i can only say.. i already miss the people.. miss everyone that was at the camp.. my family for the past 4 days..
i left home on thurs afternoon to school to meet the person that i was getting a lift from.. with no idea on how she looked like, i arrived in school early.. i waited outside the library, hoping to see someone that looks like they are going for camp too.. just after 4pm, divija came out from the lib and we went to get lollies (realise this is wad they call sweets here). she is really nice.. very friendly.. she's doing her masters in speech pathology and so is lanvy (dunno how to spell her name).. so we left sydney at around 4.30pm and proceeded our way towards jamanee gunya.. we had lots of snacks, biscuits, chocolates, rice dumplings, lollies.. nice.. and we got to know one another on our way there.. 2 hours into the drive, we stopped at a little town called berry for dinner.. we went to a pizza place that looks quite nice.. and the pizza is really nice.. after a 45 min break, we drove off towards our final destination. it was pretty dark and we cant see the surroundings at all.. we had to turn on high beam at times to see the road ahead.. after much driving and wrong turns, we arrived at the camp site. we were greeted by a lady, jenny.. she was the lady boss and was up waiting for us.. so nice.. we got out of the car and it was cold.. the campsite was down in a valley.. we got our stuff out into the dormitories and went to the activity area for a cuppa (hot drink).. then we chatted around the campfire until the others arrive.. after meeting the boss, noel, we talked a little and we headed off to bed.. all of us were exhausted.. but to our horror, none of us got a good sleep cause someone in the dorm had a snoring prob, he was snoring super loudly the whole night and i happened to sleep in the same room as him.. sarah was worst, she was sleeping next to him.
next morning, sarah and i woke up at 7am.. we looked around the place and enjoyed the scenery. the morning birds chirping, wind blowing.. the environment was just great.. it just makes u relax. sarah and i being the first few to wake up chatted with noel. got to know about the place more and animals around the compound.. they have one huge place.. breakfast was cereal and fresh fruits..there was museli too, fruit juices.. my eyes lit up when i saw banana.. haha.. after breakfast, we had a chat on aboriginal culture, made lunch then off we went to climb a mountain.. the view on the way up was breath taking.. i was super unfit.. haha.. panted all the way up.. but the climb was worth it.. the view was great and we had lunch at the top of the mountain.. the fresh air and view just blew my mind away.. after that we got back to the campsite and showered.. when i showered, it was already dark and i couldnt see anything.. cause there werent any lights.. the place doesnt have electricity and i didnt had any reception on my australian line.. so stupid.. my singapore line had so i managed to sms back home to my mom.. luckily.. if not she'll freak out.. haha.. without any electricity, i turned my phone off after i arrived, one reason is to save battery and another is that there isnt any reception anyway.. so after shower, it was cold.. we had dinner, everyone had a piece of beef with potatoes, pumkins and bread.. nice.. jenny prepared it.. after dinner, we watched a dvd to introduce what is the aboriginal culture.. after that we were exhausted so off to bed we went..
next morning, woke up early again.. had great breakfast again and enjoyed the slower pace of life.. we had talks in the morning on the health and police system for the aboriginal people.. i was busy playing with jenny and noel's grand daughter who came to visit.. really got to understand more of the difficulties the people face and tips on communication skills.. after lunch.. we headed off to the lake for kayaking.. when we got there, it was too windy so we didnt get to kayak around the lake.. instead, we cross over to the other side and enjoy the view of the ocean and threw spears and bombarang.. i explored the beach and collected shells.. memories of my trip, i got to know more about the culture there too.. trekking through the lake was an experience! after we got back, got a quick shower before heading off to watch a dvd on a culture in one of the other communities/countries as they call it.. we were waiting for the others who kayak back as they got stuck at the nature park.. we got a visitor who showed as some reptiles like snakes and lizard and gave us advice on how to handle them.. oh well.. while waiting, i developed gastric pain.. had dinner while in pain.. had kangaroo meat, crocodile meat, beef and sausage for dinner.. yum yum.. haha.. after that we sat around the fire and chatted.. noel started on the didj and some of us tried to blow it.. i failed in the attempt.. it was great listening to the music and everything.. we went off to bed at around 11 plus.. i was tired already.. haha..
last day at jamanee gunya.. felt kinda sad.. ate the last breakfast.. we had bacon and egg for breakfast.. nice.. after that we painted our own bombarang.. nice.. then we were introduce to tools used by the men and women in the culture.. we saw photographs of the culture too.. really got to understand more.. ash shared the story about his life.. which was pretty personal but we got to understand him better.. after lunch, we packed up, took photographs and said our goodbyes.. as we hugged one another and said out goodbyes, it felt kind of sad.. really gonna miss my time at the camp, miss the whole family feel.. i still rmb the first night when we arrive, noel said that we gonna be a family for the next few days and we hafta treat everyone like a family.. at the end of the day, i really felt like in a big family..
on the way back, divija, lanvy and i, we reflected on the memories we had of the camp.. talked about stuff that happened.. saw the beautiful scenery that we were leaving behind to go back to the city.. we saw cows crossing the road.. all the nature stuff.. stuff we cant find here.. missed the starry nights, missed the cold nights around the warm campfire.. missed the sounds of nature, missed the total darkness.. i wanna go back if i can..
thank you for such an enjoyable time.. :)
melie
9:07 pm
