Day 18 - Wednesday 21/1

Today we drove to Yandeyarra - an Aboriginal community about an hour and a half away from Port Hedland. We had to take a 4wd as the second part of the trip was a forty kilometre stretch of dirt road. We stopped a few times to take in the sights and we definitely felt like we were in the outback. We were surrounded by spinifex and red dirt, with the occasional cluster of enormous rocks. Just before we hit Yandeyarra we had to cross two rivers and it seemed like a miracle for there to be water out there at all.


James, Byron and Nadia crossing the river at Yandeyarra

Our first (and last) port of call was the health clinic, where we spoke to the on-site nurse and a doctor who flew in that day. The main health issues in the community were kidney illnesses as well as infections forming in young men who are circumsised with stones (when they are put through tribal lore). In the latter instance, patients often don't admit themselves to the clinic in the fear that they will be punished by their tribe. Instead these young men often hang around and the nurse/doctor has to ask them what's wrong and take them into the clinic. Ouch!

We weren't able to stay in Yandeyarra long, as it had rained the previous night and the river was fast rising. To ensure we could cross the river by car we had to go before the river rose too high. On the way back Nadia and I each had a chance to drive the 4wd on the dirt track. This was a fun but taxing experience, as it required intense concentration and a far different driving style than what we were used to. My first car was a 4wd so it didn't take long to adjust to the change.


Nadia making a splash on the way home

On our way back we stopped into the Telegraph to pick up some copies of the paper. I skimmed through to see my yacht club article on page two, my article about the Roebourne medical student on page 14 and mine and Nadia's netball story on page 39. I was pretty happy with that effort, especially because my articles were all so different from one another so they were scattered throughout the paper.

The Yandeyara trip took up most of our day and we arrived back at CUCRH in the afternoon. Isabelle filled out our paperwork, as she is setting off for Sri-Lanka tomorrow. We didn't get to work on any articles today but I still feel as though I had a fulfilling day. It was a great experience being able to see what it's really like in an Aboriginal community.