Once my parents left I was graced with a
visit from my friend Alex. We were both struck down with a totally horrible flu
but managed to live it up in Darwin for a few days which was so much fun.
Highlight of Al’s visit was a trip to Crocodylus Park. It was a horrendously
hot day but I thought the park was just great. Crocs still freak me out quite a
lot and I must say after seeing some of the 800kg crocs did not really calm me
down! Imagine if they all got loose!! We went on a tour of the park which was
really worth it – we got to feed some of the bigger guys and learnt a lot about
the research work that they do. We even got to hold baby crocs! I also got to
visit the lion that cut up my patient a few months ago, and the Ocelot that
everyone talks about on the radio ads. Definitely a recommendation for anyone
who is up here.
I managed to end up on call the last day
that Al was here but luckily had quite a good run and we managed to get away to
go down to the annual Beer can regatta. Which is exactly what it sounds like –
everyone goes down to Mindil beach for the day and there’s a race of boats made
out of beer cans! I was very impressed with some of the work that had gone into
the boats. And all the drinking of beer that must have been associated with
that. The winner was the boat sponsored by Bunnings which even had a hammer
built onto it. The guys told us that they’d had to collect the cans for about 6
months to get enough – and then to build the thing took another month. The
weirdest thing for me was to see everyone in the water. Because of the crocs no
one ever gets in the ocean here but this was a free for all. Some of the kids
were so excited!!
 |
| Made out of Beer cans |
 |
| Thong Throwing |
We also watched the Thong throwing competition –
Johnno won. He won last year. His advice was to ‘Be the thong’. And of course
it was Mindil so we had another beautiful sunset!
There are quite a few Trauma courses in the
next few weeks that I am teaching at and I have just been over to the Tiwi
Island again to teach a RATE course there. I think the Tiwi people are
beautiful and I actually really enjoy going over there. This time our plane was
delayed by nearly 2 hours because of fog so it was a busy day once we got there
but the enthusiasm of the participants always makes the day really fun. My next
trip will be out to Groote Eyland next week so I am very excited about that.
 |
| Nguiu airport |
 |
| Health Centre |
 |
| Flying out |
The month was rounded off by the Darwin Show – three days of goodness! We got a public holiday so it was always going to be great but I must say I enjoyed it more than I thought. There was a tonne of rides, showbags (though they had run out of Bertie Beetle ones very early. Boo!), lots of animals and lots of great cakes and crafts…. My highlights were definitely the racing pigs, the petting zoo and the line dancing performances by the Top End Mustangs. I am DEFINITELY going along to join up them when my exams are done! And the night finished with more fireworks (Maybe leftovers from Territory day!).
 |
| Phyllis, Annie and one of the winning scarecrows. It even had a First Aid box! |
 |
| Racing pigs |
 |
| To Perve and Protect... |
No blog entry would be complete without a
great NT news front page. I must say my cracker man put in a good effort but
this is my other favourite front page from the last few months. The police were
called in to stop a fight at a Bachelorette party out at Humpty Doo. Only
problem being that when they turned up the bachelorettes thought they were the
strippers and tried to rip their clothes off. Ah only in the territory.
Once my parents left I was graced with a
visit from my friend Alex. We were both struck down with a totally horrible flu
but managed to live it up in Darwin for a few days which was so much fun.
Highlight of Al’s visit was a trip to Crocodylus Park. It was a horrendously
hot day but I thought the park was just great. Crocs still freak me out quite a
lot and I must say after seeing some of the 800kg crocs did not really calm me
down! Imagine if they all got loose!! We went on a tour of the park which was
really worth it – we got to feed some of the bigger guys and learnt a lot about
the research work that they do. We even got to hold baby crocs! I also got to
visit the lion that cut up my patient a few months ago, and the Ocelot that
everyone talks about on the radio ads. Definitely a recommendation for anyone
who is up here.
I managed to end up on call the last day
that Al was here but luckily had quite a good run and we managed to get away to
go down to the annual Beer can regatta. Which is exactly what it sounds like –
everyone goes down to Mindil beach for the day and there’s a race of boats made
out of beer cans! I was very impressed with some of the work that had gone into
the boats. And all the drinking of beer that must have been associated with
that. The winner was the boat sponsored by Bunnings which even had a hammer
built onto it. The guys told us that they’d had to collect the cans for about 6
months to get enough – and then to build the thing took another month. The
weirdest thing for me was to see everyone in the water. Because of the crocs no
one ever gets in the ocean here but this was a free for all. Some of the kids
were so excited!!
The month was rounded off by the Darwin Show – three days of goodness! We got a public holiday so it was always going to be great but I must say I enjoyed it more than I thought. There was a tonne of rides, showbags (though they had run out of Bertie Beetle ones very early. Boo!), lots of animals and lots of great cakes and crafts…. My highlights were definitely the racing pigs, the petting zoo and the line dancing performances by the Top End Mustangs. I am DEFINITELY going along to join up them when my exams are done! And the night finished with more fireworks (Maybe leftovers from Territory day!).
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