This is my eighth article from the outback.
Following on from my last article where I arrived from my Christmas holiday to my office having been broken into, Alice Springs faced a very rough summer in terms of crime. The rate of break-ins, domestic violence assaults, road accidents and arson were at their highest. It got so bad that Alice Springs became the poster town for youth crime in Australia. This forced the Prime Minister to make a 4 hour visit due to all the media coverage and parliamentary pressure to act, although as expected nothing came from the measures put in place. Most of the infamous Larapinta hiking trail was on fire due to deliberately ignited bush fires which resulted in a water plane and fire fighters working non-stop for weeks. Fortunately, Alice Springs only experienced hazy conditions and there was no threat to the town thanks to the tireless effort of the town’s firefighters. Remote community violence and riots in the north and south of the Northern Territory saw an influx of people fleeing to Darwin and Alice Springs to escape the violence which brought with it its own set of problems. It’s definitely not the way I expected to start to the year back in Alice Springs.
In February I was nominated by my church congregation to fill the post of Warden on the parish council which is a one-year term. This role involves providing advice on matters relating to the church finances and building maintenance. My only vision of what it meant being on a parish council, comes from the hilarious theatrics and chaos which ensues on the Dibley parish council from the British comedy series ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ starring Dawn French, which I loved watching when I was younger. I faced my maiden election which I won resoundingly. I still continue my role as the Parish Organist which I really enjoy.
In March my request to transfer to undertaking Mining Compliance with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade was granted. This involved me moving 300m up the road from my previous office (Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security). My job involves assessing mining plans related to exploration, extraction and mine operations so that environmental disturbances are minimal. I also assess rehabilitation reports on the completion of any mining projects to ensure that they are up to the environmental standards required to ensure biodiversity can thrive. My goal is to ensure that whilst mining operations are needed, that they are done in a manner which protects endangered fauna, flora and critical ecosystems. My first two days at work involved arriving to another two break-ins at my new office building. It was a Deja Vu moment where the cops were back as colleagues for two days. Fortunately, I had no office gear set up so there was nothing to steal and I got to go home for the morning on both days whilst the cops were busy processing the building. I work in a team of 5 with good colleagues and my office building includes staff from other divisions who are heaps of fun and much more social and friendly company.
In April my parents and brother came to visit me in Alice Springs. As usual mum was cooking all the food I liked. We made two fun road trips, one to Ross River station and the other to Rainbow Valley which is a national park. I also took my family with a few friends to experience the excellent food at the Hilton hotel in Alice Springs and played the grand piano as usual on the way out.
In May I was sent up to Darwin on an all-expenses paid trip with two colleagues to get my pilot’s license to fly a drone for work purposes. It was a weeklong course which involved 2 days of theory, 2 days of practising flying drones and the last day involved a theory exam and the flying exam both of which I passed. It was lovely being back in sunny tropical weather and I enjoyed learning to fly a drone and eating seafood to my heart’s content. I am now qualified to fly drones up to 25kg in weight and am able to use the radio on a helicopter or plane provided it is on the tarmac. Drones are very handy in my current job when inspecting mine sites especially when it comes to assessing rehabilitation projects because you can capture images of the area without having to disturb anything on the ground.
In June I was asked to join ‘’The Shavings’’, a male acapella ensemble as their new high tenor, making us a group of 12 including our two mascots, Bluey and Rufus (dogs) who brighten up each practice and performance with their cuteness and playful theatrics. This group has been in operation for over a decade and mostly sing pop and folk music. So far, I have sung at art exhibition openings, the Desert Song Festival, the Desert Festival and at the new café opening at the Alice Springs Desert Park.
In July I undertook training to be a Fire Warden at the office. It was heaps of fun using fire extinguishers, undertaking a fire drill and learning all the things one must not do when a fire is in progress. In the event of a fire, I get to wear a red hat and a high-vis jacket which says Fire Warden and I need to ensure that everyone in my wing of the building has been evacuated.
In August I made my maiden trip to Sydney to visit my good friend from my school days, Hemal. Hemal pulled out all the stops and it was an action packed 4 days of fun exploring and eating. The taxi ride from the airport to Hemal’s flat in Neutral Bay terrified me especially after living in a small town like Alice Springs. I was worried that I would get lost in Sydney with all the roads which went in every direction and the volume of traffic. Hemal’s flat was very conveniently situated with everything from supermarkets to restaurants present in a courtyard surrounding his flat. On my first morning in Sydney, I went for a walk around Neutral Bay while Hemal was at work and stumbled onto a small Anglican church. I was greeted by a lady named Penny, with whom I had a 2-minute conversation about myself and shared the fact that I was visiting from Alice Springs. She came and found me after a minute or two and asked if I would be interested in a tour of Sydney since she had an hour to kill while her grandchildren were at playgroup. I was delighted and she took me to a viewing point to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, then to Luna Park, Kirribilli (Prime Minister’s official residence) and Admiralty House and Balmoral beach after which she dropped me off back at the church. These are the qualities I have come to admire in the general public who live in Australia who are so welcoming and helpful to strangers. The fact that Penny, would happily give me, an immigrant a tour of Sydney on our first meeting after a very short conversation is so encouraging as it confirms that there are still good people present in this broken world. I took the bus into the city to Hemal’s office after lunch and we went to Bondi beach for a swim and thereafter took the ferry back home in the evening. The next day, Hemal took me to see the Opera House, botanical gardens, do some site seeing around the city and a visit to China Town to enjoy some delicious food in the evening where at the end of the day we had walked 14kms. We booked a car and made a day trip to the Blue Mountains which was wonderful where we walked 22kms that day. We were allotted a mystery car which turned out to be a seven-seater Kia Carnival for the two of us which was very amusing. On my last full day in Sydney, we booked a smaller car this time and drove out to Manly beach and Palm beach. It was lovely catching up with Hemal, especially since we hadn’t seen each other since 2019 thanks to the COVID-19 travel restrictions and the weather stayed fine and sunny throughout my visit.
In late August after spending 8.5 years in Australia I was finally awarded my Permanent Residency Visa to live and work in Australia. The visa was granted after 5 weeks of lodging my application which was a miracle. I will be eligible to apply for citizenship next year in September for which I will have to sit a 20-question multiple choice citizenship test. I have already done a few practice tests and it is like facing a pub quiz as the questions are mostly general knowledge.
In September The Soweto Gospel choir visited Alice Springs and I was very lucky to get a free ticket to go and listen to this amazing acapella choir from South Africa. I also took a trip down south to Adelaide for a few days to celebrate my brother’s birthday and enjoy some good food and meet a few friends.
Alice Springs for being such a small town continues to have a very social aspect to it in terms of events and activities. On a weekly basis I sing in a choir, play the organ at church, volunteer with the state emergency services, go for line and swing dancing classes, attend a trivia competition, swim, cycle, visit the library and go for walks. I have been able to make so many wonderful friends in this small town since I arrived in 2020, with whom I enjoy so many happy activities most of which involve food. There are so many movies, theatre performances and concerts to attend which fills in the gaps. As you can make out, I am a very busy bee.
My parents are due to visit me In Alice Springs in December to celebrate my birthday and thereafter we will fly down to Adelaide to spend Christmas and New Year with my brother. Overall, considering the year started off with a poor start, things have picked up. I am fully engaged in a variety of fun activities, have a wonderful group of friends, have opportunities to travel and now am humbled that I can live in Australia for the rest of my life and the best part is that I don’t have to apply for another Australian visa again.
Stay tuned for my next update to find about my future adventures and fun days ahead.
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