Port Augusta, Living with Nuns and Flinders Ranges

I have been in Port Augusta for nearly a week. It has been a wonderful week with the Sisters of Mercy. I am staying with a Catholic group of 3 nuns sharing a house. One of them is my friend who I met many years ago as she was a circus performer, very good at handstands. Elizabeth has busked to fund raise and when we met she was writing a paper for National Institute of Circus Arts and interviewing me for her project. She was 18 back then and is now a wiser 26 year old with much experience under her belt. She was spiritual when I met her but moved into the Sisters of Mercy.

We’ve had some good time together. The weather here was overcast and raining up until a few days ago. I am told that is rare. Port Augusta is at the end of an inlet which is 280km long. I looked at a map and noted Adelaide is not on the southern coast but is sited at the beginning of this inlet (for want of another word). This 280km stretch of water has served as a Port and at the end where I am, I can see the coal powered station. The natural environment has mangroves and salt bush. The town of Port Augusta is outlined by two mountain ranges, Baxter range and Flinders Ranges. The latter has been very popular in Australian folklore and I have seen many paintings over the years inspired by this range. I will do a couple of blogs on the area.

What I love about the place I’ve been staying in is that they have solar panels on the roof, they catch grey water and have a water tank. Whenever I see more environmental sensitivity, internally I feel happy. Self-sufficiency is the future.

I have found myself quite tired which is why clowning has taken a back seat. The travelling and moving around in itself is full on, so I am not bothered too much if I don’t clown. I can do that when I feel inspired any-time. I trust life to flow as it should and feel no expectation to be anything or anyone. I am just allowing it to show up naturally. This is the work I am doing to unlearn what we are conditioned to do, be to have. I am seeking to be and there are no expectations attached. I see every day as purposeful.

Elizabeth was speaking about a 2 day trip 388km away. She doesn’t like driving as she gets sleepy. I impulsively offered to drive her over the weekend. She wanted to go to Barmera, this is in the Riverland area in an agricultural area. This country town is south east of Port Augusta, quite close to Adelaide but not too far from the NSW border. I didn’t have a great sleep the night before, but was able to drive. We borrowed the other nun’s car which was pretty new and had air-conditioning. As we drove we got to know each other better.

Elizabeth is a country girl and told me she grew up with two wonderful parents. She has a brother and sister. Her parents had children in their 30’s and were well travelled and mature for kids. So their childhood was a happy one. They were encouraged and supported in all they did. Apparently her mother is a power house and when she decides to do something goes and does it. She has travelled the world. She and Elizabeth’s father started up a potato farm which apparently was successful. It was broad acre farming. Elizabeth said there were a few organic growers around which her parents befriended, but they were traditional farmers and had a few employees to help with the farm.

The place she grew up in was called Kalangadoo (great name) and she went to school in Penola. The town is not far from Mt Gambia and the famous blue lake. Apparently the famous catholic saint (Saint Mary of the Cross) Mary MacKillop opened her first school in Penola and had an impact on Elizabeth. Apparently Elizabeth’s mum converted to Catholicism and Elizabeth did later on. Mary MacKillop joined the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart whereas Elizabeth is with the Sisters of Mercy. So they have dedicated their lives to serving humanity. When you meet Elizabeth you can see such an innocence in her yet she is becoming worldly. She had travelled to various countries around the world e.g. Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Israel, Spain etc. The work they do dove tails with social justice so they become exposed to the issues. I found the churches to be very active in communities.

Elizabeth has been to Baxter detention centre and a local, more humane one here in Port Augusta. She has cooked food with the Afghans and offered support. The other nun here is Vietnamese and her name sounds like Sweeden. She came from great poverty and lived near the Mekong Delta. Her family are in Adelaide. She explained she joined the Sisters to escape poverty. She shared that she had a love of music. The poverty in Vietnam would not enable her to learn music and there were more opportunities in Australia. Most Australian’s wouldn’t understand the real choices people from other countries have to make to have a better life, to fulfil their life potential. I encouraged her to be a musician if she loves that, she said if she would learn she would leave the Order, I said leave then. I believe if people want to do god’s work, follow your heart, the spiritual speaks through your feelings, it is not a theoretical exercise. You can’t try to be good, you just are and if you love something you naturally give. I can’t think of a better way for society to operate on the basis of doing what you love. We certainly wouldn’t have road rage, domestic violence and all the frustrations that we witness today if people were encouraged to live their dreams. It is finding the courage to give it a go.

So Elizabeth and I had a great talk. I was imagining the security of such a life of service yet for myself I’m not drawn to be part of a larger institution. I wish to just give of myself on impulse. I want to be free. The freedom I am experiencing is simply self-determination all the time. I am living like a person with endless resources, yet it is a narrow band on which I live. Fortunately I am not materialistic so there is not much I want. I love the mystery of everyday and I am exploring life with wonder. I am going with the flow as they say. I don’t want to feel I have to be something or have to be somewhere, just be where I am and let life come in all its colours. I have my down moments, still struggling with a situation, only one thank goodness. The rest of my life is actually fine and I am really healthy and I would say happy 90% of the time. Not a bad batting average ha ha.

Anyway as we travelled inland and through pastoral areas and towns, I just found myself taking in the beautiful environment. Admittedly it is mostly farms but there is nothing like driving through the country and seeing to the horizon. This is the magic of Australia it is a huge diverse country and you can easily get lost in nature, which is a real blessing. I notice how much the gum trees change and the nature. Some a stringy little trees, others large white ghost gums, some were dying, others thriving. The Murray Darling Basin. It is a large underground basin which feeds the Murray River that runs from South of Canberra across to Murray Bridge and out to sea. The Darling river runs from Northern New South Wales and feeds into the Murray just North West of Mildura. Mildura is known for citrus fruit. So it is an important river system and there has been much concern about the increasing salinity of the Murray Darling due to farming practices. It is a heavily agricultural area.

So as we drove we got to see some of the large lakes and the traditional Australian landscapes of gum trees. It was really interesting. I could see why they called it a Riverland area.

The Sturt highway runs through Barmera and it is sitting near Lake Bonney. They get into water skiing on this lake. I was told later that the river had dropped in water level over the years given the extensive drought and some tourists fell away but I am told the town is bouncing back now as the water is returning and they have a little beach. More people are getting onto tank water which is a good sign. We need to become (chorus) self sufficient.

We arrived at Barmera and Elizabeth got in touch with Father Paul. This was going to be interesting to find myself in the hub of a catholic community. I met with parishioners at a house. They were all chilling out on the deck. I told them I was a clown and one of the men felt he could rustle up a clown suit. I told them how Liz and I met. They were very hospitable and friendly. I love country people you can see a change in attitude immediately. They are very friendly and the children really engage. City families can be so separate, the tv is on or the kids are in their rooms on the computer or off doing their own thing. Here I felt a real sense of community amongst them. Also being part of a religious group they would have strong bonds as they share this love of god. I was tired that day so I went to lie down my friends went water skiing. Would have loved to have done it. Although the memory of one time I tried water skiing at a park where they have a square with a rope where it automatically goes round and round. So a false skiing experience. I remember lying in the water holding onto this bar with rope attached and nearly having my shoulders yanked out of my arm pits. It hurt. So that came back. Also my body is in the shape of a car seat so it is not used to taking the strain of having to be pulled up from the water and keeping the body tense for a jaunt around the lake. The thrill seeking in me would love it, the body went nuh (no). So I yielded to my tiredness. They all had fun and later on the clown suit was forgotten, I smiled.

We went out to a local Sport Club for dinner. I had some salad bar with hot vegetables and a nice glass of wine. Elizabeth is a vegan so she went for the salad. Some young guys were in a band and started playing. Nick was the son of one of the parishioners. He was an excellent drummer not unlike Phil Collins. They were a cute bunch of kids with bare feet (only in a country setting) and casual clothes, they were all around 16 years old. They were very good though. So I wanted the country folk get up and dance following the 3 and 4 year olds pogoing. It was fun to watch human nature pogo. Kids do what is natural and have no shyness. If only adults could be that way. I sat at the table next to Father Paul, decked out in black and a dog collar. He was a nice bloke, I chatted to him about being a world peace clown. Across from him was a 23 year old trainee priest from the Philippines who had only been in Australia a few months. He said to me it was strange here. I could well imagine. The Pilipino are very warm and community orientated and very poor. So he would be confronted with wealth, the best of everything but at the same time a loneliness. Elizabeth said they can be left on their own a bit when in training. Australian’s can be like that, not so group oriented and perhaps not aware of what it is like in a new country. I would have someone around him a lot to make sure he is looked after. He was a sweet guy and he came back in the car with Liz and I the next day. He was pretty open minded and I am sure he will grow here.

The next day they went to mass and I went to the information centre to play on my blog, I was feeling inspired around Einstein and also universal themes. I laugh at the world I live in, I have the ability to go from the micro to the macro very easily, but mostly it comes through inspired feelings. I just feel to explore, don’t even know why. However, I can see the links usually after I write the blog. That is life in the flow. So I had a coffee there and then felt I needed a walk. Too much sitting in cars, traveling and not enough walking. Anyway, by the time I got to the footy club where they were holding a film presentation, it was getting close to lunch time. I decided to go for a quick walk to have a look at Lake Bonney. I watched the people get in their boats and some had surf skis. They had their picnic baskets. I walked on the grass, ouch, few sharp bits, so put my shoes back on. Then went down to the water and put my feet in the Murray – aaahhhh. Felt good. Would have loved to go for a swim, another time perhaps.

So I went and joined the congregation to watch their trip to Israel, or the Holy land they call it. I enjoyed the footage the guy who did it was very funny and very Australian. He had a good sense of humour and what I particularly liked about his interviewing technique was to ask how people ‘felt’. They were on a pilgrimage and were experiencing the places in the Bible. Places like the Sea of Galilee, the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Mount of Olives, Jordan river (baptism of Jesus), the Red Sea. There was footage of them floating in the sea and walking through these places. I thought of the tourist trade for Israel. I wondered at the values of the teachings ‘love they neighbour’ and the Palestinians.

They also showed the large gathering in Spain of the World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. They attended this gathering in August. Apparently a million Catholics turned up in Spain given the visit of Pope Benedict XVI’s. The group apparently had a 30 second look at him as he went past in the pope Mobil. Apparently it was extremely hot and they nearly got heat stroke in the crowd. Makes you think of the Muslim gathering of Mecca and how they manage millions of pilgrims. Interesting to see this through Christian eyes. Interesting when I looked on the internet there was some criticism of the Pope’s visit by the “Los Indignados” (Indignant Ones) protest movement. The group has protested against the government’s spending cuts, economic woes, and 21 percent unemployment. Many people are unhappy with the cost of extra security for the pope’s visit. They feel this was unnecessary spending at a time that the country is undergoing a deep economic crisis. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Pope-Due-To-Arrive-In-Spain-for-World-Youth-Day-127927833.html

They showed footage of the World Youth Day with sounds of rock songs and young people waving their arms and speeches. There were lines of bishops streaming out of the gathering and I wondered if this was a place where they could encourage more young people into the priesthood. I looked at the young faces and saw the future of the planet. Somehow I wondered, how do you bring all the young people together to look at a new world. I felt some inspiration around that. They have the energy and I am not lost on their brilliance of ideas. They will lead adults, of that I have no doubt.

So at the end of the presentation they asked for questions. I asked each of the pilgrims to say how they felt Jesus in their lives during that visit. I was interested in actual experiences. They all had a different view of Jesus from their experience and one said she felt concern about the Palestinian tensions. I was pleased to hear this awareness as it is a central challenge to Christian and Jewish faith. Love has always been the key call for religions, walling up Palestine will not solve the Israeli government’s issues. They are actually cousins in truth but they are viewing each other as ‘enemies’. There is also the two state solution that the Palestinians are trying to push through at the United Nations. When you look back into the history of the Palestinian Protectorate which was controlled by the British and the time after the Second World War where they were looking for a Jewish State. Apparently the Jews had not been on that land for 19 centuries from the research I did years ago. Also the Palestinians were not asked. Apparently they original took. You can easily Google maps to get the picture from 100% in 1946, under half 1947, around ¼ 1949-67 and 1/8 2007. This is from visual images, I am not sure the exact numbers couldn’t seem to find them. Moreover this land loss has come through Israeli resettlements, a common strategy to build up Jewish demographic majorities. However, my understanding is that they won’t outnumber the Palestinians. Moreover, the wall that has been built takes up 15% of the land. There is much intimidation of Palestinians at checkpoints. I’ve spoken to people who have been there and that is the report. Campaigns of harassment and basically treating it as a servant state. So there are many issues there that would confront one’s faith.

I did ask a sticky question but felt inspired to ask. One of the issue’s in respect of the Pope I’ve had for many years is that if he believes in god why does he need bullet proof glass. They didn’t really know how to answer the question, one said he has to have that for security reasons. I felt it would be a powerful sign of faith to allow god to choose. I meant that genuinely not to upset anyone, but they are saying god is the power. So why not trust it. According to some of the critiques above the cost of security was an issue of contention in a poor country. So that is worth reflecting on.

So after this session we head back for Port Augusta. I had a lovely weekend meeting this community and if their faith has created a greater deeper sense of community and families are having a family life with others, I see that as a good thing. They didn’t try to convert me and respected my presence they also allowed that contentious question that raises my respect and says they are not threatened. I like that. I am not by them either, I accept we are all on journeys, I feel we are all going the same way. I don’t mind if people are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Taoist, I am only looking to see if love is in the room, that tells me more than words.

So we came back and I felt I needed a few more days. Liz has kindly allowed me to stay here a little longer. I haven’t really done the inner reflection I wanted to do. For such a free life I always seem busy. I have to laugh at that. I had to sort out a phone as I lost the previous one with the same Virgin carrier so my mother can ring. She and I have long conversations so the phone will ensure they have money, as it is free calls.

I also went out to the Flinders Ranges through a town called Quorn. Nice town. I headed out 20km on a dirt track to find Warren Gorge. I ended up overshooting my turn off by 14km, I had a feeling I had. But I did see some giant gum trees, which I absolutely love. Makes me think of the deforestation that has taken place. We see little trees which would have been big ones years ago.

Anyway, I decided to go for a walk at the gorge. It was 4.8km and I thought I’ll walk a little way, turned out the rocks drove me crazy as so much quartz crystal here. I felt definitely a sacred site. Here is a little overview:

Warren Conservation Park is characterised by steep country with views over forests, reservoirs, pastures and bushland above the spectacular Warren Gorge. The park is most colourful in spring when wattles, banksias, hakeas, heaths and eucalypts are in flower, but its native fauna and wild forests of stringy barks and long-leafed box are always worth a visit.

The park has four challenging walking trails, including a section of the long distance Heysen Trail. The tracks are steep and difficult and should be used by experienced bushwalkers only.

The relatively untouched nature is a haven for some of Australia’s rarest animals and provides ideal opportunities for naturalists, birdwatchers and photographers. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills/Waren_Conservation_Park

I saw the peaks of mountains nearby with this red rock strata which was on right angles. Very spectacular mountains and as you walked along the track there were purple flowers (tiny) everywhere. I saw a farmer on a motorbike rounding up some sheep, the days of horses are gone. As I walked on I marvelled at all the different rocks on the track. I saw some goats freak out as I came close. I continued up and saw all these huge boulders on the top of this mountain. My camera ran out of energy (darn it) and I thought well I will have to remember. I headed over the mountain and noticed a canister. It was a log asking travellers to put their names, number in party and phone, just encase people get lost. Good idea I thought. I headed down the mountain and was greeted by rolling green hills it was so beautiful with the backdrop of a blue sky. I saw magpies flying around playing tag, other little minor birds. There were little white butterflies or moths maybe flying around. I had a closer look to find little tiny spots on their wings. I saw little beetles shimmering, like lady beetles but with blues and purples on their bodies. Really beautiful. I saw a stumpy lizard with two heads, one is fake the other has an eye so you know it is real. It was very still so I don’t know if it was dead or waiting. Seemed alive. I then had my highlight – I saw a rock wallaby, I was told later it was very rare. It had a tail which was long but like a possum’s and with some stripes. It looked like a little wallaby but this long tail was so interesting. I then saw some kangaroos hopping off and noted how strong they are and built for movement. They have strong tails which they use to help propel them. So the tails are different would love to know how the tail or third leg operates in the wild.

I saw some lovely gum trees but another variety, the branches had pine needles which looked like broccoli look of lungs, really different. It must get hot here as they were very needlie, ensures less water loss. It was like walking through a pine forest but they were more spaced and different. They were natives so I was happy.

I noted my own fears come up about being attacked by kangaroos, yes they can attack. I had some snort at me in the Snowy Mountains where people go to the snow and water ski. I think the locals are a bit rough with them. Anyway, I was wanting to swim at the time and there was a group and they were not happy with me being there, it felt territorial. They can jump in the water and hold you down, they’ve drowned a few dogs. So I do see if they are feeling threatened or used to people. The ones I encountered just hopped away, they were good. The goats also didn’t take me on. But I noted how domesticated I am and have no idea of nature in truth. The indigenous know the land and the animals, I saw how much we had lost through western life as we have become decoupled from the natural world which is us. I really felt that. I felt good walking through this country and thought of how fit the aboriginals would have been moving through this country. What a lovely peaceful life. Believe me it would have been much better than the world we create. I really see that. So I reinforced to myself to keep facing my fears, to keep pushing on to explore this life.

I met with some campers from Newcastle who had travelled around the world for 2 years before marriage and now they take off in retirement for weeks and months at a time exploring. They have a nice ute with a caravan atop of it. They love traveling. They came through Bourke to get to Port Augusta and will travel back. Their daughter has the travel bug and has to choose between boyfriends and traveling. Hard choice.

I got back to Port Augusta and made the nuns here a nice Afghani dinner. My speciality, the only dish I cook well. Always happy customers. I cook eggplant with rice and yoghurt but you would have to taste it to enjoy its beautiful flavour. They loved it.

I had a bit of heat stroke so I decided to go to bed and put energy into today.  I am planning to leave for Perth tomorrow and it will be a long drive. So today I may spend time on a UNESCO application for funding. I wouldn’t mind having another go at my children’s parliament. However part of me is tired of trying, however my friends in Adelaide did encourage me to have a go. So I will see if I can fit and tick all the boxes.

I had a friend who is a clown ring me when camping on the Great Ocean Road, the reception cut out but he was inviting me to Alice Springs to clown with 100 children, can you believe he gave that slot to someone else has he couldn’t reach me. I am thinking is this destiny or are other greater things waiting for me. We had a good chat the other day and he wants to start humanitarian clowning. I really like it and I like the fact that performance is not a big issue for him. He just spent a week with Patch Adams in Costa Rica he reported to me he is out there. He felt compassion is more important than talent and would like to take novices out with experienced clowns. Sounds funny, but yes there is expertise in this work. I agreed with him, it is the heart that is the most important. He is planning a trip to Haiti and wants me to come. I can’t say no, he said he will pay for me if I become involved. So maybe bigger things are waiting. I think the Haitians are still struggling to rebuild their country, the international focus has gone off them. So maybe some clowns can cheer them up. I would love to meet them.

I am mindful of world changes and earth changes but I am not going to stop exploring because of that. I will not let fear dictate, it will be love that guides my choices.

With that massive effort to share with you. I am going to sign off and get myself organized on UNESCO, buy more food, check the engine and back on the road tomorrow and tenting. Should be fun.

Take care and have fun. Life is a wonderful journey folks, get into it.