Christmas on Darnley Island

Its a balmy Tuesday night, after Christmas. We are sitting on the verandah out the front of the house, as the sun sets over the sea. The sea is like glass and just over an hour ago we were snorkeling in it. We have a few tea light candles burning in clam shells and a mozzie coil burning as malaria and dengue are making their way here from PNG. Its still, and quiet and we know we love it.....10 days to go before we head home....

Christmas Day was a quiet affair with the four of us. We had an evening meal of turkey and sop sop, a traditional dish made with sweet potato and pumpkin all cooked in coconut cream ( Jenny Craig would love it!!!) I had been very convincing with the kids about not getting much for Christmas so they were surprised and happy when they opened their presents. Robert made me some shortbread and attached a pharmacy label to the box he put it in prescribing "one daily". A lovely thoughtful and yummy gift. We played some cards and watched a movie together. Although I missed family at home, it was lovely to be the four of us, especially as our time here draws to a close and it all gets busy when we head home. I want to savour these times together and make the most of them.

The island has been quiet too with just a couple of calls each day for minor things. We have been out swimming at least once a day and done some fishing as well on the jetty. I have decided that fishing is not about catching fish but enjoying the water and watching other people! There is always some activity at the jetty and one evening someone had filleted their fish on the jetty which encouraged these three!!

So with just a short time left, and some anxiety about fitting back into the world we left, Rob and I both feel like we need to "suck it all in", absorb as much of Darnley as we can. It has been so much more than I could have imagined. I have experienced emotions here that I have not before. I have been so saddened and angry by some of the neglect I have seen, particularly towards children. I have been furious by the culture of bullying here, particularly in the schools that just seems to be OK. I have been really frightened for our safety a couple of times....But the overall, parting feelings, are of amazement at this world, thankfulness at the genorosity of some of the locals, and a connection to a culture that I hope we will be able to come back to one day. I can't say a culture to belong to, as I don't think this is possible as an outsider. But a culture that has touched both our hearts and one that will stay with us.

 

The Big Torres Pond - by Robert Timmings

With my snorkel and mask,

I race to the waist,

with a lunge and a plunge

I am swilled but so thrilled

at the plight that I sight,

as I gaze and amaze

and I look in a nook

at the creatures and features

In the big Torres pond

My eyes seem surprised

I'm a lout watching trout.

Its immoral to touch coral

but my glove it does love,

To touch a fish and I wish,

that I should if I could,

have some gills, oh the thrills.

Floating slack, so relaxed

In the big Torres pond.

A turtle sprints, and he hints,

He's unfazed, in a daze.

Giant clams, big as a man.

Blue sting ray, out for the day

Fish abound, all around.

Flashes of light, so I might

Get excited or frighted

of a shark in the dark

In the big Torres pond.

Cray fish, with a death wish

Anenomies with no enemies

Fish are stripey, some mighty

All slick, swim so quick

Run in fear, from Ben's spear

As he lunges and plunges

To the deep, just to reap

Custaceans's fate, becomes our full plate

From the Torres pond.

New baby.......

I have decided that being a RAN is a bit like having a new baby. You have disturbed sleep from call out at all hours of the night, lots of people give you advice on how they think you should be doing things, and just when you think you have a handle on things, something new comes along and you have to learn a whole new set of challenges.

One of the island Patriarchs returned from Cairns on Tuesday, after a month away having surgery on his leg ulcers. The most worrying one was removed and the skin graft has taken and is healing well. But the large ulcer on the front of his leg was really moist and very sloughy when I first saw it Tuesday afternoon. After consultation with the oncall Dr, he decided we would try some topical antibiotics as the surrounding skin looked healthy. However yesterday, things had deteriorated. This is a man who has been flown off numerous times for cellulitis. So Rob, put in a drip and we are on a regime of antibiotics via the drip every 6 hours for the next 48 hours. That’s OK. Our AO flew out yesterday for a weeks holiday and so we are seeing patients and doing the medicare forms, finding and filing charts and answering phone. That’s OK. We have 2 health workers here to help. One is 26 weeks pregnant and spends more time at home than here and her hours are fairly random. That’s OK……Then today, we discover our other health worker is a close contact for a contagious disease and needs to spend the next 5 days at home, on antibiotics herself, until she is no longer contagious. Its just about now I am feeling a little like its not OK. So its Rob and I and our random health worker who is a trainee, and doesn’t drive! We have no manager, no administrative support and the ambulance that the council are supposed to look after is still sitting out the front of the clinic where it stopped over a week ago, and will not restart. I have to take a deep breath in, and then let a deep breath out, and remind myself that Dan Murphys.com are only a phonecall and a barge delivery away, and that my supplies have not yet run dry.

Livin the dream, wild ride that it is :)   Yawo!!

So many photos!

I really must blog more often. This past week has been huge and so when I looked through all the pictures to complement the past week, it was really difficult. So for all of you that love the photos, this one is for you!

On Monday, I headed off to Thursday Island for a medical appointment, as you do here, to see specialists. It probably could have waited until I cam home but the opportunity to see TI was very enticing as well as the chance to see Sam and Glenis off in TI. Travel here is quite tricky and as there were no flights on Monday on the usual service, I was advised to book on Strait up. This service is designed for Queensland Health staff to travel within the district for work purposes. So my flight left 10 mins after Sam and Glenis, but there was only me on the plane! When I got on, our visiting midwife got off the plane for a couple of days on Darnley. It had been a stormy morning and she advised I didn't seat where she had sat as the plane leaked and she had got quite wet! As it was just the pilot and I, I had the choice of seats, I felt a bit like the queens, and sure enough, once we were airborne and into the storms, the roof sank in slightly and the dripping recommenced! Still, I felt like the Queen in my private plane, and settled back to enjoy the flight.

I had a good few hours in Thursday Island, visited all the little shops, (6 of them!) saw the specialist and then joined Sam and Glenis on the ferry back to Horn Island where we were to get our flights, theirs south to Cairns and mine north, back to Darnley. It was so good having Sam and Glenis visit. The two weeks with them flew past and happy hour was very happy with lots of laughs, some sunset watching and a couple of drinks. As we were sitting at the airport. Glenis asked me if I wished I was going with them, home. And as I replied, "No", I realised that I really am not quite ready yet. As much as I am looking forward to going home, my time in the Torres is not done yet.
 We said our farewells, I boarded my little plane, my private plane again(!!) and sat glued to the window for the 60 minute trip back to Darnley. The view was just so amazing after the storms had cleared away. the air was clear and the ocean such beautiful shades of blues and greens, and assortments of island popping up every now and then, all shapes and sizes.....

Clinically this week, we were steady but not busy. We had the visiting midwife and a GP for a few days. Rob and I continue to do the detective work with a strain of Pertussis (whooping cough) that has been a problem for the past couple of months. Families have such close contact here and with the incubation period of 3 weeks, we just think we are on top of it, and then discover another case of two. Its very interesting working out who will be at risk and then immunising and treating those who are infected or contacts. The ambulance finally died this week, we had to do a push start from a patients house, it was good they lived on a hill and we were facing the right direction!!! We do have another car which will be good for emergencies. On Yorke Island, when the car breaks down, they have resorted to collecting patients in a wheelbarrow! Fortunately, its flat there!!
On Friday, Bens friend Laughlan arrived from Toowoomba for a weeks stay. An hour after he landed, he and Ben were taken out cray diving, and came back with some success and huge smiles!

Yesterday, we were taken over to Stephen and Nepean Islands by uncle Pau. Stephen Island has a population of about 50 and is a very pretty island. Its about 60 minutes from here by speed boat ( dingy, as all boats are called here) It was a great trip across and at times we could see huge coral bombies under the boat as we sped along. We had about an hour to look around Stephen Island. it has the cutest church I have ever seen!

We went to one of the locals homes which was right on the water, literally. I am sure the high tide came up around the stumps of the home! He had a pet turtle, as many do here. They keep them for a while and then release them back into the ocean. They are such beautiful animals, the colours on their shells are so vivid!

 Another thing that Stephen Island is well known for are the Helmet shells. They live in pairs on the reef / sand, and the locals eat the meat. They can grow to an amazing size and are just another example of the incredible diversity of life here. Ben and Laughlan found these couple on the beach lodged in a tree but we believed they were put there by someone so we replaced them.

Our next stop off was Nepean Island. I am not sure of its size but we circled it in the dingy before hopping off on the beach, and it took about 5 mins to do so. No one lives on Nepean but it is a popular fishing and camping spot for the local islanders. The white sand was pristine with turtle tracks running everywhere. We snorkled for a while and saw a couple of big bull rays. Ben and I collected a few shells on the beach and I found a HUGE sand dollar shell. Ben and Laughlan had the traditional sand fight, as you do, and all up, it was very relaxing to get away for a few hours

Today, we decided to have a sun free day. Realising we are only 2 weeks away from Christmas, we decided to make our own tree. Its amazing how a few different minds, some cardboard, glue and Christmas carols playing in the background, can result in a Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun and now we all feel like its actually Christmas. I guess when you don't have the constant media and shops bombarding the Christmas message, you can loose track of time. Its nice though, Christmas this year will be what we make it, just the four of us. Perhaps we will have more time this year to reflect on why we celebrate, and also the importance of family.... Yawo for now!!

Nanna's Blog

Well blog followers this ones unique its a 'NANA' blog   Have they left me anything to say, well I think maybe I can contribute something.

 

A lot has been said about fish and we have had seven or eight different types, cooked as many ways as the imagination can come up with, and enjoyed every single way, but  what I want to say is how generous and kind these folk are in helping provide us with their food.   I had only been here for one day, when a strange man comes up to me and hands me two freshly caught coral trout. I knows your son he says these are for you.  This same man "Jackson" by name,. took Ben and Sam out for a days fishing on another day and would take nothing in return.. A few days later another fish from another person.   Then Uncle Ben (an older man) arrives with a huge bowl on "Namus" which is pickled raw fish absolutely delicious and we enjoyed that with cous cous.  The respect they have for older  people here has to be seen to be believed and I think the younger generation in our culture could learn a lot from these island people, and wait for this Rob and Jo, its wonderful how they look after   them in old age.   I don,t think there is any nursing homes in Island communities.

 

There is rubbish laying about on some of the foreshores but I question if it is their fault or is it washed up on the island shores by larger vessels and pawn trawlers  and commercial fishemen etc.   But what was impressive was NO graffitti to be seen anywhere.

 

Having said that what is washed up quite frequently is ghost net, and fish nets, these have been reccycled in  most impressive ways.   We called into the art centre to watch some of the women at work on this enormous fish, which will be going down to Woolangabba when finished for a display down in Brisbane.   This and many other arts and crafts were in progress and it amazed me how they were using shells, old, rag, nets, seeds and anything that could be recycled to make such lovely wares, some for sale and some for display.  They were all very welcoming yet again and proud to show off their craft.

 

So onto a subject that hasn,t been spoke about.  Birds. There are not a lot mostly Terns, Frigates are the sea birds as opposed to our seagulls and pelicans.   They must be the most full birds with the sardines in abundance and can be spotted night and day fishing and feeding like they never

  get fed.  Also parrots, green,  ones and blue ones flit amongst the mango trees and I guess they fed on the seeds and fruit which is also plentiful.   Then I saw tiny wee birds, so small you have to be quick to spot.  

These are some of the sea birds  that Ben and Grandad saw nesting on the sand island that they stayed on.

 

I have spoken about the generosity but a few minutes ago one of Rob and Jo,patients just turned up with this amazing shell a gift for me to take home.  Apparently its from Steven Island and his surname of course Steven.  It is their tradition to give visitors to their island part of their island to take home.    I was very humbled.

 

Is life here idyllic.?  Yes it is for a short time, but eventually the isolation would get you down?   Have we enjoyed our stay? I cant think of anywhere better that I have been, and I am so grateful for the opportunity.  However the most important  thing for us was seeing How Rob and Jo work together at a job that never ends, with constant call outs day and night.  The pride they take in their work, and the  affection and respect they have made amongst they island people has made us so very proud of them both.  Yes we know there are many Remote area Nurses, but I believe these two are special and will be remembered for a long time once they depart the Torres Islands in January to go home for a well deserved rest.   Thank you Rob and Jo with all our heart for making this possible, and thank you my face book friends for convincing me to overcome my fear of flying and just come.

 

God Bless the RAN,S

 

 

The fishing trip, and the body bag.

Bens blog.

Right, so Friday afternoon, dad comes home with grandad saying, "grandad is going out with a local fisherman, reef fishing then spending the night on a sand cay and returning Sunday - do you wanna go?" I think for a bit and think, 'nah, it'll be hot, and nasty out on the sand cay for the night, I better not' but then I think about grandad all alone except for a man he has never met, out at sea for two days...... Yeah I better go.

Saturday, 7:50 - I get up and pack my fishing gear ready for the crazy doom awaiting me, as dad patches up my hand with brown goop, then green goop (that stung like hell) and a nice big dressing to limit infection then he went into the store room and came out with two (what looked like, grey tarps) and said " here, you can in these, there body bags...."

Sooooo, I'm going out in a dingy, with a guy I've never met, staying the night, in a BODY BAG, on a blip of sand a 3rd the way to PNG.... Fun!

Skip a few minutes - now I'm standing on the jetty packing my snorkelling gear, cray-fish spear, fishing lines, pillows and my body bag into the 5ft boat and now we're ready to set sail! Or well... Motor...

It's now 10:00am, it is stinking hot, in glaring sun, with no shelter in the middle of the ocean fishing. Sweating bullets and not catching anything I pray to God for a little cloud cover to take the heat away. Be careful what you pray for! I got my cloud cover! But with it, brought rain, and storm, and wind. Wind = big seas, and the big seas = sea sickness. Now I've never been known to get sea sick but I had never felt so miserable!

3:00 - The fisherman, looks up and says to grandad "come on we better get him to some land" me pretending not to hear, but desperately hoping this means back to Darnley, is shocked and annoyed to find us now traveling northwards further. After about 5 minuets the old bloke points out a tiny speck of sand on the horizon.

We finally arrive at the classroom sized sand island and the fisherman, jumps off and orders me to do something with the anchor, as I try to fiddle with the ropes,I apparently do something wrong as he starts shouting abuse and nasty words my way. Finally we offload the sleeping gear as I lie down and try not to throw up, pull out the tarp, food, water and body bags and then old mate jumps back in the dingy! And says I'll be back later, I'm going fishing again..... There he goes, disappears off the horizon leaving grandad and I standing on a desert island wondering "what now?"

Ok, so this fishing trip isn't exactly enjoyable, it's starting to make grade 9 camp look like a holiday. Grandad and I have a look around at the little cay, littered with sand dollars, sea bird eggs, and turtle tracks that look like the single track of a 4X4. Grandad picks up some shells as I unfold my body bag, thinking "man, I hope these arn’t recycled" and slowly crawl inside it, grab my pillow and zip it back up again. I wonder if it's considered taboo sleeping in a body bag?

As it gets too hot in the afternoon sun I decide to climb back out of my body bag and have another look around, and I hear the tell tail sound of a 4stroke engine coming our way. Old mates back on dry land with a little mackerel, some coral trout and a trevaly in the cooler.

So, sandwiches for dinner and I climb back into my sorry excuse for a bed and hope to get a little sleep. But no.... Grandad and the fisherman stayed up all night talking about gold panning and cats getting eaten my dingos and other random things leaving me sleepless.

Sun up, so is everybody else. Old mate has gone back out fishing off the horizon while grandad and I wander aimlessly around in circles on the sand cay. When he finally returns, we pack up, load up, and start mackerel trolling. We got a few nice beasts and then it got boring as we put the troller lines away and got out the hand lines. I did manage to bring up a nice 5ft bronze wailer and to my horror the fisherman pulled out a lump of wood and started beating it repeatedly over the head until it stopped flipping, he then cut the line and let the dying shark float to the bottom. This happened a few more times with other sharks brought up, a couple of white tip reef sharks and heaps of black tips. It was painful watching this man bludgeon such a beautiful animal half to death just so it wouldn't take the fishing line again. Heaps more trout, lots of snapper (which were all thrown back for what ever reason possessed him to do it) and a few other random fish whose names were all muttered in creole.

Then finally the thing I'd been waiting to hear the the whole 48 hours was, "so ya ready to head back?" "YES!" I couldn't help myself, I just Blurted it out. I was so relieved to be back on Erub, or at least to be able to see Erub properly.

Back in the comforts of my island home, with a roast in the oven waiting for my girl to come on Facebook for my afternoon chat.

Finally out of the nightmare, and living the dream once again!

Yawo. 

Our Clinic is Our clinic again!!!

Haaaa! the relief of getting your own clinic back!!  Jo and i had the rare experience last week of having the Midwife here for a couple of days, the Mental health team all three people and a strait jacket (note spelling) , a relief nurse that was supposed to give Jo and I some time off with Mum and Dad who are here to visit.  We have Heidi here a Graduate RN learning the outer island RAN ropes, and with all the comings and goings, our little clinic was a busy place reminiscent of a baseball field with all bases loaded.

This week, it is just us and Heidi....and today in the clinic was just so peaceful!!! It was noce to get our own rooms back and get on with core business.  Our immediate boss is away at present, so the running of the clinic has fallen on our shoulders.  I must admit that management is not my thing but we are bummbling along and i feel we are doing a great job in what is becoming a busy pre christmas clinic. 
The affirmation you get from elderly (previously non compliant folk) who have not come to the clinic for months.  Jo has one such patient...a matriach of the island, who attends the clinic when she deems it necessary, but lately has not missed an appointment with Jo, and is taking all her meds.  Wounds that she has had (non-healing) for months, are starting to heal.  Whoop whoop!!!   Of course I know that it is Jo's excellent wound care, but the rapport that Jo fosters with the most difficult of patients is to be seen to believed.  Getting them through the door to the clinic is half the battle.

Mum and Dad continue to experience the Island culture and life style.  Mum has been counting fish species that we have had for kaikai (food).  Today we got given another two different fish that we haven't tried before.  One , called an Errarr (sp) or blackfish, is venomous.  Like a happy moments, but apparently delicious cooked in a coconut milk curry, or roasted like chicken.  The advice given to me is "be careful if the spines, they be go prick you , you be prapa hurting"!!!

We however remain adventurous in diet as we are in off duty entertainment activities!!  Dad and Ben and I went spotlighting in the low tide fish trap last night.  You apparently shine a strong torch onto the sand holes, and octopus sit beside their hole mesmerised by the light.  Knock them on the head and you have a quick easy dinner...Calamari (of sorts) the fresh easy way!!  as it turned out there was no octopus to be seen, but seeing the bright orange eyeshine of shrimps, prawns and crabs made for an interesting night time activity on the reef and I am looking forward to doing it again soon.

The fishing has been a bit off over the last few weeks, which is sad because i promised Dad some awesome fishing,; still he enjoys trying, and it is nice to see him just easing in to the island way of life.  Daily they meet locals and discuss the issues that need to be discussed.  Mum and Dad are like people magnets, and everywhere they go, people ask them if they are Rob's Mum and Dad. 

The EBAY Barge arrived today...we received FRESH friut and veges, FRESH meat, and some grog.  It was a good day.  The clinic got a good haul too.  The new fridge for our pharmacy arrived, along with new air conditioning units.  We got clinic supplies that are getting very very low, and the return of some broken medical equipment sent away on the day we came to the Torres.  This device is called a Hemocue, and it measures the red pigment in your blood.  A measure of iron levels and red blood cells. Well the device went to TI, then got sent to Melbourne, then came back to TI then returned here.  I turned it on after excitingly unpacking it, and it blinks once with error code   E02 !  so I look up the internet website for Hemocue.  I download the manual and errorcode list, and it tells me that error code E02 means thatthere is an electronic fault and the device needs to be returned to the manufacturer!!!!  Now this is where I got excited for another reason.  You see, I was under the understanding that when some Techy gets a device to fix in the factory, that they actually fix the bloody thing, TEST THE BLOODY THING, and then once they know that the device is working, THEN send it back!!!!!   I am really frustrated.  This tool allows me to check that a patient's haemoglobin is normal in about 30 sec.  Now we are back to take a formal venous blood stab samble, package it, refridgerate it, take it to the airstrip, load it in an esky on the plane, and then it travels 1 hour to Horn Island, it then goes on a Buss to the Horn Island Wharf...it then goes on a Ferry to Thursday Island and then a Bus to pathology to the hospital.  Upon reciept of the blood sample, one staff member processes and logs the sample, and another staff member (pathology assistant) takes a drop of blood and sticks in in a Hemocue to test it!!!!!   Can you hear my frustration?

All in all , I am happy with our Barge supplies.  What I am supposed to do with 2000 glass Vaginal microscope slides elludes me.  We just dont have that many vaginas on Darnley, but I suppose I can put them on the storage shelf along side the 80 boxes of 500 condoms.  That is a Vaginal slide to condom ratio of 1:20...Clearly we need more penises!!!

Now talking of the birds and the bees...Sally is 37 weeks pregnant.  She should have left the island a week ago.  She was booked on a plane for TI maternity unit this morning, but didnt get out of bed on time and missed her charter flight!!!  Now this would not be such a stress if Sally wasn't a grand multi with 6 other children, every baby has come early via normal delivery, and her last labour was 11 mins!!!  Joanne is sleeping in a gown and gloves!!

Well.  The sun has started its rapid desent into ocean on the western side of Erub.  The tide is on its way out which means that Sally wont deliver for another 6 hours.  These women only birth on an incoming tide!!   TRUE story!

Time to sign off.  I am still living the dream, but some days that dream is a bit of a night mare!!  all in all it is all good! 
Christmas is just round the corner, Grog came today on the boat, I have a new immunisation fridge and 2000 vaginal slides...what more could a man ask for? 
YAWO!!!!

Part of the family

What a week! Work wise it has been fairly quiet and Rob and I have had the luxury of 2 days off while a visiting nurse relieved us. Sam and Glenis arrived on Monday morning on a tiny plane. Glenis was so brave and overcame one of her biggest fears, flying, to come and visit us. They had a night on Horn Island and saw the sights there and then headed out to Darnley Island via Murray Island. Each time I stop and think and realise we are 20km from PNG and 1000km north of Cairns, it all feels very surreal. Its so good to share it with family, and know we will talk about this for years to come. This week my sister rang with the great news that she will be coming up for New Year with us so we feel so blessed to have a supportive family to share this madness with!

Since Monday, we have eaten 6 different varieties of fish. We have had mackeral, sardines, javelin fish, rock cod, coral trout and sweet lip. Its so good to hunt and gather your food but to be honest, each time we go fishing we seem to come home with a gift from someone else. I am not sure if they feel sorry for our fishing ability or if its just the generosity of people here. But we have been very lucky with the kindness of the locals here. Each fish is a bit different but so fresh and delicious. I went to the shop on Thursday to get some red meat for a break. All I could find was some kangaroo mince! But, turns out it makes a delicious bolognaise, and no one was any the wiser, until now, when they read the blog! Still I think Sam and Glenis have enjoyed all the fish meals....

This morning we headed out to the beach for a swim and snorkel. We have really high tides at the moment so it was lovely to enter the beach from the sand. At low tide, the water goes way out and you have to go in via a lot of rocks. It can be difficult entering the water and not slip on the rocks so this morning was perfect. The water was so clear and there was just a gentle swell. We all floated around for over an hour and Rob took his Dad for a snorkel around the rocks. In amongst, the palm trees, the coconuts and the turquoise water, it was hard not to feel like life was pretty good.

This afternoon we went to the funeral of a well respected member of the community who died in Cairns 2 weeks ago after a long battle with illness. He left the island before we arrived so we never had the chance to meet him. But it was fitting to go to the funeral and it was one of the most moving services I have been to. It started in the church next to the clinic with a service that went for about an hour and a half. Eulogies were said and many hymns sung in both English and Creole. Then the casket was loaded onto the back of a ute and a procession of cars and people walked up to the graveyard, about 1km away. The graveyard here has graves dating back to the early 1900's. It is filled with huge frangipani trees of all colour and they provide shade and perfume. About 200 people sat around on chairs under the tress. One of the elders bought in his guitar and the whole community joined in singing hymns interspersed with more words from the minister. It was such a peaceful atmosphere. At times, the sounds of sobbing and wailing were heard but the overall feeling was restful. The coffin was lowered into hole and then about 20 of the men from the family took it in turns with shovels, to fill in the grave. As some got hot and tired, others stepped up to relieve them and share the task. All the while, gentle hymns were sung with the accompanying sounds of the guitar. I can honestly say, it was one of the most moving and peaceful ceremonies I have ever attended. It felt surreal, sitting high on a hill, surrounded by frangipani trees, in the middle of the ocean.......one more amazing memory to add to the collection. Yawo!

Birthday Weekend 19-20 Nov By Rob

Birthday Blog. 19 November 2011

Birthdays are a funny thing.  A celebration of the day you were born.  Our culture (white, angilo-saxon Caucasian middle Australia) reveres the anniversary of the birth.  Birthdays are often look forward to as a day of rest, and in many cases, there are gifts and presents, being spoiled and just generally being made to feel special for nothing other than to have turned another year older.  At 43 today, I think about the lunacy of such shenanigans and muse at the culture we have.  Yesterday (19^th Nov) was actually the “birthday”  but another quirk on our family is that a birthday is often an event that spans a weekend or even longer.  Parties are sometimes used to celebrate the occasion, but as we merge into adulthood, parties seem to be bestowed on those that are having a special birthday. 18ths, 21sts, 30, 40, 50, and so on.  You are probably wondering why I am speaking about a celebration with which you are all familiar, in a blog that journals our experiences in the Torres?   Well I am coming to that, so don’t be so impatient.

First, the last month.  Here on Darnley we have had an interesting month of fun and games.  On 11.11.11 I was First to find Australia’s most northern Geocache…and for those that know the www.geocaching.com treasure hunting game, that is a achievement.  There was the usual sporadic sick patient came in and needed to be flown out.  The Island has had contractors for a telecommunication giant that we all love to hate, have been here fixing, or maintaining equipment.  Our internet speed is appalling, and with the salt air and the high winds on the top of the hill where the tower is, metal fatigue and weather takes its toll.  There have also been Concrete contractors here rebuilding the roads.

These boys with limited hygiene, poor nutrition, high alcohol and drug intake are up here chasing huge dollars; and poisoning their livers in the process.  Anyone with a basic nutrition understanding would know that good nutrition, healthy lifestyle = healthy immune system, and this area is often sadly lacking in these itinerant workers.  The climate up here above 9degrees south is one that breed are funkiest of tropical bacteria and parisites.  The smallest scratch from slipping with a screwdriver, or skin burn from constant contact with cement powder turns rancid in a matter of hours in young men with next to no resilience. 

That last month has been a potpourri of skin infections, dental issues, and general health breakdown.  One boy who was sick and tired of toothache decided to go “old school” to get relief, and armed with some hefty mates with a set of pliers, and a skin full of local grog, sought to effect his own dental extraction.  Now this would not normally be an issue in middle Australia, where pain killers and dentists are plentiful, but in an environment where salt water is not the same as home, skin wounds and dental sockets tend to get infected fast.  The pliers in this boy slipped and he snapped his tooth off, leaving an infected cavity that resembled a volcanic crater with it’s own sulfurous cesspool of organisms intermingled with food residue.

250km from the nearest dentist, and he gets me!!  Ive got dental solution, toys to squirt saline in the crater, and antibiotics.  Ife got a good light, some sharp thingies, and this magic stuff called Cavit.  It is like window seal putty.  You mold it into tiny balls, and push it into the  hole in the tooth.  Kind of like blue-tak in its consistency but when you ask the patient to rinse and spit with cold water, it sets the filling like cement.  Now I know what you are thinking.  Why would Robert seal an infected cavity?  Well I wouldn’t.  Through the magic of artistic writing, the time line in this story has been skewed.  I treated him with painkillers and cleaning and antibiotics one week, and got him back for a filling a week later…but this job is soo cool, and throws curve balls all the time.

Another white worker with toothache sought refuge in Vodka and Panadol.  Those in the industry know that more than 16 panadol is lethal poisoning.  He had consumed 72 panadol (3 every 2 hours) over the previous 2 days, and when he presented peeing blood, abdominal pain and with abnormal liver function studies, it was time to call God’s mixmaster  (the helicopter) and get him to TI.  Paracetamol OD be it accidental or intentional is a recipe for a coffin, and with a huge consumption of alcohol to numb his toothache, on top of the poisoning, he was lucky to still be alive.  I heard that he was discharged from TI a couple of days later, and was back on the job in Boigu Island north west of here.  My mate Gary on Boigu was looking after him and he was doing OK.

The month has not been without it’s ugly moments.  Amy has been bullied at school a bit while we have been here, and last week a boy hit her (normal thing for a kid who sees it daily).  We were livid, and when we tried to have a yarn with the Kid, his mother got a little toey with Jo.  I thought that Jo was going to thump her, but after calming down, and a mediation with the school, the mummies came to an understanding that they were just doing what mummies do…protect their cubs.  All is good now, but ugly business.

Now, some awesome news.  The Coles order came.  Boxes and boxes of real groceries!!  The pantry looks normal again.  Opening the boxes was like Christmas…expensive but really lifted our spirits.  We have TimTams and Tacos and other little tastes of home.  It is so nice.  My Mum and Dad come tomorrow, so it is so good that the groceries came in time for them.

Mum is a nervous flyer.  She hates little planes.  She is going to be, either very brave, or very drunk!  Today they fly to Horn Island and spend the night in the Gateway resort, about which I have blogged previously.  Then first thing tomorrow morning, they are off in the Westwing to Darnley via Murray Island.  I didn’t have the heart to tell mum that it was two take offs and two landings.  I also didn’t tell mum that Darnley has one of the shortest and most difficult air strips in the Torres, but I have always been taught by here, that if you are in for a penny , you are in for a pound.!!

Dad is like a kid waiting for Christmas.  I am so excited to show them the beautiful raw paradise that Erub is.  The beaches, and the fishing, and the catch your own sardines for dinner, and the Jetty, and the shells.  I want them to experience the reef from above and below the water line.  This anticipation is a welcome emotion.  And as I sit here looking at the coral reef view from my kitchen/lounge, I think to myself…wow, how lucky we are.

My birthday this year was out of this world…literally.  It was experienced in a plave that so few will ever see.  An elder told me the other day, that more people have been to Antarctica than Darnley Island.  Isnt that a special location for a birthday.  In a culture that reveres birthday celebrations, I find myself in one where Dates of birth are seldom remembered, and many people don’t accurately know how old they are.  Birthdays are not big occasiona here.  18^th and 21^st and 80^th birthdays are common, but it is amazing how many people put 1.1.19xx or 1.7.19xx as their date of birth, because they just don’t really know.

Last thing I wanted to talk about this blog is funerals.  A respected elder , a man in his early 50s (ill let that sink in) …. Died last week.  I am not sure it is culturally appropriate to mention names, but for the purpose of this blog, it is not necessary.  The man will be expatriated back her from where he died in Cairns, and the whole community will lay him to rest.  The event will be next Saturday, and the whole island will shut down.  I am sad for his family and community, and respectfully will attend the funeral with my family.  It will be a spectacle of colour, culture and sound.  It will be an opportunity for Mum and Dad to see the community spirit and connectedness of the people here, and a testament to perhaps one of the strongest lessons that Jo , the kids and I have learned here.  That is the lesson of togetherness. One we perhaps don’t really get in mainstream Australia.  With that thought I will leave you.  Enjoy your Sunday, enjoy your week, and most of all, seek to connect with someone that you havn’t spoken to in a while, because it is good medicine.

From 9 Degrees South

 Yawo

Epaulette-Cray and the dive. (from Ben)

So this is my second edition to this blog, and as I had explained in my first, I have a great interest in the marine world and its fauna, so a lot of my blogs are going to have something to do with the critters I have found and mingled with during my reef experiences.

First of all I will explain about a particular species of shark that has been popping up everywhere! Yes this story has been blogged about very briefly in one of mum’s blogs but one night at the wharf we were fishing and I had the amazing experience of hand-landing a male epaulette shark. Now these only grow to just over a meter and are often kept in house hold reef aquariums. So after the exiting catch of the night I went home satisfied that I had seen and handled a wild epaulette. Skip a few weeks forward and I got taken out in a dingy, cray diving, with some boys. Whilst our dive, I did the routine bomie check where I swim down and check under the large coral out crops for the tell tail feelers of the painted cray, and this time I saw the blade like tail of another epaulette shark, This time a large mature female. Ignoring common sense I plunged my hand into the rocky fissure and clamped my gloved hand around her tail. After a gentle tug I had her out in the open holding her like Steve Irwin with an aggressive tipan and the looks on the blokes faces were priceless! After securely grabbing he shark just behind the head I felt quite safe to swim with this beauty for a bit, until I loosened my grip… she swung round with almighty force and lunged at me, luckily she didn’t get me, only a mouthful of my favorite red shirt. After getting heaved into the boat with the thing still hanging from my shirt I managed to remove it and renewed my grip behind the head as I jumped back in the water. Slowly and carefully I released her and she shot off like a bat out of hell back to her cosy rock hole. Wow what an experience and a holy red shirt to show it.

Snorkeling yesterday afternoon yielded well, with two more epaulette sharks found (no more attacks) a few nice pearl shells for the collection and a little cray speared from the reef (by little I mean, just classes as a prawn…)

Haven’t kept the tradition of writing this while waiting for my sis this time but hey, next time ill probably get board with no akas to talk to and I will retreat to the ipad to write my next blog, so until then..

Yawo! 

catch up!

Well, its been a while. Apologies to our regular readers. It has been a full on couple of weeks, not just with work stuff but other things going on as well. Some nights when we come home, all the way across the 2 car, carpark, our head space is just so full, its hard to know where to start to write or even what to write. Each day is different with different challenges so perhaps that is why its hard some days. I really admire Rob for writing every night when he was away. I had a bit of a part to play as I would nag him when he didn't  as I loved to hear his stories.

So here goes.One of our biggest challenges in the past couple of weeks has been Amy. She has really struggled with a lot of bullying issues at school and a lot of people we have spoken to have identified it as a bit issue with the school and the kids here. Its hard to instil resilience when you are feeling challenged by that yourself! It all came to a head last Friday when Amy was punched at school. So, long meeting at school and some strategies in place and we all feel a lot better about school. The principle was very supportive and saddened by what had happened as she had not been informed. It was so good to be heard and acknowledged and hopefully the last 2 weeks here will be smooth sailing so Amy can feel good about her time here and leave with good memories. I think she has had the hardest job here and Rob and I are so proud of her and hope that this experience will help her sometime later in life.

Ben has had some interesting adventures. Last weekend we were fishing at the jetty and a group of blokes were going fishing for the day and invited him along. Off he hopped into the dingy, into the deep blue ocean in the direction of....more blue ocean. Ben returned 10 hours later, surprisingly not sunburnt, sporting a big hole in his t shirt where a little shark he had dragged out of a crack in a rock, had turned around and grabbed him!!!! Trying not to be alarmed, we welcomed him home!!!!! Oh yes, the Steve Irwin in our Ben lives on.

There are apparently 5 churches here on the island. We have been to two of them now. The latest one we attended is right next door to the clinic and the view from inside the building is blue, blue ocean, not that I was distracted at all!! Its a bit more contemporary although the hymns are sung in creole and English so we are able to join in every now and then. Ben took his guitar along last weekend and everyone enjoyed hearing him play.

As far as work is going, I am continuing to learn everyday. I think I can diagnose scabies at 50 paces now and am getting my head around what is important to keep a big stock of in the pharmacy. Its been a great way to remember what medication treats what. Looking after the pharmacy has become my role and it fits well with my need to organise stuff! last week I did my first suture job and also got to practise some cannulation on a young fellow who had taken 36 panadol in 24 hours for a tooth ache! We flew him out pretty quickly and hope his liver survived!! Its good to slowly get to know people better, especially some of the island elders who just have the most amazing stories to tell. We have been lucky that the pace has not been frantic and its OK to just chat and take the time to listen without having to rush through assessments. Rob and I are also becoming quite proficient at dentistry and have done a few temporary fillings on some fairly ordinary looking teeth! I think its just because we like playing with the dentist chair, and Rob has a new light that is like a hiking head lamp, which he wears during these sorts of procedures. I really do try not to laugh!!!

One of the things we really love is going down to the wharf at night or the boat ramp and fish with the locals or just sit back and watch all the action. The kids are amazing and start so young. They just know the ocean intimately and when and what to cast. we know its going to be a good fishing night when there is a good turn out. I couldn't resist this photo, I am sure that as soon as he can walk he will be fishing!!!

OK, well we are now 8 weeks before we head home to Meringandan. I have a real longing to be home, be in our place, with friends and family, hug my dog, play in the garden. But it will also be with a sadness that we leave this place. Its rawness has shown us a side of life that has to be experienced to be believed and I can't help but feel that one day we will come back.

Seen but never heard

Ok so, I am new to this blog so bear with me. Anyway, I am the son of Rob and Jo and as the title suggests, I am often seen throughout this blog but as I have said I, haven't had any input so far, so  today as I sit in the sweltering school yard, waiting for Amy to be let out of school, I think meh why not? May be good to have a third voice in the party. First of all, most of you already know me but those who don't, I have been interested in marine biology and anything remotely aquatic since a very young age, having both parents as experienced scuba divers and multiple fish tanks filled with a menagerie of weird and wonderful critters scooped out of local creeks all though out my early child hood and my first word being "fish"' It's no wonder there is a strong interest in this field. So look where I am now! A blip of rock floating in Australia's arafura sea, surrounded with untouched, century old reefs and marine habitats.... Liven the dream!

Ok so from reading the previous blogs you would already know about our several weeks here on erub and the 3 spent on masig, but here is a run down from a teenage point of view. School school school, dad goes north to saibai island (this far off land I have never heard of), dad returns - yay! Story's are told and interests are gained, dad leaves again to another far off land he called "Darnley" or something like that, dad returned - yay, more stories told ,this place is starting to intrigue me! I start googling "Torres strait" as we had only ever learned about our aboriginal heritage in school, never our tropical cousins, dad leaves again, this time for yam (this time I know what he is talking about and it doesn't seem so far of and mysterious as I had put in relentless hours on google earth during study time at school....) dad returned with news. We are going north! Now it seems a little remote and scary again! Weeks and months pass and then starts the packing, say good bye to friends and get on the plane and watch as our rides get smaller!

Yorke: wow was that place beautiful! The reefs and the ideal beaches were just incredible! This place was just like a holiday!

Darnley: when we landed here I noticed this island is much bigger then the tiny masig, but just as beautiful. Ok let's move forward a few weeks. Here I am now, homesickness is running raw, with a world of experiences and knowledge (both found out the hard way and been told) and this is more then a dream, this is reality. It is times like this u realise dreams turn into realties, and when you can understand that is possible, then anything becomes possible - you just need to learn to dream! (this is my own personalisation of something I read in "lionheart" the book I'm reading for English)

So yes I know this edition hasn't exactly been as heart warming and newsy as mum and dad's blogs but this is just an introduction to my experience and views on this trip, hopefully I will be adding my thoughts and entrys to this blog over the course of our time here on erub.

So for now, yawo!  

Steel. The Man of steel.

Steel wool like hair.  Eyes like a steel trap.  Hand on the throttle like a steel cable.  Concentration as sharp as a steel fine edged knife.  Uncle, navigated the waves for 50 minutes , sometimes higher that the dingy was long, and in no tome we were on Stephen Island.

Stephen Island is a volcanic rock about 20 km north of Darnley.  It is home to about 80 islanders.  It is serviced by a clinic that has a trainee health worker and that is about it.  Today at 215pm-I get a call from the health worker asking me what sort of needle she should use for putting in a drip.  ALARM BELLS!!

I contacted the oncall doctor, and all the managers in TI to discuss the "lack "of services for the health worker, and it was suggested that I jump in a dingy and make the 1 hour trek to Stephen Island to help assess and treat the patient.  An elderly man has deteriorated in his health. and may need to be Medevac airlifted to Thursday Island.  But with lack of services and staff with assessment skills, a RN was needed.

So off I go in the dingy of a man I never met, into an ocean that i never boated in, and to an island that i had only heard of.  What an amazing experience.  Turtles, dolphins, and massive sharks  all visible over the vast coral reef beneath us.  We arrived at Stephen Island and docked the dingy. I asked a kid on the beach where the clinic was, and he walked me to the clinic.  We seemed to be going the long way, and when i asked him why we were walking in circles, he responded with "there is mad dogs that way".  Note to self.  when on Stephen island ...take the Left road to the clinic on the right of the island!!!

We arrived at the clinic, and a man (I didnt know) in a Ute I hadn't seen, and took me to a place of a man with a sickness that I hadn't yet assessed.  I introduced myself to the son and  the elder.  Assessed the man and stuck in the drip.  It is now 430pm.  After phoning the doctor and being told that the Medevac chopper is busy in Saibai, i treated the patient for his ailment gave an adhoc inservice to the health worker on the management of the Patient with an IV.
It is now 530pm and I am running out of light to be stuck at sea on Stephen Island with no one i know.

I went back down to the jetty, where Uncle (the man of Steel) was waiting, and we headed home to Darnley.
Half way near the Island of Nepean (uninhabited due to Ghosts and Bad Poripori)  the engine failed on the dingy.  Uncle ripped off the top of the motor, played with something, poured in some greenish fluid, and cranked it over again.  Turtles are surfacing around us, and he asks me to "jump in and grab one"  I decline, and he rolls his steel eyes.  The engine kicks to life and we are 30 mins from home but 25 mins from dark.and we are on our way throught 2 m seas, Darnley Island clearly on our horizon

The race is on.  Waves or light.  Flip a coin!!

Waves won, ...although shaken to the bone, and wet through from the spray, the Sun beat us to the horizon and we arrives 10 mins after sundown.  The patient has been treated.  A Medevac has been avoided.  $20000 of helicopter has been avioded, and I am safe home in my unit with Jo and the Kids.  It has been a Hay and a half.   This Bacardi has never tasted so good!!!

I love my wife for covering the oncall phone for me.  Awesome experiences...that is the Torres!!!

Half way mark

Well its been a mad couple of weeks on Darnley Island. Not crazy busy but relentless. We have had another couple of medivac retrievals and much of the routine. I think the thing that Rob and I are finding the hardest is the oncall stuff....not feeling like we ever really leave work. Sleeping with one eye open, one ear alert for the phone. Perhaps we are too diligent but its hard not to be when the health resources are so scarce. This week we had 20 hours without any phones. This isolated us even more as even our lifeline to TI hospital and the amazing group of doctors on the end of the phone, was gone. It was an eerie time and hard not to think through a whole heap of scenarios and how we would manage by ourselves. The night before the phones went down there was a car roll over on one of the hills here. Its quite steep and apparently the brakes failed on the car and it started to roll down the hill. Amazingly, a small rock stopped the car and it balanced precariously on the edge of a steep gully while the two in the car managed to climb out of a back window. We flew one out in the early hours of the morning with chest injuries. How the car stopped and how there was not more carnage is remarkable. One of the occupants of the car is one of the ministers on the island....divine intervention????

We have had some more snorkling adventures and nice evenings on the beach watching the sunset. Its so peaceful late afternoon and its a great way to wind down and enjoy the beauty of this place. On the weekend we also spent some time swimming at the boat ramp while Rob fished. The mackeral season is about to start so the activity on the jetty is building too. Its just awesome to watch the little ones fish and casually pull in a big fish, while the 4 of us are leaping around  with excitement when we pull in something the locals would use for bait! Rob is waiting for his second fishing rod to arrive. The first snapped in half last week when something BIG took off with his hook. As I write this, I think....why do we swim here??????

November 1st is a special holiday here. Its all Saints Day. It celebrated the opening of the church on the island in 1871 when the missionaries brought religion to the island. There were a number of missionaries prior to this but they were not well recieved, and I think are buried somewhere on the island! Anyway, we were invited to a night of feasting and island dancing to celebrate the occasion. The home that held the event had been beautifully decorated with palm leaves and flowers and other plants. We sat outside on a HUGE verandah overlooking the ocean. Everyone bought a dish to share and it was lovely to sit back and enjoy a variety of different food - getting a bit sick of my own cooking!! It was also nice to know a few more people and chat to some of the locals and enjoy the evening. Amy had a few friends who she roared around and giggled with and Ben, well, he did some palm plating with one of the local ladies(?)

After a delicious meal that included turtle, sop sop (vegetables cooked in coconut) and a huge range of other goodies, the dancing started. Its not just the dancing but the singing and the island drums. Its amazing to sit amongst people who are singing their hearts out to traditional song and 7 - 8 are playing the warup ( island drum). From the youngest to the elders, all sing along heartily. The men do most of the dancing and its tribal and fierce but we were treated to a dance by some of the ladies in their colourful island dresses and it was beautiful and the music very different and relaxing. I sat back and listened to it all and felt very honoured to be there, right there, and be a part of a special day here on Darnley island

Big week 23 Oct

Robs Blog

Sunday 23^rd October

Big week in little Darnley.  There have been comings and goings.  Our friend Bec from Toowoomba has been staying with us and learning some culture and how things are done the island way.  On Wednesday Lucy and Lizzie our health workers said to me – “go take the net and catch some sardines for kaikai (food)”  So I did, and in 15 mins with a quick instruction on using a cast net from Lizzie, we had a 10L bucket full of Ariari (soft sardines).  The girls scaled and shallow fried them whole with some coconut rice, and we had a feast for Wednesday lunch.

The look on Bec’s face as she ate her first Sardine whole was priceless. But with a selection of dipping sauces, they were beautiful. And you cant get fresher than Live

In the bucket at 1201, and fried crunchy by 1205.  Yummo!!!

The wind has been blowing and so the fishing has been off this week, which is just as well, because it has been a messy week in the clinic with domestic violence and sick people with a cluster of whooping cough, Hearing team were here (or hear) and that gave us a great opportunity to learn some assessment techniques from the ENT team.  The Public health inspector came and did an audit of the Dangerous Drugs that are kept in our safe.  Now I though I knew my regulations, but this bloke was a walking almanac of legislation!!!  So, as it turns out the safe needs to be bolted to the wall, and ours isn’t!!!!  I didn’t know that it wasn’t.  It is a heavy safe, but I am just hoping that he will be lenient, because the fines are huge!!

He also inspected the council tip.  Like Saibai, the waste from the clinic all goes to the dump which is a bit of a worry, because the public can access it.  You might recall one of my blogs on http://robsoverthetop.blogspot.com where kids at the Saibai school turned up with used blueys, dressings and bandages, and dressing trays!!!   Nasty!  So the PH guy was a little worried about that issue happening here.  Changes are on the wind.

The white cops came yesterday also.  A young woman was assaulted by a bloke on Wednesday night, needed to flee for her safely and whin Domestic Violence hot line is called by women, a mandatory police report is filed.  This lead to the cops ringing us at 9 yesterday morning asking for the clinic car to “do business”  an hour later, He is flown off in custody.  We can all sleep a little easier.

Snorkeling yesterday was good.  All except for a 5 m dark figure swimming past just on the edge of our visibility.  Yep…it is BIG tiger shark season, and so I gathered the kids close (surrounded me so I wouldn’t get eaten) and headed for shallower water.  Still I am a little spooked, but looking forward getting “back on the horse” so to speak.

OK well a quick blog today.  Things are going well.  This place is full of learning for Jo and I daily, but we are starting to acclimatize to the island way, the island clock, and the culture is more ways than I can blog.

Where are all the posts????

What a week!!! It has been full on, and then some. From a climate point of view it has been a windy week. The wind has howled each day whipping up the waves and making white caps. The sea has even looked uninviting, well, for the sea here. And, the fishing has been off!!! We have not eaten fish all week! In desperation tonight I defrosted some thai fish cakes I had in the freezer!!! Oh I miss the Meringandan pub. I am soooo looking forward to a night where I don't have to create a meal.

SO, I think the wind has also made everyone restless. We have been either dead quiet or crazy busy with whole families coming in with illness that needs treating. And remember, families here are not Mum, Dad and 2.1 kids!!!! So it takes a while. Last night we had 2 call outs, one at 8pm and then another at 2am. The paperwork trail and time consuming tasks involved in each visit meant we got into bed again at 4am. It was hard to go back to sleep with a variety of issues flitting around in my brain. Today, it was hard to pronounce some of the more intricate medications we have to dispense.

This week we have had Bec come to visit. She is a 3rd year nursing student who has come for a visit with us, to see what we do out here. Its lovely to have another person to chat with. I worry that we both just went "BLAH" when she first arrived and offloaded our first 5 weeks here. It must have been quite intense for her. But she is made of tough stuff and is a pleasure to have here, especially when she encourages the kids to clean up before we come home!!

Tomorrow, after all the recalls are done, I will take my camera out for a walk. I am going to do some gardening as well as the front of the clinic house is all over grown and over the past week I have gathered a few things to plant, 4 coconut palms and some frangipani trees. The cleaner at work has suggested I use bamboo leaves for mulch so we will gather some of that too. Its nice to be able to garden and throw my mind into something different that reminds me of home. Yawo!