Smartcarby- Stories of the outback

I know why we only did limited trips to Adelaide and that was because they always ended up being such an ordeal. During the Xmas break we drove down to Adelaide to pick up my niece and nephew as we were fostering them while my sister was in the Government Hotel (jail). We had to call Mark, Michael because the word Mark was banned from being said. This means that the word is Kunmanara as someone who had that name had died. The Anangu tradition is that any reminder of that person is taken away including their name, as it brings renewed sorrow to the family and relations. If another name cannot be given to a living person who also has that name their new name will be Kunmarara if they are male and Kunmar if their female. It can be confusing because for some families the name may be banned but for others it isn't. However if the person who had died is an important elder of the community like the name Mark was then everyone was not allowed to use that name and sometimes even words that sound similar or in a different context like " He marked the ball" in football.

We picked up Kylie (7yrs old) and Michael (5 yrs old) from my mothers house at 6:30 am and they were very excited, the only problem was that the car was packed up to the brim with: Weazle (dog) and her 2 puppies that were 2 weeks old; Puddles the Poodle, 2 green tree frogs, a coke bottle full of tadpoles, mealworms for the frogs, 4 kids squashed into a car modified for 2, clothing for 6 months, Christmas presents, enough lollies to keep an army hyperactive for a year, enough petrol for the entire trip, and 2 slabs of coke and only a spare $5 in cash as we had enough food and drink to last the journey. This was all packed to the car, roof rack and trailer. Of course the kids thought that was was so exciting that they were all talking at once. The noise was incredible.

James, David, Michael, Leonie and Kylie

Our two boys were telling the new one all of the ghost stories and horror stories of living in Fregon. Kylie and Marks eyes were popping out of their heads. Unfortunately this time of year can be very hot and today it was 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 F) by 9:00 am and we were only by Port Augusta. There was a hot dry Northerly wind. The temperature in the car was over 60 degrees C(140o F) as it acted like an oven with the glass and the heat from the engine. The car boiled every half hour, Michael vomited every hour, the kids all wanted to wee at different times, Weazle abandoned her puppies and I had to wrap them in water soaked towels to stop them howling, the tadpoles boiled and they were on the floor of the car, we put the tree frog in the car fridge and we still only had $5. I was ready to resign from my job by Glendambo we decided to wait for the coolness of the night before we carried on so we spent some of the money on a bag of ice and laid under some shade and waited for the night. It still didn't cool down much, it was still 42oC outside and we arrived in Fregon at 5:30am the next day.

Michael and Kylie were really funny. Firstly they were frightened of all the Aborigines or what they thought that they would be like. Secondly the boys were telling them Mumu stories, of ghosts and horse-headed monsters and David and James were the experts, each story getting bigger and worse than the last. One of the stories included, of a child who wanders off alone at night and a Mumu or ghost man, who has glowing red eyes, sneaks up behind the child and drags them off into the desert never to be seen again. If the children are with an adult the Mumu man is too frightened to get the child and will leave them alone. Kylie decided that this could be true but both boys said she could check with Treacle to see if they were telling lies.

Michael suffered cultural shock when he first arrived and many people do as it is so different from anything you have ever experienced or see before. He soon started playing with the others outside. Kylie has some very strong views on Aboriginal people and was very racist in many of her opinions even though she had never met an Aboriginal person. We soon set her straight and after her time up here changed her views as she was adopted by Treacle like David and James. The children stayed till September and had a hoot of a time running wild.

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