Gascoyne Junction Workshop

This was the view out to Gascoyne Junction - not much change in two hours but we were chatting so much that we didn't notice the lack of variety in the landscape apart from the odd kangaroo and emu and goats. It was great to see live animals - usually all the Australian wildlife I see are road kill.

Obviously you know you are outback when all your student drive solid 4 wheel drives with genuine red dust. These ladies really appreciate the social contact and drive from between 1.5 to 4 hours each way to meet. The isolation out here is incredible and it was fascinating to hear the conversations about educating the children (School of the Air), the weekly mail run (also delivering supplies) and getting medical assistance (Flying Doctor and phone assistance).
I also learned what Doggers and Woofers were! Such an education

We had a drink in the local pub - great chips too.

One thing that did drive us mad was the invasion of dragonflies which were aparently in mating season. Here is one that obvioulsy had good taste.

My students with their 'Beneath the Surface' projects. Can't wait to see them finished
with beads and quilting.

Now we drive home

Teaching in the Outback

I am so lucky that, as a quilting tutor, I travel to the most incredible places to teach.
This week I am in the far west of Australia at Carnarvon and Gascoyne Junction and above is the sunset over the ocean as I flew up to Carnarvon

This is the Gascoyne River - yes it really is a river. At the moment the water is all underground but still supports many plantations which surround the area. All sorts of tropical fruit and vegetables are grown here and I have eaten some magnificent bananas and grapes while here.


Here are the flood markings and the old bridge which wasn't high enough to cope with the floods when they do happen.

Carnarvon was the site for this satellite disk which was used in the moon landing but is now just a landmark


I was a bit nervous when asked to come out to Gascoyne Junction which is two hours inland from Carnarvon which is another two hour flight north from Perth to teach a group of station wives. For my overseas visitors - a station is more than a farm. When we added up the sizes of the 6 stations we counted over 3 million acres! They run cattle and sheep up here and to look at - the landscape is harsh and flat and DRY! There has not been much rain here for a long time.

We stayed/worked/ate at the local hall which has recently been renovated to include a modern kitchen and bathrooms so although we slept in the hall we were certainly comfortable.


More tomorrow