Week Five

This week, we're heading to Hope Vale to hear from celebrity blogger Jaine Scollard. Enjoy!

It’s surreal to be writing this as we are down to my last week in Hope Vale. The time has gone so fast. It has been challenging, crazy, hilarious and amazing, usually all at once. 

It was strange driving in to Hope Vale on the first day and leaving the comfort of the convoy. There were no more messages on the radio, random facts from Vit, or Doug telling us to keep the airwaves free. 

We were now just two women, heading into unknown territory, about to commence our five week stay in a remote Indigenous community. 

Alison is from Sydney, and I am from Launceston. While many people (mainly Taswegians ourselves) joke about the remoteness of our fair state, this was different. It is also remoteness from our families, friends, homes, and in particular, our comfort zones. 

We are staying in the disused dementia ward of the local aged care facility. The grounds are quite pretty, and the residents are so friendly. We have a little reading/sunbaking area outside with a few benches and some trees. I was a little concerned that the coconut tree was going to shake one out on top of my head but I needn't have worried as a) it was the banana tree that keeled over and b) they cut the coconut tree down. Bright side: BANANAS!

Hope Vale is surrounded by beautiful mountains, and there are lots of amazing places to visit nearby. As Lucy said, I was also struck by how lush and green it is here. The community itself is much the same as Michael described Aurukun, with lots of rubbish and dogs everywhere. That said, the dogs are harmless (especially if you feed them!).

We have taken epic journeys across the beach at Coloured Sands, played on the swing at Elim Beach while keeping an eye out for crocs, and pretended we were mermaids in Isabella Falls. We also went for a bushwalk to beautiful Finch Bay, and I only fell over once. It was a pretty proud moment. We have also been to zumba and boxing classes, visited the Cooktown Show, and danced to Black Image at the turf club. 

Hope Vale and Cooktown also have amazing galleries. I picked up my first pieces of art. One is by a 13 year old girl named Darcie from Cooktown High School who won the local Lions Youth art prize. The other is by Harold Bowen, an incredible artist from Hope Vale who won the Laura art prize. I can’t wait to see a little piece of the Cape in my lounge room.

One memory that is forever etched on my soul is heading back from packing up the school camp at Billy Boil. The driver, Shane, came to a sudden stop, bolted from the car and began hollering for us to join him. He had not only sighted a carpet python, but had pulled it out of the bushes to show us. As someone who is petrified of snakes, I was hardly thrilled at the invitation (I blame Nagini from Harry Potter. Voldemort ruins EVERYTHING!). But I knew this was my chance. I took a deep breath and headed out to face my nemesis.

He also stopped to show us this turtle! Hey, buddy!

Our secondment at the school has been challenging, crazy, and most of all, incredibly fun. We have taken lessons, broken up fights, moved furniture, baked cupcakes, danced, played sports and fielded questions from intrigued children. 

As NAIDOC took place during sorry time within the community, we got to participate in their delayed celebrations. We were so lucky to see local dancers perform a corroboree, spear throwing, line dancing and the school band. It was really special :-)

Alison also had an excellent time on camp at Billy Boil, visiting Cape Flattery and adventuring with the kids. 

The school is under-staffed, and its condition was certainly different to the schools at home, but the dedication and courage of the teachers is simply amazing. As Michael and Lauren have said, we are so lucky to have this opportunity, and it is really inspiring to see how hard they work. 

I also love how the school incorporates so much of the Indigenous culture into the school. The children have lessons in Guugu Yimithirr and it’s beautiful to see them learning it. We have also picked up a few words, the most commonly heard one is hearing teachers telling children to ‘sit on your bookah!’. 

The children are also amazing. They have more energy than anyone else I have ever seen, playing games of soccer on hot days in bare feet and constantly running around. They’re also hilarious, inquisitive and sassy. 

I’ll really miss them, the community and the warmth when I head back to freezing Tassie, but I am so lucky to have such excellent memories.