550kms was a daunting day...especially when you hear about the state of the road. Throw some unseasonal rain into the mix and you have a challenging trek to arrive at the remote community of Walungurru (Kintore is the European name). We arrived after dark and thankfully the camels and cattle we came across were all standing passively along the road rather than strolling across or sleeping on the road.

This community is incredible. The people are proud and strong in their culture. The youth are interested in learning their own culture from the elders as well as learning to speak and write English at school. There are two schools; the primary school where the staff are ably led by Jennifer Kite. This school works on a 'bi-lingual educational model'. The secondary school is a remote campus of Yirrara College in Alice Springs.
The health issues are significant all the same. There are programs in place to address the hydration, nutrition and hygiene and the role models were able to model some of the good eating, hygiene and nutrition messages identified by teachers as a priority for their students.

The thing that strikes you about this community is the effort to which the elders and community leaders go, to ensure their young people have every opportunity to learn about the 'two ways'.
Enthusiasm, smiles, positive outlooks and curiosity are the images that have been emblazoned in my head and heart. The relationships we are establishing with Walungurru will be long-lasting ones and the community leaders, health staff and teachers are already planning our next community visit.

The trip out to Milikapiti is an awesome experience in itself. The light aircraft flight displays the top end coastline and islands brilliantly in the morning sunshine. The carrier was a little freaked out at the amount of equipment we had to carry with us to make the music workshop happen, and I am always a little anxious till I see it all arrive at Milikapiti airport. After all, you can't run a workshop if the speakers are still back in Darwin. Returning to a community again, only strengthens the resolve that Red Dust is doing the right thing by building relationships. It is great to walk into a school 12 months later and see kids a bit older that remember you, and know exactly what you are there to do. They are ready to embrace you both literally and figuratively and in a medium like music where we need safety in expression, it bodes well to have that environment within the first hour or two. I was told by the Sport and Rec officer Steve, that the kids had consistently been playing their song and video from last year on repeat, so he was glad to have us back to do a new production if only to change the play list at the disco.

The result was a great track called Taking me Higher and Higher by the Milikapiti Stingers. I hope if you download the video you will see the joy on their faces.

Can't wait to get back there and work with them again. A really nice community with good people. Thanks Milikapiti.

Atop my computer monitor sits a football boot. A U.S size three. It is not an old boot in terms of its styling; the manufacturer most likely issued such a boot no more than 12 months ago. It is not an old boot in terms of its technology as it comprises the most cutting edge innovation available today. It is however a very old boot. The white leather outer is now stained red by the colored dust that makes up so many football ovals, school grounds and front yards in the centre of our great country. For this left boot was not come upon in a blue stoned laneway or lush green oval of inner city Melbourne but rather a rubbish laden thoroughfare in down town Kintore. Kintore you ask? Yes Kintore...a remote indigenous community some six hours West of Alice Springs by car and just 45 clicks from the West Australian border.

I literally stumbled across the boot as I was walking from the local school, after presenting to a class of diverse age with my fellow 'role models', on the way back to our camp area. As part of the Red Dust (Role Model) team I have seen many attractive, confronting and astounding aspects of life in central Australia (life in general) but never had I seen something as thought provoking as this lone football boot. Apart from its stained appearance the boot has been worn through to the point where you can clearly see your hand behind it. There is simply no longer a sole, bar four studs in the forefoot. The tongue strap is still looped around the boot which would indicate that it literally broke free of the foot that was wearing it before it became yet another discarded object. In places it would appear that the heat of the afternoon sun has melted the plastic fittings and I wouldn't mind waging upon its compression under four wheel drive tyre.

There is much to observe with boot in clear view but it is the aspects of its history that cannot be seen that interest me the most. Such questions arise as...

Who owned the boot-if anyone-and for how long?

Where is its matching right foot? Were they worn as a pair or shared between two people?

How was it bought into the community? Was it a gift or the subject of spent earnings?

Could the owner play the game well? What could his future be? Or her future? Will it involve football or sports in general?

How did it come to rest amongst the red dust? Was it lost or discarded?

The number of questions is endless and as such the reason for the boots position in my home. For when I sit down to work at my desk I think of the many questions that life has to ask and the many answers that I am yet to uncover. Red Dust expeditions allow for such discovery to take place whilst sharing those answers to which you are already privy with those who want to learn.

Ultimately I got a whole lot more than just the boot from Kintore.

If you're looking for a wonderful definition for community, Kintore is it. This was evident immediately from the moment that we entered the classroom to meet a handful of kids and found almost the whole community doing their best impression to see "how many people can you fit in a mini" to greet us. It was brilliant, albeit a tad squashed, and made us feel welcome right from the onset. Everything we shared with the kids from playing hoops to kicking soccer balls was attacked with gusto and grins. They sat quietly and listened to every word as our team told stories about their lives and their families, but what impressed me the most was how quickly they turned the tables and couldn't wait to fill us in on every detail about their history and the lands that surround them. In the last couple of days we've waded through water holes, tasted bush tomatoes, dug up desert potatoes, camped under the cosmos and listened to dingoes howling (although that might have been Glen Manton snoring). This experience is definitely a two-way street, and I can't wait to come back soon to visit the warm people of Kintore.

How would I describe Kintore? A community of pride, lots of positive energy, friendly and open people and a real sense of culture. We have been in the classroom, on the basketball court, observing the ladies painting, sleeping under the stars and looking for bush tucker. Each adventure has opened my eyes to the character of the people of Kintore and the wonderful way they work together. An amazing three days and more to come.