Day Eleven

We’re so close to Cairns, I can almost see the fountains on the Esplanade ... but first let’s talk about Hope Vale.

We arrived yesterday afternoon to discover another flat tyre! Vit reckons he’s gone six years without getting a flat, and now has had two in the past week. Maybe the tyres are not coping under the weight of all my road snacks…? Either way, he sorts the tyre out and I take more photos of him sorting the tyre out. You’re welcome, Vit :-)

We’d left Coen early to make sure we made it to Hope Vale before school’s out, which was cool because we got to see secondees Jaine and Alison in action. They’re working at the school helping with Direct Instruction, as well as club and culture.

I was lucky enough to sit in on two Direct Instruction classes – one for prep and one for grade seven. It’s so fast! I’m sure there are times when it’s pretty tough, but this afternoon I only saw kids that were engaged and responding with answers quickly and correctly. Apparently this is a huge turnaround compared to the ways kids were before Direct Instruction.

Jaine and Alison also gave us a tour of their new digs at the Dementia Ward. Doesn't this photo make it look better than it sounds?!

Glynis, one of the teachers who befriended the last Jawun secondees in Hope Vale, took us to the beach at Elim after school finished. The tide was high so we didn’t make it to Coloured Sands, but we saw it in the distance and it looked beautiful. Worth a visit but no swimming, ok kids?

  

We left Hope Vale the following morning, driving about half an hour to Cooktown to get the flat tyres sorted out. Unfortunately this took so long that I had no other option than to go to an actual cafe and order an extra hot skinny latte and eggs benedict while we waited. Cooktown is so cosmopolitan!!

A couple of hours later, we were back on the road and made it to Cairns late afternoon.

Thanks for being the best tour guide ever, Bear Grylls/Dad.