Yuendumu...

[Throwdown!]

Hi!

I'm off to Yuendumu next month to spend a bit of time with the Warlpiri people. I don't even camp, hate being up close and personal to wildlife and love a flushing toilet.

Someone has told me to make sure I buy myself a fly net that goes over my head or I'll regret it. Does anyone else have any ideas about essentials I should be taking to the Northern Terrority to minimise my city boy whimping?

Ta!

[ROD]

Take a mozzie clicker $20 from chemist but worth it as soon as you feel any bite just zap yourself 5 times
Have a good trip

[Heidi1]

I lived in Nyrippi for a while, next community into the desert. I went out there to work with the women on art projects, it was a balls up from the start, no-one had asked the people what they actually wanted. I have some suggestions for you, first one is live by the Law and second is learn some Walpiri. I still remember a bit, the words for rain, thorny devil, kangaroo and piss off kids springs to mind. I'm happy to talk to you about my experiences if you want. What are you going to be doing out there? It is one hell of an experience, I'll always be changed by my time out there.

[Rainbow7]

Does anyone else have any ideas about essentials I should be taking to the Northern Terrority to minimise my city boy wimping?

Guns. Many, many guns. Also, an aircon unit is always handy.

[fasterfaster]

One of these >>>>>>>>>>>

[attachment=9404]

[Ward P]

Hi!

I'm off to Yuendumu next month to spend a bit of time with the Warlpiri people. I don't even camp, hate being up close and personal to wildlife and love a flushing toilet.

Someone has told me to make sure I buy myself a fly net that goes over my head or I'll regret it. Does anyone else have any ideas about essentials I should be taking to the Northern Terrority to minimise my city boy whimping?

Ta!

Patience . . . plenty of patience. Everything takes a long time to do anything. In their culture they take it as offensive to disagree with you. They will say yes to your face with no intention of following through, because this is polite. It is up to you to understand. So you can organise meetings etc. they will accept and then just not turn up.
If you're there for work, don't expect to achieve anything on your first visit. Just lots of talk.

I don't know about the Warlpiri, but from my time living in Alice Springs, the white people were known as "toyotas" - hard working, reliable, but if they stop working, chuck them away and get another one. You get a bad opinion in Alice, because the place is littered with the bad ones thrown out of the communities.

But the outback is breathtakingly beautifull. Enjoy!
(flynet is a must! - or learn to talk through your clenched teeth)

[Camel]

Pete,

that's not a bus....

This is a bus for the desert!



Camel

[Throwdown!]

Ha! Nice one, Heidi - not sure I want to be telling the kids to pee off when I'm thousands of miles away from my backup, but I get ya.

I actually wanted to drive it, but I've informed only a 4-wheel drive will do the last 70km. :(
How cold will get at night, at this time of year?

[Heidi1]

Freaking freezing any time of the year at night. The grandmothers taught me 'piss of kids' for when they were being naughty. There was only two whities (kadjia) at Nyrippi when I was there, so I had to learn Walpiri and was given a 'skin' early on. I was lucky, I was a strong skin so the grandmothers taught me to hunt and sing and dance. they were also facinated by my hair, but I am pretty funny looking compared to an indigenous community. I made a couple of mistake, but luckily they weren't bad enough to get me disciplined by the elders, I was expected to live by traditional law out there, and it isn't white man law. Yuendumu was the big smoke for us, we went there a couple of times for sports carnivals with the kids. Yuendumu had more trouble with grog and sniffing than Nyrippi did, I don't know what it is like these days. What are you doing out there?

[Heidi1]

P.S. Did you ever see the show Bush Mechanics on SBS? You're SOFT if you think you can only get there in a 4WD!





(but it isn't a bad idea)

[Throwdown!]

I'm volunteering in the art studio that runs there, so that I can get food and board. Other than that I'm going native.

My daughter wants me to be a duel national like her, (she couldn't be English for a while, despite being born in London - rules of the time only recently changed, I think). I'm a vow away from becoming a citizen this year so I thought I'd grab some real Aussie experiences beyond drinking at the opera house and catching a footie game. I've already turned down pig hunting.

---

[quote='Heidi1' pid='213382' dateline='1271944277']
P.S. Did you ever see the show Bush Mechanics on SBS? You're SOFT if you think you can only get there in a 4WD!


I was thinking it didn't sound right. I've been told to get the twice a week bus from Alice Springs for $80 a time. Advice to prop up the local ecomomy maybe? In any case, my car is a PT Cruiser which isn't even built for a pot hole. Hiring a 4x4 is the same cost as flying and taking the bus so may as well let others do the work. If I had a 4x4 I would definately go for it though.

[Ozboc]

Just be very careful if you take a product like aeroguard for the mozzies - you can actually poison yourself and find yourself in hospital for using it. WHAT THA ? i hear you say ? - Its a product that is meant to be use maybe once twice a week - if you use it every day - morning noon and night after about 1 week you will have absorbed so much of the chemical in your skin your kidneys will not be able to filter it out and you will be VERY VERY ill. This is something well know with the die hard campers - so just be careful if using fly/ mozzie repellent

Boc

[Heidi1]

Fly repellent is no use out there, you just get used to talking out of the side of your mouth. Flys are so desperate for water, they just try to cluster in your eyes. You just have to learn to work around it.

I'm happy to talk you through some of the things I learned if you want, send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number. There are some things out there like not pointing and asking direct questions and skins that will help you fit in.