing – checked out Geiki Gorge – not the most exciting one we had seen and went to Danelle’s grandparent’s gravesites – missionaries up that way for 47 years – stayed at Fitzroy Lodge – a really nice caravan park

– headed to Halls Creek – new drinking regs came in this week – light beer only to be taken away – will be interesting to see the impact – fueled up and on advice of Greg headed to Palm Springs – 45 km down a dirt track with camper in tow – got there ok but a litle dusty – spent two nights at this beautiful place – will write more on that later

– had a bloke lob in on the camp last night – his mates abandoned him and he had been walking all day – 40kms and was about to lose it – he stayed with us and we drove him back into town – a sad tale in many ways…

– now back in Halls Creek – Fatboy at the hosp getting some antibiotics to stop him coughing and me doing a quick check online before we head to El Questro for another couple of nights.

– we have just had a sensational couple of days and are loving it up here.

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A number of people have asked me how we came to take this time off to travel and what precipitated it. Here’s what happened…

Back in February last year I was sitting around one night randomly surfing e-Bay and looking at motorhomes – big converted buses – and dreaming of how much fun it would be to simply buy one and shoot off. I was drooling at the thought of it…

At the same time I was contemplating how safe and predictable and routine suburban life can sometimes be and it was annoying me. While I have never felt myself ‘locked down’ I was aware that the degree of spontaneity in life had decreased as we lived ‘responsibly, with kids in school, a house, a dog etc. I was also at a point where I was weary from 6 years of mission work and it was easy to see other possibilities.

That night it was as if those two thoughts spontaneously combusted and I found myself saying to Danelle quite seriously, “Look, let’s buy one of these babies and hit the road.”

“When?”

“I dunno – give it a month?”

“What?!”

“Ok 6 weeks…”

Danelle is much more spontaneous than me when it come to the little things of life, but I tend to make bigger decisions more rapidly. This was a bit too rapid for her.

“But… what about our house?… Winston?… earning money?… Upstream?… your business?… kids schooling?…”

“We can sort it out. I mean why wouldn’t we?! I reckon life has got way too safe and we should just take off and have an adventure. Who knows where it could lead?!” I thought my argument was quite convincing… but that’s where we are different…

I was quite confident we could do it. I was seriously motivated, so nothing looked too hard. I don’t think she took me anywhere near as seriously as I took me… If she had said ‘lets do it I think I would have hit ‘buy it now’ and started packing.

However over the next week we negotiated a deal that both of us could live with. We agreed to take a year to plan, save and prepare and then do it in April 2009. I wasn’t super happy with the deal, but it wasn’t a flat ‘no’, more just a ‘steady eddy’.

So the 14 months of planning gave Danelle time to catch her breath and me time to work my butt off and earn some $$$ to pay for the trip. As with most things the ‘anticipation’ phase is half of the enjoyment.

Along the way we gave a lot of thought to the most suitable travel vehicle and after much consideration we decided on the Jayco Eagle camper van.

The big crazy motorhomes looked great, but with the cost of fuel, the higher upfront cost and the limitations on their maneuverability we decided against them. I still reckon they’d be fun… if I had a spare $200K…

The Camper cost us $15K and because it was so cheap we figured it allowed us more $$ for other things. In the end it was a toss up between an expanda van at $30K which would give worse fuel economy or the Eagle which was cheaper, but obviously less convenient.

As we travel now we still aren’t always convinced we made the right choice, as there are days when more space and less set up would be nice, but maybe a bigger van is for next time (yes – there will be a next time). The Big Thirsty Bugger (BTB – previously known as Big Red) drinks gas at 4km/l and petrol at about the same so we wouldn’t want to lower those figures at all.

When we left Barn Hill we managed to get the pack up done in about an hour without going too hard and that felt good. So I imagine as time goes on we will get smarter with it all and get better at it.

I don’t think there is a way to get BTB running at any better economy although one of the friends we made along the way tells me drives at 75-80km/hr instead of 95 and that makes all the difference. I just can’t imagine driving that slow around the city let alone in the bush!

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Well the decision to travel with an Espresso Machine and Coffee Grinder instead of a chemical toilet has been a most excellent one.

A month before we left I scored a Breville Aroma from a local garage sale for $40.00. Usual story – used once and it ‘didn’t work’… (Loose translation = I have no idea how to make coffee) and it has delivered surprisingly good coffee – although that may be as much about the beans and the barista…

For those considering buying one it is a good little machine for the money. Having used a Sunbeam EM6910 for a good 18 months now I’d have to say it certainly isn’t in the same league, but it can still churn out a decent flat white.

Its limitations:

• Only one pump so it can’t deliver coffee and texture milk at the same time – no biggie really

• No auto settings – for people like Danelle… If you hit ‘pour’ it will pump water thru the portafilter until there is no water left in the tank.

• Lacks a hot water stream so you need to boil the kettle if someone is a black drinker

Positives:

• The steam wand does a good job of frothing milk

• We find that although the double portafilter looks small we get two ‘cup’ sized coffees out of it with no problem.

• It is small and therefore more portable than the Sunbeam.

All in all if you are doing some powered site camping and you are a coffee lover then it’s a decent option. We were going to revert to the stove top, but its just not the same.

One strange problem I have encountered is that on two occasions it has been unable to pump water thru the filter. I wasn’t sure whether the portafilter was blocked or the coffee ground too fine. Ironically both times when I had offered to make someone a coffee… After 3 or 4 attempts it righted itself, but I am yet to detect the problem.

The beans I roasted before leaving have almost come to an end now and as you can guess they are getting a tad stale. Still quite drinkable and most people wouldn’t notice, but we are on the decline in terms of quality so I have had Ryan ship me up 4kg of my green beans from home and this Sunday for my birthday the kids are getting me a popcorn popper so we can always have a fresh brew wherever we go.

I know it’s a tad obsessive, but some things in life just aren’t worth doing badly…

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