I got your email last night; the post only goes every two days here and I think it will take about 3-4 days just to get to Adelaide. As we are a long way from anywhere you can appreciate it takes a while to get things moving. They call Northern Territory (NT) not today, not tomorrow!
Its very beautiful here; a different kind of beauty that lacks the harshness of Alice Springs . Everything is lush; I have mango and lime trees outside my front door which is just amazing as I've never seen a mango tree before. The hospital lies just by the river; I haven't ventured out there yet; it's so friggin' hot that I figure I've got lots of time. There are lots of snakes nearby, and cane toads and crocs in the river. Mainly freshwater crocs that are supposed to just give you a nip, but when the rains come the salties come up the river and it is considered a big no-no to swim. The salties will chase your catch up the riverbank so I'm not chancing it and will fish where it is clear, and swim in the swimming pool.
The 'build up' is coming for the rains and when it comes apparently it just pours and pours; the hospital has been flooded before and we are told it is good to have an emergency box just in case, as there are blackouts a lot of the time and sometimes people go nuts and buy up big in the supermarket leaving hardly anything on the shelves. Let's hope that floods are not forecast for the river but I've been told it swells to huge levels! Katherine Gorge is about a kilometre away and it is good to canoe through it so I will when it is cooler, and the floods have gone. Katherine has a great vibe about it; very relaxed, that's for sure.
The work is great so far; I'm learning so much every day. The patients predominantly are indigenous, and come from communities from Arnhem Land ; coming in with complaints that I've never even heard of and diseases you never ever see (or you thought had been wiped out). For example tuberculosis is rife here, as well as scabies - something you rarely see in Melbourne . The Northern Territory only has 180,000 people and apparently spends half its budget on health, and it doesn't make a huge difference, as the distances are so vast, the weather so hot that infection is commonplace, as well as all the other socio-economic issues that plague isolated communities. I decided it was wise to have all my immunisation shots and had my TB updated yesterday.
I went to Darwin which I discovered is a swanky little city; very modern, with a real buzz about it. Lots of bars and outdoor restaurants and very modern apartments on the water, so I will definitely be going up there to explore on my days off. It's only two and a half hours away and the unlimited speed limits in NT mean that I can get there quickly! David has kindly lent me his laptop so I have access to the outside world, which is just brilliant; I so need it out here. Decent newspapers are expensive but I can now log onto the Internet - a bit like you - to keep in touch.
There are some remarkable people out here. It makes me very mindful of the things that are a priority and fashion and consumables are not really up there on the top of the list. However I must admit it its nice to have respite from all of this, and I know I'll be booking myself into a place in Darwin just to relax, and escape the heat.
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