I woke up incredibly anxious to get home. The reason was that when we came back into internet range yesterday afternoon, I had 10 missed calls from Tom32 and Georgia, and there was this message in the family group chat from Tom32:
“Hey guys, So Jeff is on his last legs. He’s been bleeding from the nose overnight and his breathing has gotten worse. We’ve decided to hold off taking him to the vet until Monday, to either see if he makes a recovery or to give a chance for people to say goodbye. He’s still in his Jeff state, just slower.”
When I read that, I burst into tears on the bus. I couldn’t believe that it was happening AGAIN. It was a Friday. I’d be home on Sunday evening. I messaged Georgia and got more information. Jeff wasn’t in a good way.
As luck would have it, one of the people I’d been hanging around with on the tour (the guy with thongs on his feet) was a vet, so I had a quick consult with him. We agreed that we should leave it until I got home, as it was only 2 days.
In the morning, I asked Georgia to get my dressing gown for Jeff to lie on. It turned out to re-energise him. As soon as he smelled it, he jumped up and went on a full patrol through the house, looking for me. Georgia said, “Clearly, he thinks that life’s not worth living without you!”
I just wanted to get home to my little man. But I had a day of Darwin to get through first.
I decided that I’d go to the art gallery. After trying to walk for half an hour in 40C heat, I gave up and waited for the bus. I found that they’re both air-conditioned and free!
“Palipalintia 2024 – This painting depicts Palipalintja, a swamp and rockhole site west of Jupiter Well. During Ancestral times, a large group of Tingari men
camped here before continuing their travels east, passing through Wala Wala, Kiwirrkura and then north-east to Tarkul and Lake Mackay.
The lines in this painting depict the sandhillsin the area in which the Tingari men travelled. The Tingari song-cycle is a closely guarded secret, but in general the Tingari are a group of Ancestral Beings who travelled over vast stretches of the Country, performing rituals andcreating and shaping particular sites.”
“The golden gilded framing of ‘An Australian Landscape’ by Shannon Brett satirically romanticises a brutal honesty about race relations in this country. This photograph captures an ambiguous asphalt roadside defaced with racist taunts and symbols. Rather than discussing the idyllic countryside in the background, this work captures the violence in the Australian psyche which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people encounter daily. “
Crocodile trap!
While waiting for the bus back to the hotel, I was chatting to a woman who was waiting for an Uber. She and her husband were travelling with a woman I’d seen earlier, who was in a wheelchair with her right leg stuck straight out.
They were 3 days into their trip when she’d fallen on a walk and wrenched her knee really badly. She’ll need surgery when she gets back home. It brought home why the guides kept insisting on safety when we were leaping all over places like Kings Canyon and Ubirr.
Accidents really do happen.
At around 5:30 PM, we made our way to the harbour cruise. I was put on the ‘singles table’ at the back of the boat, which turned out to be a pretty good place to take photos from.
Here’s how the sunset progressed:
Once the sun disappeared, I thought the show was over…
It is something that I’m glad I’ve done. It was spectacular.
The next day I was at the airport way earlier than I needed to be. I wasn’t going to miss my flight home! I had a little boy who was waiting for his Mum.
However I wasn’t too happy to see the difference in temperatures from Darwin to Melbourne. I had to pull apart all of my packing in my carry-on to unearth a woolly jumper and a scarf for when I landed.
Funny thing, I slept right through the whole flight from Darwin to Melbourne. In my head, it’s only like an hour long!
I walked through the door to see two little dogs (and a daughter) who were incredible glad to see me.
Scout wouldn’t stop barking for 10 minutes, while Jeffrey was jumping up on me and racing around, wagging his tail. His breathing was heavier than usual, though.
I said to Georgia, “I believe you. The true test will come tomorrow, when his little doggie brain goes back to life being normal again.”
Though Georgia showed me where Jeff had been sleeping. The blood stains were pretty bad. I don’t blame Tom32 and Georgia for being upset. However, I put a sheet over the top of my bed to protect my quilt and we snuggled in for the night.
I’m so happy that Jeffrey is here for me to come home to. It would have been very hard to bear a repeat of what happened with Poppy on my last holiday.
He’s a good boy.
Dad Joke of the Day:
Good to see that you were able to receive a warm welcome from Jeffrey. Hope his health continues to improve.