Hi Friends,
I've been in Gove for almost two weeks now and already I feel like I've been here forever!
Gove is an amazing place on the edge of Arnhem Land, over-looking the Arafura Sea. This time of year is 'The Wet' which means it's hot, humid and monsoonal downpours occur most afternoons. Parts of the country resemble rainforests and the ocean is warm and filled with coral reefs and islands. Most of the 3000 people in the actual town are miners working at the Rio Tinto Alcan bauxite mine and refinery. The Yolngu People are the lands traditional owners and reside both in town and in countless communities throughout Arnhem Land. The Gove District Hospital where I work is largely an Indigenous health care service and 90% of our admissions are Indigenous people. It's a general hospital which means there are facilities for obstetrics, surgery, paediatrics and general medicine. The hospital also provides doctors for aeromedical evacuations and visits to remote communities for GP style consultations.
Besides working, which is fairly time consuming, I'm getting the opportunity to get out into the community and coastline. Over the Australia day long weekend I visited Turtle beach with some Aboriginal people and watched them hunt for turtle eggs! Fortunately (for the baby turtles!) we didn't find any and had to make do with a catch of fish (spanish flag). The water was amazingly warm and we escaped being attacked by any crocs, box or irukanji jellyfish. The people I was with speak a Yolngu Martha dialect and I had to work hard to make conversation in English. I'm keen to learn some of the local language and have enrolled in a language course that begins in March.
The numerous billabongs and creeks have been some of my favourite places to hangout. I visited one last weekend with a family I met at the local Uniting church. Water buffalo also like to use the water holes and can be quite dangerous, but I've not been lucky enough to see one yet.
Socially I've been playing social AFL footy every week and hope to join the league once it kicks off in a couple of months. It's a good chance to meet the locals and I went with a few of the players to a local band on playing on Sunday night. It was good night and I don't think there will be a shortage of things to on the weekends in Gove. I also went for a fun-run with some keen runners on Australia day and am looking forward to my bike arriving so I can start riding with some cyclists I met.
I live in the 'Town flats' which are on 'Town beach' so i'm pretty much only 100m walk away from shops or the beach. I seem to have inherited a wild sulfur crested cockatoo which flys to my balcony everyday looking for food. I can see the Ocean from my balcony and feel like I'll settle in quickly to my new home.
Overall I feel like I'm enjoying Gove and am glad I signed up for a year. It will be nice to stay in one place for a bit longer than did in South Africa and Broome. I feel like a lot has changed in the last year and remember writing a letter on Australia Day last year from South Africa. While a lot has changed I feel grateful for the opportunities I've had to have unique experiences and am relishing the chance to get into this new community. I'll send some photos once my camera gear arrives in a few weeks.
Cheers
Daniel Claughton
I've been in Gove for almost two weeks now and already I feel like I've been here forever!
Gove is an amazing place on the edge of Arnhem Land, over-looking the Arafura Sea. This time of year is 'The Wet' which means it's hot, humid and monsoonal downpours occur most afternoons. Parts of the country resemble rainforests and the ocean is warm and filled with coral reefs and islands. Most of the 3000 people in the actual town are miners working at the Rio Tinto Alcan bauxite mine and refinery. The Yolngu People are the lands traditional owners and reside both in town and in countless communities throughout Arnhem Land. The Gove District Hospital where I work is largely an Indigenous health care service and 90% of our admissions are Indigenous people. It's a general hospital which means there are facilities for obstetrics, surgery, paediatrics and general medicine. The hospital also provides doctors for aeromedical evacuations and visits to remote communities for GP style consultations.
Besides working, which is fairly time consuming, I'm getting the opportunity to get out into the community and coastline. Over the Australia day long weekend I visited Turtle beach with some Aboriginal people and watched them hunt for turtle eggs! Fortunately (for the baby turtles!) we didn't find any and had to make do with a catch of fish (spanish flag). The water was amazingly warm and we escaped being attacked by any crocs, box or irukanji jellyfish. The people I was with speak a Yolngu Martha dialect and I had to work hard to make conversation in English. I'm keen to learn some of the local language and have enrolled in a language course that begins in March.
The numerous billabongs and creeks have been some of my favourite places to hangout. I visited one last weekend with a family I met at the local Uniting church. Water buffalo also like to use the water holes and can be quite dangerous, but I've not been lucky enough to see one yet.
Socially I've been playing social AFL footy every week and hope to join the league once it kicks off in a couple of months. It's a good chance to meet the locals and I went with a few of the players to a local band on playing on Sunday night. It was good night and I don't think there will be a shortage of things to on the weekends in Gove. I also went for a fun-run with some keen runners on Australia day and am looking forward to my bike arriving so I can start riding with some cyclists I met.
I live in the 'Town flats' which are on 'Town beach' so i'm pretty much only 100m walk away from shops or the beach. I seem to have inherited a wild sulfur crested cockatoo which flys to my balcony everyday looking for food. I can see the Ocean from my balcony and feel like I'll settle in quickly to my new home.
Overall I feel like I'm enjoying Gove and am glad I signed up for a year. It will be nice to stay in one place for a bit longer than did in South Africa and Broome. I feel like a lot has changed in the last year and remember writing a letter on Australia Day last year from South Africa. While a lot has changed I feel grateful for the opportunities I've had to have unique experiences and am relishing the chance to get into this new community. I'll send some photos once my camera gear arrives in a few weeks.
Cheers
Daniel Claughton
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment