Alice Springs – Trephina Gorge
This week has been extremely artsy! There’s always something happening in Alice, and I’m constantly surprised by the amount of arty and creative events on the go. Most recently, Desert Mob came to town, where hundreds of Aboriginal artists from central Australia showcase their amazing works with an exhibition and marketplace. Desert Mob has been running for longer than I’ve been alive, and it was really exciting to go to the opening night and walk through the gallery to see artworks from all over.
Each region has really distinct style and influence, and there were some that I was more drawn to than others. A lot of the works were more abstract flowing circles and streaks, depicting bush tucker and natural landscapes, and a few of the regions had more realistic-style paintings with really vivid colours. Some of my favourite regions were Ntaria with really unique flowerscapes and Ikuntji with super vivid colours. There were also wooden baby carriers and animal sculptures woven from spinifex. Every time I entered a new room in the gallery, I’d have to take a moment to process the new colours and shapes in front of me. I loved everything and was overwhelmed by the beauty.
Saturday had the most famous event, the marketplace where many central Australian artists get together and sell their works. I’d never seen so much beautiful art all in one place, often piled precariously in piles where you have no idea what treasure can be waiting at the bottom. If I thought I was overwhelmed at the exhibition, the marketplace was a whole new feeling. The sun was hot, and there was an air of anxiety to it all – if you saw a painting you loved, there was no walking away and coming back later because someone else would be waiting just around the corner, ready to snatch up the painting in your moment of indecision. I’m always really drawn to oranges and blues when it comes to paintings, but I can never pick what I want to go for, especially when there’s so much to pick from! Our method was to visit the stalls of the regions that we loved at the exhibition, and it took about six minutes to find a painting that I fell in love with. I tried walking away, but that worry that someone else would snatch up the painting while I looked around at others kept gnawing at me so I ran back to the stall and quickly made my first purchase. After that, it gradually became easier to deal with the mayhem of it all and I had a really great time exploring the different stalls and styles.
By Sunday it seemed like winter finally caught up with me and the rain got in the way of my plans to spend the day at a swimming hole. Instead, I called my brother, wandered the Sunday market, and caught up on plenty of admin in the library. In the afternoon I drove to Simpson’s Gap to have a short walk in the drizzle and read in the back of the van.
Throughout the week I stuck on the arty trend and became the school art teacher while she’s away for the rest of the term. The year 11s and 12s are working on folios, getting ready to hand them in next term, and we’ve had a lot of fun coming up with ideas and searching through books for inspiration and playing with different paints and techniques. During the week, the drama kids even put on a performance – something they’ve been working on for months now – of The Little Shop of Horrors. The production was in the new theatre and almost completely student run including hair, makeup, lighting, and direction. It was a really enjoyable play too! Part of me feared they wouldn’t be ready for the big night, but in the end they really surprised me with a hilarious and enjoyable musical. I was so proud and I’ve only been teaching them for a few weeks! At one stage, the principal even made a massive batch of Portugese tarts to share. Delicious!
On the weekend I packed the van up and headed to Trephina Gorge for a little solo camping. I spent Saturday on a couple of little loop hikes in the morning, and an afternoon of reading in the sun – I reached my goal of reading 40 books this year! Yay! One of the walks that I did was so pretty that I did it again at sunset so I could see the rocks turn red in the evening light. By the time Sunday rolled around I was feeling sufficiently calm and relaxed, so I drove off to Jessie Gap where I planned on chilling out some more until I had to pick up Sam from the airport.
When I arrived, I saw that there was two walks; a little 200m stroll into the sandy dry river bed, or a longer out-and-back type hike where you needed to have a car at the other end to shuttle back with. Damn! So I took a look at the gap and sat in the sun before opening the door of the van and settling in to begin book number 41. As soon as I was about to start, a car pulled up – the driver happily waving to me. It turned out to be a teacher from school who had parked a second car at the end of the hike, and he invited me to join him and then ferry me back to the van so I could get to the airport in time. What luck! We went for a little hike together, chatting about the different plants and animals which was really lovely. At the end of the hike at Emily Gap there’s a little swimming hole which would have been super refreshing, but the day wasn’t all that hot and because of the lack of direct sun on the water, it’s known for being freezing and sending people into hypothermic fits. Instead of swimming we just jumped right in the car and went back to the van.
Sunset reds at Trephina Gorge.
This is where the events turn hectic - I look at my phone to see a text from Sam just before she boarded the plane back to Alice. It read, “Soooooo a kind of big disaster (don’t worry, everyone is okay)”. Naturally, I worried. I tried calling to see what happened but she wasn’t picking up, and then two photos came through of a car with flames erupting from the bonnet, and the charred remains of her Jeep. What happened was, while Sam was in Melbourne, a friend borrowed her car and while they were driving back to Alice Springs, it decided to spontaneously combust (apparently Jeeps just… do that?). It beeped it last beep on Larapinta Drive.
Sam was right though - everyone was fine and as El says, “if I don’t laugh about it, I’ll just cry”. A few people had borrowed the Jeep recently, so there was lots of finger pointing and trying to figure out who cut what lines and was trying to kill who. But since no one was hurt and somehow El and her friend had managed to get everything (except for a single Yeti drink bottle which now makes a beautifully artistic burnt-out vase) out of the car before it completely went up, this situation could have been much worse than it was!
By the early afternoon I collected Sam from the airport and we visited the charred remains of her Jeep to pay our respects, and then we went to the Bush Bands Bash, a little drug and alcohol free music festival just on the edge of Alice Springs. We sat down in the grass watching people dance as the bands play and Sam pointed out that all the local women, when they’re really into a song or band, will all dance the same way by shaking their hips and putting their hands in the air. All afternoon you could tell when a band was local because instantly, a flock of women would get to their feet and start dancing like this. We watched a few bands play and then I had to run off to the observatory where I got to look through a massive telescope and see Saturn, and learn about the different constellations and some navigation techniques.
My last week at school was pretty eventful too, on one of the days I was sent on an excursion with a group of students who are in the Tier 4 program which is typically a more flexible learning space for the kids who find traditional schooling structure to be a challenge. We went to Simpsons Gap for a BBQ and I overheard some absolutely ripper quotes which I thought I’d share:
- when some of the girls were complaining that they couldn’t access the internet, a boy gestured to the beautiful surrounds and said, “Who needs Wifi? THIS is your Wifi!”
- sitting in the shade of the big rocks, the same kid sighed happily and said, “This is literally air con.”
- when the school van was doing something strange and making driving difficult, one of the kids turned to the teacher and said, “Just press that little button on the right side of the steering wheel and it’ll stop doing weird shit.”
Teacher said: “How do you know that?”
Student: “It’s the exact same model as that one I stole.”
Look, it’s been a really amazing few weeks and I’m incredibly sad to be leaving Alice Springs. I’ve filled up almost every day with sunset walks, coffees, beers, and music events so that I can soak it all up before I have to hit the road again. On my first night in Alice, Sam and I went to the Claypans for a platter to watch sunset, and on the Thursday night when the moon was massive and the stars reflected in the water, we did the same thing. We walked up Mount John near the Gap for some sunset views across the north and south on my last night, and watched some bands perform at the Botanic Gardens, including an Alice Springs answer to KISS. It was a really wonderful way to spend my last night, especially reflecting on some of the things people were singing about like being with family and loving country. It felt super special. Part of me is really excited because I get to see my parents soon (and I have been missing them dearly), but an even bigger part is just waiting until I can come back here. There’s still so much that I didn’t get to see, and so many more things to do!
Right now it’s my last morning - I’m moved out of the school flat, van all packed, and I’m resting at Sam’s house sad that we won’t be able to see each other for a few months but excited to go to the bakery one last time and get a croissant.
Last night in Alice Springs.
