Henley-on-Todd

A couple of weeks ago we witnessed an event called Henley-on-Todd. Every year, people build "boats" for this specific event. Some people build their boats in a week's time, others probably take months to make theirs. And some must have thrown theirs together mere hours before the event.

These "boats" are paraded through town, and then eventually raced Fred Flinstone-style in the normally dry riverbed known as the Todd River. It's quite a sight to see and one I'm glad we didn't miss!

This event started in 1962 as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club, and has continued ever since. We actually volunteered to help out at the event. Kevin was on traffic duty and I did ticket sales. After helping for a couple of hours, we were relieved from our posts and free to watch the festivities. 

There were food trucks and stalls, and plenty of places to stand and watch the event. In addition to the boat racing, there were a number of other unique games. One involved shoveling sand into a big barrel, and another involved racing each other in big hampster wheels down the River Todd. It was all pretty fun to watch. 

At the end of it all, mechanized "boats" battle each other. They have firepower and water canons and try their best to defeat the other two boats. 

We've started to say "only in Alice Springs" a lot ...!

For some more photos and a video, go here: 

https://goo.gl/photos/yjCSMsMQ3MYBoZdP6

One month

Hi from Alice Springs! We've now been here for a month! As always, time is a funny thing. It feels like we've been here ages, and also like we've just arrived.

So far we've gone camping, and have ventured out for various local hikes (pictures to come). We've even seen a kangaroo! 

I've been spending a lot of time learning about this little town, about the people and about their history.

There are two different historic timelines for this place. The first is about the Arrernte people, living in a place called Mparntwe. They have lived in Central Australia for thousands of years. They are believed to be from one of the oldest races in the world. They explain their beginnings through a series of stories known as dreamtimes or dreamstories. In these dreamtimes, the Arrernte people explain their beginnings, how certain geological formations came to be, and why the world is ordered the way it is.

Very close to here are places called Emily Gap and Jessie Gap. Those are the white Australian names for the sites. They are know to the Eastern Arrernte people as Anthwerrke and Atherrke. Anthwerrke holds special importance because it is part of the Caterpillar Dreamstory. The Yeperenye, the Ntyarlke and the Utnerrengatye are descendants from the caterpillars who helped make this area. They are called the Three Caterpillars. In the artwork depictions (thousands of years old), which has been preserved at Emily Gap, they are telling the story of the Three Caterpillars.

These caterpillars became the mountains ranges. As the ranges are the caterpillar bodies, the gaps in the ranges are the results of the stink bugs (Irlperenye), attacking the caterpillars and tearing off their heads. If you're interested, this is a great place to hear more about the Caterpillar Dreamstory.

There's a lot more for us to learn about and explore - we're excited to spend the next 3 years doing so!

A Week in Alice

Today is our one week anniversary in Alice Springs!

So far we love it. It's been a busy week, and honestly, I can't believe it's already gone by so fast. 

Here's what's happened since we arrived:

1. On Thursday we were met at the airport by our sponsor and by the woman I am replacing. It was great to see friendly welcoming faces straight away. Our sponsor went grocery shopping before we arrived and he stocked our fridge with some essentials - fruit and snacks! We also went to the post office (APO) and waiting for us were the 10 boxes we sent ahead with a bunch of clothes. That was a nice surprise!

2. On Friday we went to work. We got our ID badges, met with new bosses and coworkers, and tried to settle in a little.

3. On Saturday we want to the Fourth of July and Territory Day (local holiday) celebration on base. Great fireworks!

Saturday was also a big day for Australia. There was a federal election. Elections here are a little more complicated than the ones in the US. The current prime minister is the one who called for the elections. A couple of months ago I posted that Tony Abbot, prime minister at the time, had been ousted by his own party, and Malcolm Turnbull was named the new prime minister. Well, Turnbull, upset that the senate had twice blocked a proposed bill, called for national elections in all parts of government. It's called a double dissolution, and it hasn't happened since 1987. 

In this double election, all members of the house and senate are campaigning (this is rare - they have their own election terms and cycles). There are two main parties - the Liberal-National Party Coalition and the Australian Labor Party. The liberals are the conservatives and the labor party represents the liberals (as we understand it).

Campaign literature consisted of the Liberal-National Party Coalition telling people that if they don't vote for them, that there wold be a hung parliament. They also declared themselves stronger on "border security". And Labor told people that if they voted for them, they would legalize same sex marriage, and protect national health care. Then there were several other smaller parties that campaigned on various other platforms ranging from extreme xenophobia to anti-fracking.

Elections are mandatory, and if you don't vote, you're subject to a fine. So far, this election has been too close to call, and officials are stating that it may be an entire month before they can truly know who won. Figuring out the winner is another long story, so I won't get into that. Really, to sum it all up, it's crazy! 

4. On Sunday we drove to Simpson's Gap. It's about 30 minutes from here and a beautiful place for a walk. Here are photos.

5. On Monday, Bella arrived! She was a little frazzled when we let her out of her travel crate, but she's been busy exploring ever since! 

6. Since Tuesday we have been going to work. Heads are spinning trying to learn everything, but hopefully things will start to stick soon!