COOL AND NOT SO COOL KATHERINE, NORTHERN TERRITORY

Cool Katherine

The heat was unbearable.    42.5 degrees in the shade and not a breath of fresh air to relieve the oppression.    The springs were crowded with holidaying school kids who had muddied the waters.   The car wash might provide some relief.  

Getting on top of the dust was a necessary routine if Tilly the campervan was ever to redeem her sparkling white appearance.    The Northern Territory dust and grime found its way into every crevice but the car wash would only touch the surface.

A pre-soak and then a soap brush would clean her up and provide some sort of temporary air conditioning for the solo traveller.

Whilst waiting for the pre-soak to do its work, a hunched figure was sighted sitting alongside a wash station tap, outside the cleaning bays.   The indigenous man, of an undeterminable age, was fully clothed and proceeded to bend and sway under the fully turned tap.    Gushing water covered him from head to fully-shoed toe and beneath the flow his face was filled with the utmost joy.   How the solo traveller envied him!  He didn’t have much but in that moment he was rich with joy and comfort and walked away dripping and grinning widely.  

Not so cool Katherine

Possibly one of the last of her tribe, the Aboriginal elder, struggled along the street aided by her walker and a young man – perhaps a grandson.    Her legs and arms were stick thin and her hair metallic grey as it contrasted against her black skin. Several wounds – one on her arm and two on her legs – were encased in clean white dressings.    

The two appeared to be heading to the airconditioned shopping centre but instead crossed the road to the Tourist Information Centre forecourt.  Here, sitting under the  wide foliage of the trees was a group of indigenous people, chatting, laughing and welcoming their own newcomers.    A young girl was feeding her baby with no shame or false modesty to hide her aubergine-like breasts.

The elder joined the group in the shade and others moved to accommodate her on the steps.   Here was a community respectful of each other and enjoying some of what was their’s in the shade of those lovely big trees.    The edifice of the Visitor Information Centre intruded in the background.