Manning Gorge and People watching

A bit unusual today, the local school offered a two-way learning opportunity down at the creek, which we took them up on.
We went hunting for Ngalja, (Sand Frogs), which involves spotting their track, then following it to where they have burrowed in.
You then dig to find them - only a small little thing really.

The frog’s day isn’t getting better though, as they are considered excellent fishing bait. So, for the second half of the lesson, we headed to a good fishing spot, and threw some hand lines in. The Wilbers’s efforts were on par with expectations, however some of the school students fared much better. One caught quite a big fish, which was coming back with him to go home for dinner.

The rest of the day was spent checking on a weird error on the car, and splashing around at the creek. A tree swing was an immediate hit with Hugo, and whilst Max did his valiant best, he was just a little too small to climb up. He found a different spot to jump in, and was also happy.

Meanwhile, our previously undocumented study into our fellow travellers continues unabated. I have now been able to categorise them into a few key species:

1) The Alphas, an early middle age tattooed and tanned male, with attached photogenic blonde in a bikini, and feral children (up to 3). Their clan can be found driving a dark coloured 200 series Toyota and towing an enormous dark grey caravan. Without exception, there will be a social media handle printed somewhere. #lookatme.
These families enjoy ticking boxes of having seen things, and talking loudly enough to tell the next 4 campsites of their adventures whilst doing “The Lap”.
They are incapable of listening, as that time is spent mentally preparing the next macho comment.

2) The internationals, in a hired Hilux with rooftop tent looking anywhere from utterly baffled, to beaten up, depending on the length of their journey to date. Their most fascinating observation has been the Australians they met on their holiday. They keep to themselves, mostly due to language barriers (their English, whilst excellent is not up to deciphering Australian)

3) The grey nomads, driving Isuzu utes and towing white, more modest caravans. They move slowly, and vary from scornfully watching others, to doting grandparents - more often the latter. They tend to gravitate to the shallow end of swimming pools.
They have more interesting things to say, because they actually experienced the attraction rather than ticking the attendance box. They also listen and can engage in discussion.

4) The tour bus attendees, are like a rare marsupial. They come out only when safe, and rarely stay long enough to be seen. Their keepers are attentive and seek to ensure no undue interaction with the public.

5) The old schoolers, driving an ancient Land Rover or Toyota, these people eagerly recount how different the place looked 30+ years ago. Hair is usually quite wild and they have a calm sense about them. Nothing much seems to bother them, and if it does, they simply pack up and move on.

I’m not sure which category we fall into when observed, but we haven’t met many doing the same thing (camper trailer, medium duration, visiting just the Kimberley)… I doubt the Alphas are aware we even exist.Read more