A medium sized gum tree in a grassland backed by more trees and bushes, lit by a setting sun.
Best thing: spending a month in a tiny remote community reading one-on-one with the kids. #Urapunga0852 #WiltonRiver
Hope: that the craziness around the world lessens.
Three brightly coloured houses beyond the school yard.
Leaving #Urapunga0852 this arvo.
I said to the kids, “I’m not crying.” They laughed and pointed, saying, “Yes you are!” 🥰 “No,” I insisted. “Something got in my eye.” They loved it. #NorthernTerritory #BigRiversRegion
Are you able to tell me which #bird is making a cuckoo-like sound in this clip, @drdave.bsky.social ? My last sunset at the Wilton River in #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #WildOz 🪶 #OzBirds
A low sun lights up the tops of trees lining a river, with a flat rocky outcrop jutting into the flow.
Looking upstream across Flat Rock, with muted colours and a pretty reflection.
Wilton River at #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory. These were taken on a day when quite a bit of low-key burning had been done so the smoke added some mistiness & colour to the gorgeous scene. This is the part the locals call Flat Rock. Good for turtles and fishing. Jealous? #WildOz #BigRiversRegion
A few strong, green strands of grass poke up from dark red stones and soil, through a bunch of pale, curly grass stems.
Curly grass. That’s probably what it’s called. 😬 #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #BigRiversRegion #WildOz
Bright, deep orange termite mounds lit by a low sun, in amongst dry grasses and some eucalypts.
Look at the colours. LOOK AT THEM! #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #BigRiverRegion #WildOz 🐜
A ginger cat curled up inside 2 plant dishes, sleeping.
Geoffrey. #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #BigRiversRegion
A rounded oblong scar on a tree where bark has been removed to make a coolamon.
I asked the two women fishing if I could take a pic of this coolamon scar tree, and they said yes. #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #WiltonRiver #RoperRivef
I was lucky to capture this eagle-thing at the junction of the Wilton River and the Roper River. #Urapunga0852 #Rittarangu #BigRiversRegion #NorthernTerritory
A large river enters from the left, into a larger river, viewed through pandanus greenery.
Was given a fat fillet of barramundi, caught by the man who runs the shop. “Gotta have some local barra before you leave,” he said. How could I say no? Also, his parents took us to the Junction, where the Wilton meets the Roper. Old ladies fishing, catfish, bream. #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
Have you heard the blue-winged kookaburra? So different! (There’s nothing to see in the clip, only the audio worth listening to.) #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory 🦉
A large plastic bottle of coke with a label added on that says “Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz”
We invited a couple of people over for dinner last night and because this is a dry community, the principal brought this. 😆 #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
Listen up! This is the sound of the blue-winged kookaburra. (There’s nothing to see bc I couldn’t find it visually, just got an audio recording.) #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #BirdSky 🪶 #WildOz
Three bicycles lying under a tree in a school ground.
Sporadic internet, no television, no vehicle, one small mirror (in the bathroom), work with kids during the day and a few places to walk = fewer worries. Here’s the bike shed. 😏 #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
Flat Rocks at Wilton River, #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #DoNotSwim
The wildflowers are called ganbukbuk by the locals here. #Urapunga0852 #BigRiversRegion #NorthernTerritory
A Sandy coloured ant hill built up against a tree trunk.
Bright pink wildflowers surround an old log.
#SundayPixWood
I am currently in a tiny community that is so remote it’s hard to comprehend. #Urapunga0852 #BigRiversRegion #NorthernTerritory
1. A termite mound that has been built around the trunk of a small tree.
2. The pink wildflowers are called ganbukbuk by the local Indigenous people.
A two-pronged anthill built around a rusted iron bucket.
A dark anthill with several spiky crenellations.
This sandy-coloured anthill has grown up around a small tree’s trunk. Not sure which one is the support.
Anthills, brought to you tonight from #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #WildOz #termites
I’d love an ID on the birds calling in this clip. 🤞 #WildOz #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
A bright magenta flower with white tips bending attended to by a bee.
A bunch of these flowers in the foreground, some long straw-coloured grasses behind and a stripey sky.
A pink-blushed field of pale brown grasses, a fringe of green trees and an eiderdown sky.
Yesterday’s walk. No snakes. No water buffalo. Phew! #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
A ginger cat sitting on a lap on a verandah.
A closeup side view of a ginger cat.
This cat sort of belongs to the house we’re in. At first he was Ginger, but for some reason today I’ve started calling him Geoffrey. He loves me, can’t get close enough, and loves scritches, pats and laps. And leftovers. #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
The temperature is going to drop to 18 overnight so several homes have lit fires outside to deal with the cold.
Yes, 18 degrees Celsius.
I’ll probably have the aircon on while I sleep. #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
A pair of child’s hands contorted to represent a python, very well, I might add.
A black butterfly with white spots sitting on a pink, fluffy wild flower, growing in red gravel.
A stunning creek with lush vegetation along the sides, and a few people swimming in it.
A low cement wall across a fairly wide river, and trees all around.
I’m practicing how to make this python; a roadside stop; Bitter Springs was totally idyllic, warm, transparent water, with water lilies, dragonflies, pale Sandy bottom…stunning; Roper Bar. (Abysmal accomodation at Mataranka, though.) #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory #Mataranka0852
The kids have invented their own mashup of AFL and NRL, with their own rules. Hilarious! (The whip snake that fled through the school grounds yesterday at lunchtime INTO OUR YARD was not evident.) #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
Sign saying “Welcome to Urapunga. Respect our community, our culture, our elders.”
A spread of pink wildflowers in the glow of a setting sun.
Long distance view over a plain to distant plateau, under a sky with cloud.
Rough sign saying “Urapunga airstrip.”
A really big grasshopper sitting on a hand.
Five green frogs snuggled in the corners of a small tank.
A beautiful ginger cat.
A little bit of animal life at #Urapunga0852 #NorthernTerritory
