This is my third Expo at Warburton or Warakurna and I would have to say the best yet. Again I was working with kids I hadn't seen for two years but they remembered the experience last time as a really positive one. This is indicative of their want to get up and sing (one of life's hardest things for a non- proclaimed singer) and especially challenging for an indigenous student dealing with the shame factor. That said we achieved awesome results this time around. The girls were a fantastic group who were really into learning the song once we had written it and wanted to do a good job on the recording. The boys, as boys are, took a little while to get going, but once we had them, we had them. In fact we got right through recording the 20 selected lead vocalists and Glenn realized we a had a dodgy microphone lead that meant every male voice was distorted. This meant asking all the boys to come back during their recess break and re-record for another 45 minutes, which they did without complaining.... The song produced here was called We are the People and is a terrific reggae track. I think the penultimate example of the success of this tour was when we showcased the track to the rest of the community, the kids did it with such enthusiasm, that we were able to do an encore acoustically without backing track and they did it fully live. Considering We are the People was only one day old, this was an amazing result. Then a leisurely 7 hour drive back to Ayres Rock Resort and this time I didn't blow a tyre...... (I blew two in the space of 20 kilometres on the way out). Well done everyone on a great trip.

It takes only a couple of hours to be totally transported from the city hustle to the atmosphere of Central Australia. Suddenly its blue skies, red earth, stark outlines, an entirely different pace.Distances are huge, normal support structures disappear, and comfort zones aren't.

My guess is that any Red Dust tour is a huge experience, but Warburton seemed really special. Meeting and sharing 3 days with the kids was so rewarding. Its obvious they have so much potential, if only they have the opportunity. Some memories, and particularly some kids, will stick in my mind forever. Its great to be a small part of a programme that you can really believe is making a difference.

As well as the kids we met, the other people that made an impression were the other tour members, as well as the people who commit themselves to making a difference in the community for a significant period of time. The way the members of the tour committed, integrated and delivered was nothing short of amazing. At the same time I have much admiration for the teachers who take on their responsibilities on a longer term basis.

I'd love to go back to Warburton one day and see how the kids I met develop, and make their mark in their community, and in the wider world.

Extracts from My Diary - Day One

On the flight up I met Tim the basketball wheelie who was sitting in an aisle seat opposite. As he had been on a number of earlier trips he was able to answer all of the naive questions of the white urban boy. This was a great start to the experience.

The full team met at the airport then off to Uluru town centre for lunch before jumping into one of the 4WD's and a Ute carrying all the swags and food etc.

Twenty minutes out of town, we turned off the nice paved road onto dirt. Three corrugated dirt hours later we reached Warrakuna roadhouse and set up camp. Most slept around the fire — some wimps slept inside the Roadhouse. Sleeping in a swag for the city boy was pretty neat - stars look so much brighter in the outback where there are no lights. A little chilly with temps dropping to zero.

By now it is pretty evident that this will be a laid back group with no complainers. I learned about naming people eg: if any of us had a first name of someone who had died in the last few years on the community we were visiting, we had to be known as "Kumuna" — a generic name used out of respect to the deceased.

Day Two

Eggs Benedict for breakfast - in your dreams. But toast done over the campfire brought back good memories - and the taste is certainly better than in a toaster. Maybe Philips can replicate the charcoal flavour?

9:00am get away - starting to appreciate John's organising skills. Trip today supposed to be 2.5 hours. Well that was the plan before we blew two more tyres. We were able to cannibalise tyres from the other vehicles and still complete the trip.

After lunch we went to the school and met the local organiser. The plan was for 120 kids to sleep in the school grounds over the next two nights, many having travelled up to four hours to get there. By mid afternoon, not all the schools had arrived, so we broke out the soccer and footy balls and wandered down to the sporting field. After dinner we went to the Kids disco at a little hall near the school. Some of the younger Red Dust guys joined in - I hung out in the shadows with the cool dudes - didn't want to embarrass anyone with my two left hips!

Early night into the swag - fewer folks this time - no sing song. All reasonably tired.

Day Three

Early wake-up at 6:30 with the daily commuter plane revving up for a long time. Last minute instructions on a well pre-planned day focussing on sport - Basketball, Soft Ball and Aussie Rules. A number of kids also nominated for a musical elective. I had four softball clinics with Natalie - a South Australian state rep player. You could see the raw natural ability and athleticism in these girls, not to mention outstanding hand eye co-ordination. Downside was a reasonable degree of overweight kids.

We weren't the only excitement in town to-day, as there was also a WA minister for aboriginal affairs making a lightening visit. Met and chatted with Daisy, a local elder who was a real card. Her worry was that no-one had told her about the big visit to-day of the minister, and she was worried that her old T-shirt wouldn't be the proper clothing to meet such a person. I tried to reassure her not to worry.

Wandered past a nice swimming pool - empty for the winter - learned later that it's probably filled with salt water in the summer to help counteract the kids poor personal hygiene habits. Wandered the streets - saw where the white teachers live, and saddened by the lack of commercial or other activity in town. Many people simply sitting on their front porches, and I wondered what sort of future could the kids realistically look forward to, if they didn't migrate to a bigger city?

Dinner and a concert that night by some of the local guys. I had a great chat with Ray by the camp fire, sharing stories about indigenous people around the world.

Day 4

Today was the day of our health expo. Probably the most important day of the visit. Focus on giving messages about the harm of petrol sniffing, smoking, booze, gunja, and fatty/junk foods.

Then over to see the finished piece of music from the 20 kids. A great song, something they could relate strongly to given that they had written the words and sang the music. They each received a CD. A great film clip also produced.

After we said good-bye to the kids we had each made friends.
Each kid received a health kit containing tooth paste and tooth brushes (from Philips) before they left for their return trip home.

Day 5

Return flight to Sydney. All in all a wonderful experience - countryside, sleeping in swags under the stars in 0 degrees, meeting new people of like mind, and learning more about the challenges that we as a society face in resolving the issue of helping better the lives of our indigenous people.

We went out to Warburton for health week with many of the surrounding community kids also coming along.
As part of the music program we wrote a song with the kids that they sang and had alot of fun with.
It was a great week and a great community out in the middle of no-where.