Post COVID-19 in the Northern Territory

Hi everyone,

This is my fourth article from the Australian outback.

So much has changed since the COVID-19 outbreak. The Northern Territory took precautions very early on to lock down the state. Due to limited medical resources and cultural reasons it would have been impossible to control COVID-19 if it had been brought into Lajamanu. We were in fact prepping for the worst case scenario where the local council and clinic were sent body bags. Requests for flu shots and PPE were denied by the state government on many occasions soon after the viral outbreak due to shortages in the cities. Luckily in early May the requests were granted and everyone in Lajamanu was vaccinated against the common flu and the clinic staff had access to PPE.

The NT Chief Minister’s strong stand on locking the borders and implementing bio-security zones to prevent virus transmissions within indigenous communities worked successfully as the state become COVID-19 free from May. As of early June the Northern Territory returned to normal following all health protocols in public.

After being locked inside the national park for over three months I finally made my way to Alice Springs in mid-July to enjoy ‘civilisation’. It was lovely to spend 10 days in Alice Springs which hadn’t changed in the time I was away, and being re-united with friends. The best part was being back on the organ at church services for two Sundays.

The ranger programme recommenced in July which meant conservation work could progress unhindered. We were fortunate to run 3 major field trips.

The first trip was held in mid-July at Pirti Pirti (Thompsons’ Rockhole) in the Southern Tanami IPA. It was to be a joint trip between the Northern Tanami and Southern Tanami IPA with the objectives being to survey Greater Bilby populations, undertake cultural trips and fire management activities. Two Ecologists from Territory Natural Resource Management (TNRM), Dr. Kelly Dixon and her assistant joined us to head the Bilby surveys which were to be done both aerially (by helicopter) and on-ground. Bilbies are weird looking nocturnal marsupials closely related to bandicoots. There is only one species left in Australia and classed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN red list. The plan was to meet up at the rock hole on the Monday evening and return to base on Friday. We left for the rock hole as planned on Monday morning. It was a very long drive and we only reached the spot after night fall. Luckily for us we had Jerry Patrick with us who knew where to go so we got to the spot easily with only one flat tyre. However the Southern Tanami IPA and the rest of their group got lost several times with multiple flat tyres and vehicles getting stuck in the loose sand. Most of us went to bed early so that we could be fresh for the work ahead of us the next morning.

Kelly with the aid of many of the rangers undertook multiple surveys for Bilby burrows in the region and collected scat samples for DNA analysis. I was granted an opportunity to join on one of the helicopter and ground surveys. It was my first helicopter ride and I enjoyed the experience. We were very lucky to find fresh Bilby burrows and scat for analysis. On my second round trip on the helicopter I was joined by one of the Southern Tanami rangers, Christine, who could differentiate between Bilby, Goanna and Rabbit burrows from the helicopter which was amazing whereas most of us struggle to identify burrows even when on the ground. The helicopter pilot decided to throw in a few acrobatic moves which resulted in me getting motion sickness and I was knocked out for the rest of the day. The rangers not scheduled to be on the helicopter drove out the elders who were with us to various cultural sites that had not been visited in a long time.

My English fire officer friend, Ross and I had a ball on the trip, with mutual learning from each other. Ross taught me how the aerial fire machine called a rain dance machine worked. We also undertook tests to see if the fire capsules worked and had competitions on which capsule would ignite first. Ross also gave me driving lessons on reversing trailers. Unfortunately, the vegetation and the landscape structure was not suitable for burning so the aerial burns failed. We decided to undertake on-ground burns instead with a few which turned out to be successful. In turn I was able to show him all the wildlife in the area.

I was tasked to cook Kangaroo tails one night for dinner. I found it amusing that I was tasked to do this as I had never cooked this before. Luckily the older ladies with us bailed me out by doing all the cooking for me while I provided all the necessary cooking gear. This is a much sort after delicacy for the indigenous people in the state. Historically since a Kangaroos tail is mostly fat, it is highly rich in energy and was perfect for when people were wandering around in the bush. However even as a meat lover, it was not something I fancied after a few bites as it was very chewy and fatty with very little flavour.

The second Bilby trip in August was to Lawurrpa which is in the north-east part of the Northern Tanami IPA. Kelly Dixon was joining us again to head the surveys. We were joined by Jamie from Alice Springs and the Dagaragu rangers led by Cliffy. We had a few flat tyres on route, but managed to get there just before sunset. I had music playing in my vehicle as always, and everyone knew what song was playing each time they called me through the VHF radio. Kelly and Dave our helicopter pilot joined us the next morning. I went prepared this time with motion sickness tablets for the helicopter ride. Once again many active Bilby burrows were found in the region. While the rangers and Kelly were in the helicopter, I decided to explore the area and do some bird watching and surveys of my own. I was also able to put out Elliot traps each evening to see if I could trap a few small mammals in the area. It was lovely to see that I still was familiar with the process since I had last done this 5 years ago while at university. It was great to have Kelly join me on my morning checks of the traps as we had some very fruitful chats about various conservation issues. We were unsuccessful in trapping anything, but enjoyed being able to deploy traps again.

A King Brown Snake, which is highly venomous hitched a ride on one of our vehicles and decided to make camp where we were based. Luckily one of the rangers saw it and alerted everyone. While Dione and Silas used the snake stick to catch the snake I was behind my camera at a safe distance witnessing the snake fighting back. Dione released the snake about 200m away from our campsite. That evening everyone was checking their swags for creepy crawlies while Jamie, Cliffy and I sat and watched the rather comical scene of panic before us. The rangers wanted to sleep with the lights on (like little children) during the night so I installed the magnetic LED lights on to my vehicle.

On the day we were scheduled to leave our helicopter pilot, Dave, injured his neck after sleeping in an awkward position. I treated his neck with Voltraren gel and we had to call another Helicopter from Katherine to come and pick up Kelly and Dave since he couldn’t fly. It took over 4 hours for a helicopter to reach us from Katherine. Due to this I was unable to do a helicopter ride on this trip.

Due to the high temperatures and strong winds we were cautioned against undertaking any burning in the area, but the rangers did undertake a few minor, safe burns on our way back to Lajamanu.

The third trip was a tracking project titled ‘Reading The Country’ which was being headed by our village chief Jerry Patrick. It was held at an outstation called Yinyiripalangu (Ethel Creek) in September. The purpose of the trip was for rangers to learn and enhance their tracking skills of animals in the bush. It was the first time anyone from the Lajamanu contingent was visiting this location. The drive was long, but fun because I had Jerry with me in my vehicle who enjoyed the music being played. We had 5 ranger groups joining us for this workshop. Jerry took us out in the field and for a few hours showed us various tracks. Some of these tracks included a male Emu and Thorny Devil track. At around 11:45am Jerry collapsed in the field, but was fortunately caught by those around him. We quickly drove him to the nearest clinic in the next town of Nyrripi. After treatment he was released back to us once stable with the recommendation to return him home immediately. Since we had 3 more days of the workshop to go Dione, Silas and I left the next day with Jerry (leaving the women and women rangers behind) back to Lajamanu sharing the driving. From the time Jerry collapsed I was praying that he would recover. Thankfully we got him back home safely and he’s now back to his old self. The doctor has advised him (due to the fact that he is 85 now), that he should avoid travelling long distances and stay close to home, which brings to an end his time in the bush. In the few hours we were able to accompany Jerry in the field, I learned so much about tracking in the ancient, time tested ways of the Warlpiri tribe. I will miss that great learning opportunity on future trips. One of the early things I learned the hard way after I settled in Lajamanu is that asking questions of elders is a cultural faux pas. In my keenness to learn from Jerry, I must have asked him way too many questions, and got the message back through an intermediary that ‘I am a nice boy, but that I ask a lot of questions’!

High rainfall postponed our fourth field trip in October which was to be held at Yinyiripalangu again. It was to be a fire planning meeting with 8 ranger groups to plan out the control burning activities for the next year. The trip has now been scheduled to be held at the end of November, but at an indoor venue this time since it is getting too hot to be outside as we approach summer.

I was granted permission to look for Australia’s most endangered parrot, the Night Parrot. This bird was once thought to be extinct, but then was recently rediscovered. However the locations of the populations are a closely guarded secret to prevent poaching activities. A majority of the population is in Queensland and a few in Western Australia. After a lot of consultation with elders, rangers and the two world experts on this bird at the University of Queensland I am actively surveying the national park to find this elusive bird. So far I haven’t been successful, but if I do find it I will have to sign confidentiality agreements to keep the location secret and can be prosecuted if I reveal the location to those who are not authorised to know. James Bond stuff!!! The birds are mostly active at night and nest on the ground among long unburnt Spinifex vegetation in tunnels. The only way one would find the bird is if it is accidentally flushed out or through recording devices called song meters which can be set to the call frequency and then analysed to check if the Night Parrot call is among the many calls recorded. The once widely distributed Night Parrot population has been decimated by invasive predators such as cats and foxes and altered fire regimes which have destroyed its ideal habitat.

Lajamanu has changed a lot since my arrival here in March. The COVID-19 lockdown which I thought brought calm and peace to the community is no longer present. For a few months illegal smuggling of alcohol took place and quarrels among different families escalated. There were times I was very worried that someone was going to be seriously injured or die. Many sudden deaths due to illness or old age have also taken place which helped reduce the quarrels somewhat as people left to attend funerals or sorry business (traditional mourning event). The politics within/between organisations and family groups has also increased. It is very difficult to stay out of that and navigate through the tumultuous storms of politics in this small town. In my most cynical moments I feel that the town seems to be a magnet for not-so-great human beings, with the number of good, honest people with good motives decreasing. The Northern Territory indigenous communities say people are classed as either Missionaries, Misfits or Mercenaries. There is also a joke that NT stands for ‘Not Today, Not Tomorrow’ due to the fact that things take a long long time to get done in this state. It has been a personal challenge to integrate into the community with deep respect for their traditional way of doing things, whilst preserving my own way of doing things with energy and speed.

In October Lajamanu hosted a royalty payment event when the different aboriginal land holders on whose land mining was being carried out are paid for the use of their land. Millions of dollars are usually distributed at such events. The process had been described to me as having plenty of fireworks with fights erupting when discussing how the money is divided among family members. A few families divide the money equally, but most fight for a bigger share. The rangers and myself were out of the way, inside our office and watched the proceedings, wondering if chaos would ensue. I was rather disappointed that it was all very peaceful and orderly this time, with only a couple of verbal arguments taking place.

There has been very little rainfall in the national park with most water bodies drying up completely. Some friends and I have traveled to the next town Dagaragu which is 1.5 hrs from Lajamanu, for a swim at the local swimming spot called ‘Lawi’. We have made two day trips there and had a picnic there with a good swimming session. The river is no longer flowing due to lack of rain, but still has water in a few pockets. In October we had two community movie nights where the new ‘Aladdin’ movie and ‘To Where The Wild Things Are’ were screened. Though the organisers were expecting a small number for Aladdin, to their consternation over a hundred people turned up - apparently word had got around that there was food - but only 10 remained to watch the movie thereafter.

After over eight months in Lajamanu, I like to think I have developed a more holistic perspective of life in a remote NT town. There is a vast store of talent, wisdom and knowledge within the Warlpiri people. I have learned so much from my interactions with them, and I am humbled by their acceptance of me. Yet I feel sad that there is limited opportunity here for using all their skills and knowledge to make a better life for themselves, especially the little children. I keep turning over in my mind the ways in which we can help the young ones toward a bright future, in a sustainable way. I am amazed by the zeal and commitment of those who tirelessly work for the community’s upliftment, particularly the teachers and other workers within the community. I hope the work I do as an employee of CLC also helps in its small way to build a better life for all of us who call Lajamanu home.