WE ARE RICH

We are rich.

Yesterday our neighbours were from Germany. Sunday we worshipped with Uniting, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist (from UK) visitors at the Anglican church in Kununurra.
During the week we shared campgrounds with people from different parts of Australia. At Gregory National Park we met a couple from the UK and at Keep River National Park we had a chat with a women from the Netherlands.
A week ago we shared at a cottage meeting (Salvos) and fellowship tea at a home in Katherine and in Darwin we enjoyed the African led service at the Salvos.
What a richness there is in interacting with people from such a broad spectrum of backgrounds!

GLASS HALF-FULL or HALF-EMPTY

Glass half full or half empty.
My camera gave up the ghost, one of my walking shoes fell apart 2 kms from the end of the walk and we stayed at an overnight stop where a guy's 'camper van' went up in smoke. But we went walking in some amazing country in Gregory and Keep River National Parks, sat at the lookout at lake Argyle and watched the sun set, saw a couple of freshwater crocs sunning themselves on the rocks by the Ord River, had a Frilled Neck lizard wander past our van at the caravan park, saw a wallaby with a jokey that was so young it didn't even have fur on it yet, got surprised by couple of snakes along the walking track and saw another slithering through the rocks by the rock pool, watched crimson finches flitting about among the reeds, and saw thousands of bats swarming off to find food at dusk.

I can share Graham's (our) camera, I got a replacement pair of shoes for $2 at Vinnies and we are happy, safe and well. All is good.

What a wonderful journey we are sharing together.

Having Fun !!!!

On the road

On the road again.

After spending time with family and friends after returning from Africa we are ‘on the road again’. Leaving Brisbane behind it’s follow your nose, stop where you like and get back to Melbourne by December, or there abouts.

First unscheduled stop – Canarvon Gorge. Intriguing sandstone cliffs that catch the sun, birds twittering overhead, kangaroos grazing here and there, turtles and echidnas for the lucky – us - and platypus if you are lucky - and we weren’t but did try.

Walking tracks throughout the Gorge total over 20 kms until you get to ‘remote’ areas. And we had to try them all except the bluff – too sore! Day 2 we walked through the main gorge with its majestic white sandstone cliffs and into a dry deep amazing gorge, a couple of lush cool beautiful gorges, saw cliffs with aboriginal art on them, huge king ferns, very tall straight spotted gum, crossed over 40 water crossings (rocks to walk on provided), and stopped on the hour for food and water. Nine hours later we were done – in more that one sense.
There’s got to be a morning after – and there was. It was quite comical as we moved slowly, discovering muscles in our backs, legs and feet that we didn’t know existed! Lesson, better walking shoes, better backpacks and more ‘training’. But definitely worth the pain!
PS. Had 2 great overnights stops on the way up. Chinchilla weir – a lovely peaceful ’lakeside’ stop with power and toilets for free, (max 2 nights). And a convenient stop at Injune $12 – all usual facilities provided PLUS we had Telstra internet reception.

Zambia

How good to catch up with friends. Jim and Marion and Pete and Emma at Lusaka and Deryn and Anthony at Chikankata. Jim and Marion were great to us providing us with a base for our month in Zambia and taking us to Chikankata and then Livingstone where we visited Victoria Falls and Chobe Game Park. Both were amazing experiences - as was our eventful stay in Livingstone. In Lusaka and Chikankata we again enjoyed interacting with the African culture. Enjoying the rural setting of Chikankata and the markets and day trips from Lusaka.
What did I take with me from our visit to Zambia.
An awareness of
- The friendliness of the people
- The desire of these people to make their world a better place.
- The vast divide between rich and poor.
- The great pain that AIDS has brought to the people of Zambia.
- The many children with only grandparents or relatives left to care for them.
- Again the ability of people to find a way to earn money even if it is only a small amount from our perspective.
As we leave Africa I know that in time I will process my experiences and will be changed because of them.

The wonders of modern technology.

Glimpses of Africa 4 The wonders of modern technology!

The internet. It is our lifeline here to the rest of the world. It is part of life in western countries. Here it is still a dream for most people. Electricity isn’t even available to many of the areas of Mbeya – the city in Tanzania in which we are staying. In the rural areas it is hardly even thought about. This morning ladies came to the college to get water from the supplies here. Filling up their large buckets and carrying them away on their heads. What percentage of this city has running water I am unsure.
So is it any wonder that the young adults, most of them in their mid-twenties or over, who come to this college are starting from scratch with computers and have never sent an e-mail in their lives. What a privilege Shukrani college has to offer students experience in important skills for the business world of today.
But we see the struggle of students trying to master skills in IT when they have never touched a computer until their adult years. They can’t go home or back to their rooms and practice as most could never think of affording such equipment. But these are intelligent capable adults and young adults who are pursuing an education that will give them better opportunities in life.
As Graham struggles to teach an accounting package to these students on computers that are old by our standards and as we give them the opportunity to send some emails on a very slow Tanzanian internet, we are encourages that they are learning and be exposed to things which we in the ‘west’ take for granted.There are a couple of students who have good computer and IT experience and some who have exposed themselves to the very slow internet cafes that you can find in this part of Tanzania.