19.6.2009

We are now 9 weeks into the trip with 19 to go…

In the last week we have been in Darwin and Litchfield park checking out the
many beautiful things there are to see. We stayed at a newly erected caravan
park called Pandanus on Litchfield and it was probably the best value we
have had thus far. Caravan parks average $38-40 / night, but this one was
$27 and came with an ensuite. Admittedly it still needed a few finishing
touches but it was one of the best value places we have come across.

Darwin was nice and actually very cold for two or three of the nights we
were there. We were rugged up and wearing jumpers around at night. The days
were still warm to hot though and often a bit muggy.

It sounds terrible to say, but I’m actually a bit ‘over’ waterfalls, plunge
pools and beautiful rugged scenery… The NT has been sensational and we
have loved everything that we have seen and done, but it seems that there
comes a time when you say ‘oh come on… not another waterfall…’

* Today we made the effort to check out Edith Falls just north of Katherine
as we headed back down and began the journey towards Qld. Yep… it was
beautiful – stunning and all those things, but it took some effort. Right
now it’d be nice to have a change of scenery. I thought I was the only
‘heretic’ and then today as we were leaving Litchfield, we bumped into Craig
and Jill (fellow travelers from Mindarie) who expressed similar sentiment. I
guess it’s the ‘too much of a good thing’ problem…

* Actually I have been ruminating (sounds painful doesn’t it?…) on a quote
from Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. You may well be asking what the hell
does H IV have to do with anything?… But the quote (which I had to learn
for my year 12 English Lit exam) says “If all the year were playing sport,
to holiday would be as tedious as to work”. I have felt that a little over
the last week as I have experienced some tedium in the journey. I’m not
ready to come home yet, not even close, but I have to acknowledge that for a
person who likes ‘stuff to get on with’, I have felt a little too laid back
at times.

Before anyone yells at me that I am supposed to be on holidays and that it
is ok, I am aware of that, but its just one my own personality traits, to be
productive… so occasionally I will struggle with simply sitting and doing
nothing.

Blogging allows me to feel like I am ‘doing something’!

* While we’re on personality traits, little Miss Homesick continues to
struggle with being away. Yesterday she reminded us that no matter how good
any of our trip was (Cable Beach, Emma Gorge, Wangi Falls etc) nothing
actually matched up to being at school… I’d so love to take her home for 6
weeks and watch her face… Its been a challenge being sympathetic and yet
also having to tell her to snap out of it because it ruins the vibe for
everyone else.

* A completely different personality trait would be that of Sam who is in no
hurry anywhere. He eats baked beans one bean at a time… and rice one grain
at a time… seriously… He is always the last one finished at any meal -
often because he just doesn’t even notice that it’s been put in front of
him. He’s a wonderful little bloke and we’ve been having lots of fun, but
meal times do take a while!

The kids have been growing in confidence with their swimming, Sam
especially. A couple of days back he swam about 50 m with me out to Wangi
Falls and back again. Its great to see them developing in that way.

* School has been rolling along quite nicely abeit repetitively! I had
forgotten how much of lower primary is doing the same stuff over and over
(and over). I find it hard not to get bored so I tend to invent new things
to do to teach the same old stuff. On days when I can’t think of anything I
almost fall asleep while sitting with them.

* It will be interesting to see what state the Jayco is in when we come
home. I think these things were made for a family to take on holidays 2 or 3
times a year and the rest of the time lock in a garage. I’m not sure anyone
envisaged a family of 4 taking on Australia with it. We have had to do a few
running repairs where seating frames have broken and odd bits and pieces
have come apart. Its not about to die yet, but we do wonder how it will look
after another 4 months.

* Miscellaneous items continues to be the bane of the budget. It seems that
every week you discover something new that you ‘need’. This week we managed
to purchase a small inverter to run a few appliances when we are in an
unpowered situation and also to power the laptop for a few movies as we do
the big drive to Qld. Danelle also saw that Woolies were offering 30% off a
6 pack of wine so spent some $$ on that. We have been surviving on el cheapo
wines and casks so to actually have some decent stuff will be a treat.

* I’m not sure I should mention it, but The Secret Seven have been the kids
nightly fodder listening to the often painful adventures of the precious and
annoying Peter and his spiffingly jolly nice friends. I remember loving them
as a kid, but they seem so dated now. The book’s language is a reminder of
how much things change… Might need to get hold of Lockie Leonard…

* Of particular note in Darwin is the daily promo for the headlines in the
local newspaper. It seems to be a challenge to come up with something a bit
wackier each day. Today’s concerned a ‘Horny Emu’ while yesterday’s was
about ‘Nude Tourists Distracting City Workers’… It’d be funny if it
weren’t the city’s main rag!

Anyway, for those who are still following my inane holiday ramblings there’s
a random collection of thoughts that reflects a little bit of my brain stew
for the past week

We are camped on the side of the road tonight as we have blown this week’s
budget and are trying to save a few $$$. There are about 20 other vans and
campers in the same area listening to the road trains thunder by.

So at 9.05 on a Friday I’m off to bed…

22.6.2009

It’s great when you find a little spot out of the way that is both beautiful
and free. While we were in Barn Hill our ‘next door neighbours’ told us of
Longreach Waters, a larger inland lake just 12km out of the little town of
Elliot. Apparently it is not well known to tourists and provides great free
camping alongside a lake full of birds and mussels.

Well we are here now – have stayed one night and will probably stay another
1 or 2. It is a really nice spot and the only downside is that the water is
a bit muddy and not that great to swim in – although it’s probably only been
25 or 26 degrees C for the last few days so no one is too worried.

We saw lots of mussel shells on the bank near where we camped so Sam and I
went exploring to try and snaffle a bit of local sea-food. We wandered up to
waist deep in sludge for a little while and managed to find some snail like
creatures, but couldn’t locate the mussels. A bit of local knowledge would
be handy about now, but we haven’t seen any aboriginal folks down here. The
cook was doing up lemon chicken for dinner so we decided that as appetizing
as the snails may have been we would settle for chicken…

We did drop up to meet our ‘neighbours’ yesterday – some people camped about
a km up the lake, but upon getting closer realized they were doing it ‘el
naturel’… We didn’t want to terrify the kids so we turned back and left it
at that… and I told Ellie to put away the binoculars!

The pelicans are funny birds… I’m no ornithologist but it has been
intriguing watching them. They move up the river like a flotilla and duck
for food as a unit. Amusing to see 50 pelican all do ‘heads down bums up’ in
unison!

To get to Longreach Waters turn right just before the cattle grid as you
enter Elliot and drive 12kms west until you hit the lake. If you aren’t
going here then just keep driving because Elliot is not inspirational at
all…

If I had to sum up the one thing I have been sensing from God over the last
8 weeks it would be that the prophetic identity of the church must increase.
I have been feeling this with a growing intensity so I share it here for
your reflection.

To clarify, by ‘prophetic identity’ I don’t mean the giving and receiving of
prophecy but I am referring to the need for the church to be both able to
reflect on its own nature as well as the nature of the society of which it
is a part.

I am increasingly convinced that our ‘missional’ voice is tied to our
prophetic voice and if we can’t live significantly different lives and
reflect the kingdom in the things we do, then chances are people will not be
the least bit interested in our words. By the same token part of the
church’s role in society is to critique the ways we seek meaning and
fulfillment and to boldly point people back to Jesus – knowing that many
will still regard this as folly.

This quote from Segunda has resonated deeply with me over the last few
weeks:

“We believe it is appropriate to the religious life to call into question or
even protest against church and society; against the church to the extent
that it is decadent or ambiguous, or has lost its radical dynamism; against
society to the extent that it has become dehumanized or dechristianised and
thus the source of oppression and injustice” p.82 Following Jesus

Newbiggin has said that the ‘church is the hermeneutic of the gospel’, or in
laymans terms ‘the way the local church expresses itself communicates
clearly the nature of our gospel’.

I find that at times my life seems to look like nothing more than a
religious version of ordinary suburban existence as I fall into line with
everyone else, but I desire much more than this.

Our Upstream Communities identity was birthed in the midst of studying the
sermon on the mount, one of the most confronting and disturbing parts of
scripture you will ever read. It continues to challenge and inspire me to
live differently even if I do it somewhat poorly at times. My mate Jarrod
Mckenna reminds me that these are not a collection of ‘ideals’ that Jesus
presents here, but that they are his instructions for how we are to live. He
wants us to read it and do it…

I don’t think it would be any trouble to invert the beatitudes and observe
much of contemporary western culture – yet our challenge is to somehow live
in them and call others both within and outside the church to embrace them
also.

I find this concept of being ‘prophetic’ disturbing because it involves
critiquing and disturbing both within and without, a practice that rarely
makes you lots of friends. I have done a fair bit of critique over the last
few years as we have asked questions of mission and church, but I don’t feel
that time has come to an end. In fact if anything I feel it stirring
strongly again.

If the church has a healthy future then I believe that reclaiming its
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Last night Danelle and I went out to dinner – our first few hours alone in 8
weeks of traveling. It was nice to get away from the little people for a
while.

It’s always hard to know where to go for a good feed, especially when in a
different city. A rough internet search finished up with me suggesting we
try The Jetty, a buffet restaurant down by the water and pretty reasonably
priced.

They advertise themselves as ‘Steak & Seafood’ so I figured there was
something for everyone. We got there in time for sunset – which actually
didn’t matter because you couldn’t see the sunset… and decided on an
outside table on the verandah right over the water. You could tell you were
in Darwin by the sign on the wall that said ‘please don’t feed the fish or
crocodiles’…

It was a balmy Darwin night and it was a beautiful spot to be. The waiter
took our wine order and the wine came about 20 minutes later, a little after
we had eaten our first course… the first sign they were understaffed or a
little disorganized.

The food was a mix of the superb and the very ordinary – but then that’s to
be expected at a buffet. The cold seafood was great, the steak superb and
the veggies very nice. The chilli crab was dry as a bone, the ‘crab claw’
was seafood extender wrapped in breadcrumbs and the pork in plum sauce was
more batter than pork. Still there was enough there to enjoy and plenty of
variety to savour.

When it was time for sweets the options were passionfruit cheesecake, fruit
salad or two varieties of sponge cake with either lemon icing or chocolate
icing. My tip would be to get rid of the sponge cake. It gave it that
‘sizzler’ feel and didn’t do anyone any favours.

We bravely ordered a coffee and then went to get some sweets to enjoy with
the coffee. Forty five minutes later the sweets were gone and the coffee
hadn’t arrived. We managed to grab a waiter and 15 minutes later had the
second lamest coffee I have had in a long time – a tasteless weak flat white
made from stale beans. I knew it was a gamble, but it was still pretty
awful.

We drank the coffee and headed for the exit where the total cost was $75.00
- for dinner and wine (we agreed that the coffee shouldn’t be paid for…)

All in all pretty good value for money given the nature of the restaurant.