Eruption - 3. Erupt Ch 3

“Yes Aunty, in the kitchen,” I replied, as I flicked the switch for the kettle to boil again, before grabbing my cup of tea, which I had made a few minutes earlier. “Oh look we have breakfast all prepared for us, how wonderful,” Jillian said on seeing the dining table all set out.

After sitting down, I waited for Aunty Jos to finish making two cups of tea before joining us at the table, “So what are the plans for today?” I asked. “Unfortunately I have work to go to shortly, luckily my practice is just two doors down the street, so I don’t have far to go,” Jillian responded.

“Just the practice today or do you have hospital duties too?” Aunty Jos asked, “I have some minor surgery scheduled for this afternoon. What about you two, what are the plans?” Jillian replied, “Well, I thought we may have a look at the railway museum and the RFDS museum, as well as the Botanical Garden, the Desert Park, a look at the Telegraph Station Museum and Anzac Hill,” Aunty Jos replied.

“Wow, that sounds like a lot of things to do,” I commented in surprise, “Yes, there is plenty to see around here, in a few days we are going to do a three-day trip, flying out to Yulara to see Uluru, the Valley of the Winds and also Mt Woodroffe,” Aunty Jos said to me smiling.

“What is so interesting about this Mt Woodroffe?” I asked, “Well, interestingly, at over 1,400 metres high, it is the highest point in South Australia, but it is only about 35 kilometres south of the Northern Territory border and is just 140 kilometres south-east of Yulara,” Aunty Jos replied.

“That is a good enough reason to see it. I am presuming that we have to do some hiking to get to the top?” I asked, “Yes, I am afraid so, are you interested in giving it a go?” Aunty Jos asked me. “Yes, why not, since we can no longer climb Uluru, why not climb another mountain close by,” I replied.

After two days of exploring all the sights around Alice Springs, Aunty Jos and I set off to the airport early the next day, for the one-hour flight to Yulara, where we would be staying for two nights, with three days of exploring the central outback.

Seeing Uluru up close was an amazing experience, and the Valley of the Winds was great too, as we retreated to the Yulara Resort to just relax and watch an amazing sunset. The following day, we set off on a tour in an airconditioned 4-wheel drive bus, to Mt Woodroffe which took us nearly 4 ½ hours to reach.

When we arrived at the starting point of the hike, we were all handed a light backpack, each containing three flasks of fresh water, and two snack boxes, one containing our packed lunch, the other containing snacks to eat on the way up and back.

We were told that it was a five-hour return trip to the top, and after making sure that we all were wearing hats and had slapped on some sunscreen, we began the hike. “I believe that you can see Uluru and another mountain which is just 90 kilometres north of here from the top of this mountain,” Aunty Jos said after spending over an hour hiking up the mountain.

“Excuse me Tour Guide, what is the name of the mountain approximately 90 kilometres north of here?” Aunty Jos called out, and the Tour guide, Andy stopped and turned around. “That would be Mount Conner,” was the response.

We were indeed able to see Uluru and Mt Conner from the top of Mt Woodroffe, and the tour guide pointed out a smaller set of mountains in the foreground, which is where the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory is located.

We spent half an hour eating our lunch at the top of the mountain before we began the long hike back down again, and I was pleased that I had agreed to take the hike, as there are some amazing views from up there.

We were almost at the bottom when I heard someone in the group yell out, “Rocks, watch out,” but as I turned to see where the rocks were coming from, something hard hit me on the side of the head, and I fell on my side, with my head bouncing off the boots of Aunty Jos.

I felt myself being dragged before I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was on a stretcher, being carried along a path, and a helicopter came into view before I blacked out again. The second time I woke up, Aunty Jos was holding my hand and I looked around and realised that I was in a small plane.

“Hello dear, we are on an RFDS plane now, heading for Alice Springs, where Jillian will be meeting us at the hospital,” Aunty Jos said to me, as someone was shining a bright light into my eyes, which I closed and I soon fell asleep again.

When I woke up again, I was in a warm bed, and it looked like I was in a hospital. When I tried to move my head it was very painful, and I groaned. “Hello there, it is good to see you awake at last, we have had you in an induced coma for two days to get the swelling down.

The X-rays and CT scan show that you have no damage apart from a huge bump on the side of your head and a small cut where the rock hit you. You are a very lucky young man,” a voice said to me.

As my eyes started to focus, I could see that it was Jillian talking to me, and she smiled. “Joslyn will be in fairly soon, but before then let's do a few little tests to see how you are responding, then we will get a nurse to help you have a shower to freshen up,” Jillian said to me.

“Has Aunty Jos called home?” I asked in a croaky voice, “Yes she has, and she has been calling your parents every day with your progress, and she has assured your folks that you are in very good care,” Jillian replied, as she commenced to do a few checks to see how I respond to her requests.

Shortly after getting settled back in bed, after a refreshing shower, Aunty Jos arrived, and when she saw me awake, she raced to my bedside, “Hello you, I have been so worried about you, so have your parents and little brother,” Aunty Jos said to me as she leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek.

After about an hour of chatting, I began to get sleepy, which Aunty Jos noticed, so she said she would come back in the afternoon to see me again. I was in hospital for another four days, and when I was finally discharged, I was a little shaky standing up and walking, so I was told to take it slowly with getting mobile again.

For the first week since leaving the hospital, I remained in the house or sitting under the back patio at the house, with at least two swims a day in the pool to start getting fit again. With just over one week left of my holiday Down Under, I asked my parents to let me stay for another two weeks, which they agreed to.

I wanted to do some more sightseeing, but with Aunty Jos now back at work, she was only home on Friday nights and the weekend, so I had Jillian looking after me most of the time. But with her working five days a week, I was left to wander around Alice Springs, although I was permitted to drive Aunty Jos’s town car, a Toyota Rav 4 around town, using my Canadian Driver’s licence, and I just had to remember to stay on the left-hand side.

I was able to go and visit the West MacDonnell Ranges, to the west and Jillian recommended I do a trip out to Bond Springs Station which is just 30 minutes by road north of Alice Springs, for a few days of cattle station exploring.

At 370,650 acres, it is a small station compared to some around the Northern Territory and South Australia; Jillian said they have superb guest accommodation and a few activities as well, so I was looking forward to having a look around an active cattle station.

When I arrived at the station in the late afternoon, the temperature gauge in the car said it was still 36 degrees Celsius outside, which made me groan, but as I stepped out of the car, there was a cooling breeze, which made it feel a lot more comfortable.

“G’day, you must be Carson, I am Andy and this is my wife Fiona, welcome to Bond Springs Station,” the youngish man said as the couple approached the car, and I shook their hands. “Yes, that is right, Dr Jillian booked the accommodation for me for three nights,” I replied.

“You are Canadian?” the lady next to him asked, “Yes, that is correct, but I am Australian born, my parents are Australian too, but live and work in New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada,” I replied, glad that they didn’t say American, which every Canadian detests.

“Well welcome, let’s get you settled in. You have a guest bedroom in the main homestead, with your ensuite bathroom. Dinner will be at 7 pm, so you have a bit of time before then to have a look around the compound,” the lady – Fiona said to me.

After getting unpacked, I began to look around the inside of the homestead's main living areas, with its large dining room, family living room, library, and office and entered the huge kitchen, which was full of activity.

“Hello, you must be our new guest, Mr Newton, I am Lara, a backpacker staff member from Toronto,” the young lady said with a strong Canadian accent, and I smiled on hearing this. “Well my folks are in Moncton, New Brunswick; I was born in South Australia, but lived most of my life in Moncton.

My first name is Carson,” I replied. “Well it is wonderful to have a fellow Canadian here to stay, welcome, Carson,” Lara responded. “Thank you, everyone is very welcoming. So is this your main job here on the station?” I asked, “Heavens no, you have to be a Jack of all trades here.

Tonight I am the cook, in the early morning, I help out in the yards or with some fencing repairs, or I do the laundry, gardening and supervising the three children, and after lunch, I help with School on the Air, as the station is a little too far out for the kids to go to school in town,” Lara replied.

“Wow that is a full day for you, I guess you have to be fairly organised to make sure everything gets done,” I commented, “Yes, but once you get into a routine it is quite easy. Are you on a Gap year before going to university?” Lara replied.

“No, I finished my high schooling two years early, and went straight into University studies in Science and Psychology,” I replied. “Wow, that is some tough courses, and you can get through both courses, ok?” Lara responded.

“Yes, I am doing very well, and I have managed to get my driver's and private pilot licences between all of that, and I have completed my third year of Environmental Science and my second year of Psychology,” I replied.

“Well Mr Scientist, maybe you can help me, by going into the dining room, and in the sideboard dresser, you will find place mats, cutlery and plates for dinner and deserts,” Lara said to me, “Ok, not a problem, for how many people?” I replied smiling.

“Seven including you,” and I walked next door to the dining room and got to work, and after some searching all I could find was very good crockery and silverware, so I decided to go all out and set the table properly.

When I was all done, I went back into the kitchen to chat with Lara, and shortly afterwards, “Oh my goodness, this is… Lara, did you do this?” what sounded like Fiona’s voice, “Did I do what? … Wow! No, the credit for this goes to our guest here,” Lara said as she stepped into the dining room, with me following.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find any general-use plates, cutlery and glasses, so I just set out what I could find,” I replied from behind Lara. “As it happens, it is Andrew’s 36^th birthday today, so this will be a great surprise for him. How is dinner getting along?” Fiona replied.

“All organised, and will be ready on time,” Lara replied smiling, as Fiona retrieved her mobile and took some photos of the Dining Room setting.

“Excellent, well I am going to go and find Andrew, and keep him busy for a while and well away from the dining room, until the very last minute. Carson, you did a wonderful job, well done,” Fiona said to me before dashing down the hallway towards the master suite, exiting a few minutes later in outdoor work clothes, and heading outside.

I ended up helping Lara with finishing the icing on the birthday cake, which was carefully put back into the walk-in fridge, as that was for main desserts along with fruit salad and custard, and Lara filled me in on what happens around the station on an average day.

With three station hands and a head stockman, Andy is kept fairly busy with jobs around the station, including mustering by air, in the station helicopter, which is a Robinson R22 two-seater, along with the Cessna 206 used for most of the mustering, on this station and used to assist mustering on neighbouring stations.

“Maybe you can ask Andy to take you up in the chopper to have an aerial view of the station,” Lara suggested to me, as I helped with the cleanup and washing up. “I will ask if he gets the time,” I replied, although I had no plans of asking him, as he is no doubt very busy.

The surprise dinner for Andrew went well, and it was after dinner as Lara was busy in the kitchen cleaning up, and the children had been sent to bed when Fiona smiled at her husband. “It is my understanding that you have a private pilot's licence?” Andrew said to me. “Yes, that is correct. I’ve had it for about a year now,” I replied.

“Good news, maybe you would like to join me tomorrow as we go for a trip to check on some of the boundaries and water supplies in our more remote locations,” Andrew responded smiling.