Chapter 30
Day 27
We don’t even bother to set up the blanket because there is quite a bit of shade under the grove of trees. I lie down and go right to sleep in Derrick’s arms. I don’t know how long I was asleep when I hear Derrick whisper, “Wake up Kobi, we have company.” I open my eyes and see five black men standing at our feet. I know right away, these are the Aboriginal people, and we are going to be okay.
Derrick hugs me and whispers, “Thanks to you and your determination, we are going to make it. I am so lucky to have you as my wife. I love you!”
Dane immediately gets up and introduces himself. The men shake hands.
Dane looks at us and smiles, “Everything is going to be fine. They have a settlement a few miles from here. They were out hunting this morning and usually come to this grove of trees for a rest. That’s how they found us.” Dane motions for the man he shook hands with to come over. “This is Mandu, he is the son of the tribal leader and has agreed to take us back to his settlement.
As soon as Dane speaks the words, a dozen or so men emerge out of the
bush and are eager to help us. They see that I am in no condition to walk, so they make a stretcher out of the blanket and carry me there. It is a lot farther than I thought, so I am very thankful for the stretcher. Finally, we arrive and immediately become the center of attention. Several women come to my side and carry me to a place where I can get water, a bath, and clean clothes. I’m sure the men are doing the same.
After cleaning up, they bring us to a canopy covered area with a table and some chairs. Within a few minutes, three women walk in carrying trays of meat and fruit. There is also a bowl of cut-up thin bread. Our glasses are full of water and we are thankful. We slowly rehydrate and replenish our body with the much needed food and water. After the meal, we are taken to a tent where we are allowed to sleep the rest of the day. There are no beds, but there is plenty of bedding on the dirt floor to provide enough of a cushion that I am comfortable, and fall asleep immediately.
At sunset, someone comes into the tent and wakes us up, requesting our presence at the fire pit located in the center of the village. We make our way through the town and right around the corner, I see a large fire pit with about 50 people gathered around it. The only one of the tribe sitting in a chair is the elder tribal leader.
“I am Kanuti, leader of the Anangu people. Welcome! You have been on a long, treacherous journey, I think?”
“Yes, we have, Chief. Thank you so much for inviting us into your settlement. These are my friends, Kobi and Derrick Reed, and this is Henderson Smith, our pilot. My name is Dane Walker.”
“Dane, you are a native of our country. How is it you have found yourself in this situation?” the Chief asks.
“We were flying in a plane from Perth and crashed in the Outback. We were lost for several days before your son and the hunting party found us.”
Oh, I see. Mr. Smith, you are the pilot?”
“Yes sir, I am.”
“Are you a pilot like John Glenn?”
“I am a pilot, but not like John Glenn. He is an astronaut and flies a lot higher than I do.”
The old man smiles and says, “Yes, I remember, he flies very high.”
“What do you mean you remember?” Dane asks.
“I remember the night he flew over in the early 1960’s. I was a young man, and remember that everyone across the entire country turned their lights on that evening for the astronaut in trouble. Our ancestors in the stars told us to build many fires for the man in the capsule, high above the Earth. The tribes out here in the bush made large fires for him and sent help up to his spaceship from the fire. He flew over not too long ago, and we lit up the night sky for him again.”
I am sitting by the fire listening to Kanuti speak and am totally unaware of the pain in my wrist. I am completely engulfed in what he is saying. His manner of speech is addictive, and I feel as if I am in a trance, hanging on every word he’s
saying. My eyes start to burn because I realize that I have forgotten to blink.
Kanuti’s hair is almost totally gray and not very long. His beard, on the other hand, is very long, bushy, totally gray, and uneven on the ends. Surprisingly, his thin skinny, brows aren’t the bushy mess I would have expected. He has quite a broad nose, and glassy, dark brown eyes. There is a gentleness and sweetness in his eyes that invites you in to have a deeper look.
Kanuti starts telling us about Dreamtime. The Aborigines’ religion is based on Dreaming. They believe that the landscape was created at the beginning of time by their ancestors, who rose from beneath the earth and traveled throughout the land, giving it its physical form. Certain rock formations are believed to be metamorphosed ancestors. They are perfectly in tune with nature and respect it greatly. He continues to talk about the ancestors, and how every formation on the earth has a story to explain it. I can hear the distant drone of the didgeridoo coming from the hilltop behind the camp.
After listening to him talk about his beliefs and customs for an hour, he looks at me and asks, “What is the matter with your arm?”
“I think I broke my wrist when our airplane crashed.” I took my arm out of the sling and showed Kanuti my fingertips. They are almost completely black now from the bruising.
“Kobi, do you mind if I take off the bandages? I would like to see your wrist.” I shake my head no, and he slowly starts removing the bandages from my arm and wrist. All of the bandages are off and I am shocked at the sight of my wrist. It looks bad. The wrist itself is red and very swollen. Radiating out from the wrist are different shades of purple and black until finally, the fingertips are a sold black.
Kanuti starts humming and rubbing his hands over my wrist, rocking back and forth, and then suddenly, he firmly places my wrist between his hands and squeezes. At first, the pain is intense, and oddly enough I am not nervous at all. I can feel the heat in my wrist now; it’s getting hotter and hotter. Then, he slaps his hands together with my wrist in between his hands and the intense pain is gone. He gives Derrick some salve to rub over the swollen area and tells him to wrap it up again with fresh bandages. He tells me that the infection will get better and the bone is back where it belongs.
That is simply amazing what Kanuti just did to my wrist! I don’t have much pain at all anymore. I think he reset the bone, because the bump that I had on the side of the wrist is gone now. After Derrick wraps it, I put my arm back in the sling and it feels 10 times better. Meanwhile, one of the elderly women has been staring at Dane’s face, touching and feeling the burns he acquired after the crash. She leaves for just a few minutes and comes back with a bowl of something that stinks to high heaven. I hope he doesn’t have to eat that!
She asks Dane if she can rub this lotion all over his face. She says it will help the burns cool down and heal quicker. She applies the lotion to his entire face, and I see his upper lip start to curl and crinkle because the odor of the lotion is unbelievable.
I look at Dane and sarcastically ask, “Why the face, Dane?” I am trying not to laugh because I know why he is making that face; it stinks!
Dane politely asks the woman, “Ma’am, what is this substance, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She simply replies, “Bat poop.” We start laughing.
“Oh, bat poop. I should have known that because bat poop has something
in it that is useful for any skin irritation, like a rash, insects bites, or even burns. It is a natural antibiotic and better than anything you can get at the local drugstore. I can’t imagine it would be a top seller because it stinks like hell. Plus, it is very hard to find bat poop.” Dane explains.
The woman has finished applying the lotion and leaves the fire pit area. I have to admit, Dane looks funny with bat poop all over his face. I hope it works because it smells awful. Kanuti looks at Dane and starts laughing too. Pretty soon, everyone around the fire pit is lau
ghing, at Dane’s expense. Dane is a good sport! It is very late now and I am tired, so Derrick and I excuse ourselves from the festivities and return to our tent for the evening.
Day 28
The next morning we are awakened by the laughter and playing of children outside. I get dressed and step outside of our tent and see a young girl sitting on the ground playing in the dirt. She is probably about 10 years old, with blondish-brown hair half way down her back. I walk over to her and say hello. She looks up at me and gives me a huge smile. I think I am the first white woman she has ever seen. I sit down beside her and ask her name.
“My name is Akala. What is your name?”
“My name is Kobi. It’s very nice to meet you. What does your name mean?”
“Akala means parrot. What does your name mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Kobi, my family wants you to come eat breakfast with us today. You can bring your man if you want to.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I go inside the tent for just a minute and come right back out. “My husband says thank you, but he is still very tired and wants to sleep.” Akala grabs my hand and we walk to her family’s house. It looks like a little wooden shack with a corrugated tin roof. I walk inside and see her family in the kitchen preparing a meal. They see me and run over to welcome me into their home.
“Please be seated. Akala has invited you to breakfast, as we requested. Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for the invitation. My husband is still very tired, and asked to be excused this morning, but he appreciates the offer.”
They pull a chair out for me and invite me to sit at the table. The mother
has prepared a bread she calls damper. It is simply flour, water, and a pinch of salt. On a platter in the center of the table is a plate of scrambled eggs, and some kind of meat. I politely ask the mother, “What kind of meat is this?” She says, “Kangaroo.” Funny, I had just seen a kangaroo the other night, and now I am about to eat one.
I thank the family for breakfast and hug Akala good bye. “I’ll see you in a little while.” I am walking through the village, soaking up every little detail because I realize this is a once in a lifetime experience that people don’t get to experience often. As I turn the corner, I see Derrick in front of the tent washing his face and arms. He sees me coming and gives me a big grin.
“How was breakfast?”
“It was delicious. I ate kangaroo.”
“Really? Was it good?”
“Yeah, it was fine. I like bacon better.” We both start to laugh. “We need to find Dane and talk to the Chief about taking us to town. Have you seen him?”
“No, I haven’t. He wasn’t in his tent just a few minutes ago. Henderson is awake and bathing. He should be out in a few minutes.”
“Okay, I wonder where Dane is.” Derrick and I wait for Henderson to finish, and then we decide to go for a walkabout. We are walking through the village and stumble upon the Chief talking to the town carpenter. “Good Morning, Chief Kanuti.”
“Good Morning. I trust you slept well.”
“Yes, thank you. Have you by any chance seen our friend, Dane, this morning?”
“Yes, he got up early and went hunting with my son today. They will be back later on this afternoon. How is your hand this morning?”
“My hand is much better, thank you. We appreciate your help and hospitality.”
“You are very welcome. Tomorrow, after you have rested today, we will take you to the nearest town so you can call your friends in Darwin. The walk to town is about six miles, so we want to make sure you are hydrated and feeling better before going.”
Derrick replies, “Very good, Chief. That sounds perfect. We will see you later.”
The three of us walk back toward our tents, and sitting in front of my tent is the little girl, Akala. She wants me to go for a walk with her to the nearest watering hole because she needs to wash some clothes. Derrick has no objections, so Akala and I start walking.