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Tour report:
Our first tour of the year got off to a wet start, with torrential rains giving Alice Springs – and much of the surrounding territory - a solid drenching. For many of us, it was the first time we’d seen water in the Todd River.
Days 1-3 saw the Areyonga team head off first in order to set up for the music program and get settled. For some, it was a welcomed return to the community and many familiar faces, as well as several new ones. Having no sport or music program, Areyonga school embraced all the activities with enthusiasm, with the students writing and recording a brilliant song with the Muso Magic duo, Adam and Glenn. Even the local ladies got involved, recording vocals in ‘language’ with some of the kids. The visit culminated with a viewing of the music clip and a performance by the whole group, who also serenaded us with a wonderful rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ in Pitjantjatjara.
On the road, the Areyonga team fared a bit better than the Kintore team, who were forced to leave the community earlier than expected due to incoming rains and the threat of being stranded by flooded roads. The team packed a great deal into their two days in Kintore, conducting several sport clinics and healthy food sessions. A fortunate few also received some lessons in local culture, participating in a bush tucker excursion hunting goannas.
En route back to Alice Springs, the group stopped in Papunya where they met a few of the Areyonga team. There they continued the healthy lifestyle program, organising games and activities on the basketball court and conducting a healthy eating exercise using food from the local shop.
Back in Alice Springs with an extra day on their hands, the group wasn’t keen to be idle. Teams were allocated to two local schools, where they made classroom visits and talked to the students about leading healthy lifestyles. Between classes the team members joined in court activities with the students and emphasised the importance of physical activity through sport and play.
Participants:
Areyonga Team
Adam Thompson – Music
Glenn Bidmead - Music
Brett Wheeler - Basketball and Music
Cassie Govan – Sweeney Research/Team Support
Mel Thompson - Team Support
Matt Hollard - Team Leader
Kintore Team
Chris Anstey - Basketball
Alex Braid – Macquarie Bank Sports/Cricket
Carolyn Swindell – Vodafone/Team Support
Glenn Manton – AFL Football
Brett Wheeler - Basketball
Tim Maloney - Wheelchair Basketball
Ilsa Wakeling - Softball
Matt Hollard – Team Support
Mel Thompson – Team Support
Sandra Hore – Nike/Team Support
Paul Nelson – First Aid/Team Support
John Van Groningen - Team Leader
Amanda Lee - Vodafone/Team Support
 What a great experience getting back to the Territory after mising a few tours due to my basketball committments.
I was part of the group that travelled to Kintore, which excited me for two main reasons. The first was that I'd never been there before. The second was that we were going to visit Papunya on the way through and back. I have visited Papunya many times over the last 10 years, and really wanted to get back there to say hello.
After the 3 hour drive to Papunya passed without any real incident (other than some bad singing to a few mixed tapes we bought in Alice), I was amazed to see how much the community had changed. They now had a brand new education centre which housed 5 computers among other teaching aids, and their basketball court right out the front was now completed roofed so that the kids could play there any time.
We spent a few hours just messing around with the kids, had lunch with them and told them we'd see them in a few days on the way back through.
Another 3 hours or so on the red dirt roads and we were in Kintore. Arriving at a community is always a prety exciting time. I reckon it takes about half an hour of us just walking through the community saying hi to whoever is around for the word to get out that there are visitors in town, before the kids are everywhere looking for stuff to do and telling us about their home.
In this case, we just sat and watched some of the town having a kick of the footy on the local dirt ground, and gradually got to meet the locals.
10 of us stayed in a 3 bedroom house for the 3 days we ended up being there. We would have stayed longer but a massive storm came through that was going to flood us in if we left any later.
We spent each day at school with the kids, and each evening playing sport with them. Our focus of this trip was to try to help them understand better the importance of eating healthily. We conducted activities ranging from tracing around me lying on lots of paper for the young kids and explaining where different body parts were, to grouping good and bad foods and why they were good and bad for the older kids.
Like I said, the rain bucketed down and our trip was cut short, so we headed back to Papunya, where we met up with the Areyonga group, spent a night, and got to spend a day at school there too, which was great. The highlight must have been a 3 year old boy who was able to throw a baseball the length of one and a half basketball courts dead straight every time.
After leaving, we also had a day back in Alice Springs, and made the most of it by splitting into three groups and visiting three different schools for a few hours. While the schools are a little bit more advanced in their facilities, the needs of the kids are still the same, and it was great to have to time to meet some of them during the trip.
I left the Territory sad that I wouldn't be able to get back until after the next basketball season, but really happy I'd been able to be a part of Red Dust again. |
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