On: Out N’ About I

by Donnie Hayden

© 2014, all rights reserved

Today, I would like you share with you, a mini-walkabout in the neighborhood. Let us just see visually, some house and shops within 2-3 blocks of where we are staying. But first, what is a “mini-walkabout?”

Walkabout refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. In practice they would trace the paths, or ‘Songlines’ that their ancestors took, and imitate, in a fashion, their heroic deeds. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, however, identifies the noun as a 1908 coinage referring to “a short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian Aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work”, with the only mention of “spiritual journey” coming in a usage example from a latter-day travel writer.

To white employers, this urge to depart without notice (and reappear just as suddenly) was seen as something inherent in the Aboriginal nature, but the reasons may be more mundane: workers who wanted or needed to attend a ceremony or visit relatives did not accept employers’ control over such matters (especially since permission was generally hard to get).

Another great possibility is that the Aborigine had no concept of time. If given a job to do, we may not completely finish the work in a day and would return at it’s end and continue the following day and so on until it is finished. The Aborigine would just take off and not return until the job was done.

So, my mini-walkabout is just a short period of time, walking the neighborhood to see what I can find.

Most of the homes here have tile roofs and the rest have metal roofs. The ceilings inside most homes are around 8′ (eight feet) high. These construction materials and methods are to keep the interiors as cool as possible, for this area can reach temperatures as high as 115 degrees + Fahrenheit in peak summer.

Sometimes the relative humidity can be upwards of 90 percent, but at 115 degrees F., the heat burns off the humidity and it is a dry heat. This would be similar to the desert southwest in the United States. It is hard to imagine such beautiful and fragrant things surviving in such climates, but they seem to thrive.

Even though there are tropical birds, trees and plants here, it can become very dry and parched, due to lack of rain. Things could quickly turn brown, but as they say  in Australia, “No Worries,” because everything adapts to these extremes and fluctuations.

In the United States we might freak out if our grass turns brown due to lack of rain and start watering like crazy. But in this area, brown can be normal, Again, “No Worries,” the rains will come again and everything will turn green again, almost instantly. At present, most everything is nice a green here, so we are happy about that.

The weather of their fall is between 70-80 F. by day and 65-68 F. at night. It has been very nice during the day and pleasant sleeping. The air is clean and fragrant although I seem to be allergic to something and have a little upper respiratory congestion. I am told that it never snows here, but it can get somewhat cold in the winter, but it is short-lived. They may have around five seasons here. Spring, early summer, late summer, fall and a short winter. I am sure this has to do with Australia’s position below the equator and I am told the hole in the ozone layer, its effects are greatly experienced here. I’m not sure of the accuracy of this, but I’ve heard 1 out of every 2 people experience some type of skin cancer. This country does have the highest rate of melanomas in the world. THE SUN IS HOT, AND BLINDING HERE! Cover up and where skin protection.

In another post, I mentioned that everything needed to live here, is within a short walking distance. I meant it! And actually, within seven minutes!

There is A family practice, Chiropractor, Orthopedic surgeon, a lawyer, hairstylist, Thai massage, a caterer, shed builder, engineer, daycare, a hospital, ambulance service, MRI & X-ray place for diagnostic images, cottages, houses, apartments and condos.

In a later post, I will share pictures of the downtown area. It’s only seven minutes from here on Little Street where we are staying. There you can get everything else you need!

And God forbid, there is even a funeral director in the neighborhood. 🙂