Cairns-Yarrabah (July 2015)

We take two days to get to Cairns, pick up the rental car to get ready for my locum work in Yarrabah. Parking the bus on the hospital grounds is tricky. The entrance gate is so narrow we have to fold in the side mirrors and unscrew a part of the gate. Jolmer’s fine maneuvering skills come in handy once again. 

For three weeks we have a key to a living unit with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, living area and a garden. We can watch television. Something new. We make a point to watch The Voice and some ABC for kids.

Yarrabah is an interesting Aboriginal Community, really close to Cairns. Seven kilometers to be exact. If you would take a helicopter it would take you about three minutes to get there. However by road it’s 56 kilometers and because of the hilly and winding road it takes about one hour.

From Yarrabah you can get to some of the most beautiful beaches and rain forests.

Getting back into the work mode is not hard. Possibly because the Emergency department is not very busy, the work hours are very reasonable and the specific care needs of this area are similar to those in Walgett where I worked five years ago. It is all coming back to me. Being on call usually means getting called out of bed, but it’s nicely compensated the next day so no-one minds.

Jolmer does schoolwork with the children, they play on the lawn and visit Cairns, try to get the locals to share where to go fishing for crabs. Interesting thing: the crab-pots are clearly being checked. By the time we get to them not a single crab is big enough for us to take. 

Another interesting thing: there are many horses walking around the town. It is not clear whom they belong to, and who needs to look after them. Children ride them bare back, and hit the animals with sticks. The horses have their ears flat in their necks. I am not sure what to make of this. They look skinny and poorly kept. It is certainly not the way I have seen our farmers look after their horses. We understand the police is going to make sure people keep the horses in their own yard and paddocks rather than having them roaming the side roads freely.

Last interesting thing: a patient comes in with a turtle bite. Nurses tell me better get this person some very strong antibiotics, because turtle bites are notorious for getting badly infected.

It so happens that I just love sea turtles. I don’t really know why, because they are not that pretty. I love the way they move through the water, how they come to shore to lay eggs and hatch many, many little hatchlings out of which only one will become another adult sea turtle. So for every turtle that you see when snorkeling or diving you sort of appreciate all the effort that went into the survival of this individual as well as the species. Sea turtles are endangered and protected animals. I wondered why the turtle bit this person? Turns out the turtle didn’t like being caught and dragged up out of the water.

Wait a minute… The aboriginals, on the grounds of being native Australians, fish by a whole set of different fishing rules and regulations. The same way they are allowed to catch and eat Echidna, and take the occasional Emu-egg, they are allowed to catch sea turtles.

I did not know. I also believe that I do not agree. Either they are endangered or they are not. Let’s leave it at that. The person gets what he deserves, as well as antibiotics, and the turtle at least makes a final mark before getting killed.

One of the highlights of my time in Yarrabah is Naidoc week. There is a celebration at the local art centre involving bead making, face painting and spear throwing. 

Another really good night we spend in Cairns at the Cairns show. It is our “duty” to go there and see the Poultry pavilion, have a laugh at all the funny birds, and check the condiments section. We tell the children on our way there that there can be no nagging, screaming and yelling about show bags and other cheap stuff that is only designed to make kids unhappy. We will go in rides.

On arrival we find a good parking spot and are blown away with the extensiveness of the show grounds. It makes the shows in Walgett and Barham pale in comparison. Funny enough the actual exhibition halls are not at all extensive. We could have entered a jam or a honey and do quite well, for sure. But we did not and that is all right. Jolmer still has some irons in the fire back in Barham.

Once we check the pavilions, and have something to eat, we can choose rides, but there are so many it is actually hard to pick. Dodgem cares, trampolines, some spinning ones. I am eagerly awaiting my offspring to get a bit bigger still, so we can go into the really scary and fast rides. For now we enjoy Hugo taking it slow in the Dodgem boats. Too cute. The motto is: “I am working now, se we can afford this night.’ But it is frightening how easy you can spend a lot of money with a family of seven.

Laura has her first bus birthday in Yarrabah and has selected presents for all of us. To celebrate her birthday we travel to Port Douglas and take the cable cart into the rainforest. 

Three weeks come and go in no time. I will miss this funny place, with the horses, and beautiful beaches, and friendly people. I will miss this rain forest ridge that flanks the town. Everytime I walk between the house/bus and the hospital –which is only about 100metres- the hills look different. And it is like it is talking to me. In the morning it promises to be a beautiful day, it looks so crisp, with clear colours, and some clouds rolling over the trees, as if to say ‘get ready and enjoy’. In the evening with the setting sun, it looks more hazy, and it asks me if I had a good day at work, and wishes me a good evening. In the middle of the night sometimes I cannot see it, because of the darkness, but knowing it’s there quietly is good enough for me. In the moonlight, it asks me what I am doing up at this hour? I shouldn’t be looking at the mysterious colours and clouds and moonlit treetops, it is supposed to be a mysterious secret. But I won’t tell, so that is OK.

Getting out through the exit gate is easier apart from a car we think is in the way. Jolmer makes his way around it though, and all is well. Driving back to Cairns at dawn through the hills is a challenge. I don’t think this bus has taken this road before, but the engine is strong and Jolmer is in command so all goes well.