May 30, 20214 min read

Visitors! Showing off the best of Maningrida.

In the last few weeks we had a series of fantastic visitors. They were (aside from Mum whose commitment to us is unparalleled) visitors who had planned to come last year and we are so happy that we were able to host them before our NT time was up.

Mum was her usual amazing self and she was on a mission to help us get organised for the big move. We are (as always) so grateful for her help.

We did schedule in one special day with her when we lined up an excursion out bush with some local artists to collect pandanus for their weaving. It was the usual shambolic beginning with 4 trips back and forth to New Sub collecting various tools and people before we were ready to head out to Rocky Point. Freeda was keen to make one of her amazing fish traps. We followed her and her mates into some find of dense jungle and while we were fighting our way through the vines (Luca was enjoying that machete way too much) the indigenous women melted into the undergrowth in pursuit of just the right kind of vines for their fish traps.

As we sweated and swatted the mozzies and scraped our way onwards Doreen and Susan took pity on us and decided to head to a more open area and dig for bush yams instead.

Somehow, Freeda and Bonnie eventually emerged from the jungle and had created order from chaos with their neatly rolled vines!

Mum and Ed held the fort for a weekend when I sent into Darwin for a weekend of food and frivolity with Chaudie and Gus. It was sooo lovely to have that time with them and we enjoyed the gustatory highlights of Darwin with Laksa at Parap markets and dinner at Hanuman where we toasted our old friend Anna who would have been 40 this week.

We explored the underground tunnels of Darwin which were built to store oil after the bombing of Darwin left military oil stores flattened. I learned a lot about the bombing of Darwin in 1942 which killed more than 1000 people. This is simply an estimate as the real figures were suppressed and minimised at the time and for many years afterwards in an effort to quash fear around Australia’s vulnerability. These storage tanks were never actually used!

We hired a car and made it out to Litchfield National Park. We went to a new area on Leena’s recommendation and the Cascades were a beautiful place to go, a little away from the main tourist areas. We went for a good little bushwalk and had a lovely, peaceful time exploring the series of little waterfalls.

Mum had one night overlapping in Maningrida with Chaud and Gus. Les provided us with several huge mudcrabs so Chaud did some kind of curry fabulousness with it and we feasted together!

Chaud and Gus had a few quiet days pottering around the art gallery and the womens centre and picking up the kids from school and cooking more delicious dinners. Emily arrived for a mini cultural exchange while her mum attended a conference in Darwin. We sent her off to school with Zoe and she absorbed it all with a smile.

One afternoon we picked up Lorencianne and her family and headed out bush. We thought we were going to Rocky Point but the tides weren’t right for hunting and gathering there so they said we needed to go to Crab Creek. This required some serious bush bashing and 4WD work (Ed was happy!). The family headed off into the mangroves in search of crabs and Lorencianne took us across some salt flats to a more open section of shallow river. She said there are crocs there but not at low tide, or perhaps not at this time, or perhaps not when she was around??? I was fairly cynical but waded out with her and found that the water was very shallow and very clear and if there were crocs around we would certainly see them coming out there. So I allowed Luca to carry the bag for her while she went hunting and it was totally beautiful in the afternoon light. He came back in one piece.

Lorencianne’s delicious baby kept those of us on the shore entertained while batting away the midgies. Ed (as usual) was particularly yummy!

We then wandered back across the salt planes calling out to Lorencianne’s family who emerged from the mangroves with several crabs to add to Lorencianne’s loot. With the sun low in the sky we made our way back to the car very happy.

Ed managed to join Gus and Chaud for another pandanus adventure on their last day. Luca wanted to miss another day of school and join in and we thought this was a very educational excursion! This time they also collected some roots for dyeing the pandanus as well.

Fiona made it for a one day visit and child collection. She loved the local art and we showed off another spectacular Maningrida sunset. Our neighbour Sunia was hosting his goodbye party so they joined us for fun and music next door.

We also squeezed in a morning at Rocky Point which was its usual sunny gorgeousness.

And so these long awaited visitors have departed and we return to our usual routines. Walking to school and swimming and beach clean ups. A frilled neck lizard on a school trip for Ed and an evening watching a blood moon and a lot, lot, lot of playing dollies with Maddie.