Smartcarby- Stories of the outback

The last term has been extremely busy with the children from Victor Harbour Primary school coming to visit. This exchange program is in its 9th year with the Year 6/7 students learning about Aboriginal Culture then they come to visit for a week. The elders show them how to hunt, gather Maku (witchery grubs) and making artefacts. Fregon school goes to visit Victor Harbour every two years. All school work is postponed for that week. This year we are going camping in Officer Creek with the idea that the women will do cultural things together and the men will take the boys hunting. We decided that the women will go hunting for maku and about 50 girls all jumped into the 22 seater bus that Fregon school owns.

It got bogged even before we had left the camp site. We then borrowed the hire bus that Victor Harbour had brought up with them. I had to drive the second of the 2 busses. I was only allowed to drive the (1) I didn't take it off the tracks (2) I didn't scratch it and (3) I had to look after it with my life.

The Fregon and Hire bus in the middle of the bush where we were looking for Maku

What they guys didn't know wouldn't hurt them as we went all over the countryside with little regard for roads only that we were in search of the specific tree that the maku live in the roots of. In fact we travelled 52km just to find a suitable site for the great hunt or dig. The spot that we found was very beautiful but not many Maku. I could not eat them raw because they would wriggle around you mouth as you are trying to eat them but I often ate them raw and they tasted like a cross between cashew nuts and crayfish. They don't take long on the fire and then you bite their heads off and suck out their green insides. The outer skin is very chewy and it reminds me of chewing gum.

After cooking some maku and making a cup-of-tea we decided to head for the camp site. The Anangu women decided to take a short cut back to camp as it was getting late. Mary who was driving the Fregon bus had to get through a tight gate unfortunately the angle of the bus was wrong and she hit it. I now had to get the Hire bus through this tight gate and i had promised on my life that I would bring it back in one piece. I carefully edged my way though with all passengers giving me soundings on how far away from impact I was. I made it through without any marks. Phew!!!

We then had to survive the night with 70 kids - Yuck. I hadn't bought a swag yet which everyone up here goes camping in (there made of canvas with a mattress and the canvas wraps around you and over your head, you can put blankets or a sleeping bag inside). I had to sleep on the ground with just a piece of blue plastic to keep the dew off. Everytime I rolled over it crinkled noisily. The two teachers next to me had a competition on snoring the loudest and they sounded like bandsaws. I was freezing as the temperature during September gets down to below zero even though the daytime temperature is around 23degrees Celsius and I was so cold. I didn't get any sleep.

Drinking water that comes out of a Red River Gum Root dug from the creek

The next day the elders taught the children how do get water from digging up roots of the Red River gums then you tip them sideways and the water runs out. The water tasted rather earthy but if you were dying from thirst then this would be a great way of saving you life.
The men went off hunting Malu (kangaroo) and brought back 2. They only cooked one of them because the other was divided up the secret traditional way that is only for intiated men. The one that was prepared for us was the general one in which all are allowed to participate in. The only trouble in going camping with so many people is finding a tree where you can do a wee behind without being spotted.

Where do you find a tree to wee behind??

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