Macca's Meanderings

HAATST BLUFF - 3 Recently, we took a drive to Mt Liebig via a road 'less used' and returned via the main road through Papunya. When I say 'main road' it is a main road for this area but is not sealed and less than 10 vehicles per hour. From Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) we crossed a creek lined with white gums and then past the communities airstrip (again a gravel runway) and off into the vast empty spaces west of here. Initially we drove through reasonably flat red sandy country. The weathered ranges to our north and south dictated a westerly path. No traffic, no mobile service, no radio stations, no roadhouses, no traffic signs, no road side service, no speed cameras, no 'civilisation' many would say - yet there is a beauty here and we enjoyed a great day. Come for a drive with us? Double clicking on the photos will enlarge them.  The track had recently been graded so made for pleasant driving. This area is sometimes referred to as the 'Red Centre'. The...

HAASTS BLUFF - 2 Some Central Australian History and Blind Moses It is good to learn something of the history of an area and the real life characters and events that helped shape the present. I have just read a book that has done just that - 'Blind Moses, Aranda man of high degree and Christian evangelist'. Moses or Tjalkabota was born in 1872 near Hermannsburg, south west of Alice Springs. At that time the first white explorers had past through this area just a few years earlier. The over land telegraph line was under construction. The colony of Queensland had not long been established. Moses's family had still not seen a white man yet they had heard of them. This was about to change. Some German Lutherans arrived to establish a mission station at Hermannsburg on the Finke River. Pastoralists brought large numbers of sheep and cattle. Prospectors came seeking their fortunes. European diseases were introduced with devastating results. At times tensions erupted into ...

HAASTS BLUFF 1 Hi everyone It has been some time since our last post. During this time we have moved from Papunya to Haasts Bluff to manage the store here. You may recall that we had assisted here for four days in July while the community's sports weekend was happening. The community of Haasts Bluff (and store) is about 1/3 of the size of Papunya or around 150 people. Between Papunya and Haasts Bluff lies a range. The photo below is taken from this range looking south. If you double click on the photo and look carefully in the middle of the gap you will see the small community of Haasts Bluff - a speck in the vast spaces of Central Australia. On the eastern end of this range is the bluff from which the community gained it's 'white fellow' name - Haasts Bluff. The Luritja name for the community is Ikuntji (pronounced, Eek-kun-tji).  Below are some photos of Haasts Bluff (the geological feature).  Above - Haasts Bluff viewed from the Papunya road looking w...

PAPUNYA 4 Hi again Thankfully the pace of life here has slowed a little however Nancy has been wrestling with a flu and a persistent cough. She is feeling a little better after some time off this week although not 100% yet. We have been enjoying clear cold nights with warm fine days. Last Monday (August 1) we had the day off. Nancy was not feeling well so elected to stay home and have an easy day. PK and Bryan climbed the ranges to the south of Papunya. They rise approximately 650 metres above the surrounding plains. PK enjoyed the day out however struggled with the spinifex. The view looking to the north. Down on the plain in the centre of the photo is the community of Papunya, just beyond the airstrip - the line in the trees. In the distance on the left is Mt Wedge. Bryan and PK on top looking west. Up there you get a real sense of the big blue central Australian sky, the wide, wide horizons and the big open spaces.  The view towards the east. On ...